Royal Thaxter Frank (6 May 1836 – 14 March 1908) was an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, retiring as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

after forty-one years of military service.

Biography

Frank was born in

Gray, Maine Gray is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,269 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. Gray is located at the intersection of ...

, the son of Alpheus Frank and Naomi Stimson. He was a descendant of Thomas and Anna Frank, who settled in Maine before 1727. He entered the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in July 1854, graduating in July 1858. Frank was commissioned as a brevet second lieutenant in the

8th Infantry Regiment The 8th Infantry Regiment of the United States, also known as the "Fighting Eagles," is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. The 8th Infantry participated in the Mexican War, American Civil War, Philippine Insurrection, Moro Rebel ...

. He served at

Newport Barracks Newport Barracks was a military barracks on the Ohio River, across from Cincinnati, Ohio in Newport, Kentucky. It was operational from 1803 until 1894. History In 1803, James Taylor Jr. solicited the help of his cousin, James Madison, who was th ...

, Kentucky and was promoted to second lieutenant in October 1858. In 1859, his unit was sent to Fort Union, New Mexico. In July 1860, while commanding companies E and K at a supply depot on Hatch's Ranch near Santa Fe, Frank participated in a three-day skirmish with a band of

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

s. He successfully defended his position against a force estimated to be ten times larger than his own until reinforcements arrived. Later in 1860, his unit was transferred to

Fort Fillmore Fort Fillmore, located at 32°13′30″N 106°42′52″W, was a United States military fortification established by Colonel Edwin Vose Sumner in September 1851 near Mesilla in what is now New Mexico, primarily for the purpose of protecting sett ...

, New Mexico. On 9 May 1861, while on a march from

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

under the command of Captain Isaac V. D. Reeve, Frank was taken prisoner by Confederate soldiers near

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

. He remained a prisoner until 20 February 1862, when he was freed in a prisoner exchange. He was promoted to first lieutenant retroactive to 14 May 1861 and then promoted to captain on 27 February 1862. Rejoining the 8th Infantry, Frank participated in the defense of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and then in the Peninsula campaign. In July 1862, he was

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

major for gallant and meritorious services during the campaign. Frank next participated in the Battles of

Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union ...

and Fredericksburg. On 13 December 1862, he was brevetted lieutenant colonel for gallant and meritorious services during the latter battle. Frank spent the remainder of the Civil War on garrison or recruiting duty. From June 1864 to March 1866, he served on the staff of Brigadier General Philip Cooke in New York City. On 12 October 1864, he married Emma Knight. They had a son and a daughter. After the war, Frank continued on garrison duty, serving primarily in the former Confederate states. In December 1870, he was transferred from the 8th Infantry to the

1st Artillery First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

. In January 1881, he was promoted to major. From July 1886 to November 1888, Frank was assigned to the U.S. Army Artillery School for Practice at

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

, Virginia. From November 1888 to May 1898, he served as commandant of the Artillery School and Fort Monroe. In January 1889, Frank was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the 2nd Artillery. In October 1894, Frank was promoted to colonel and given additional command of the 1st Artillery Regiment. In May 1898, Frank was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers and given command of the

Department of the East The Department of the East was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army several times in its history. The first was from 1853 to 1861, the second Department of the East, from 1863 to 1873, and the last from 1877 to 1913. H ...

. From 23 July to 2 August 1898, he served as interim commanding general of the 1st Army Corps. From August to October 1898, Frank served as commanding general of the 1st Division, 3rd Army Corps. From September to October 1898, he also served as acting commander of the 3rd Army Corps. From November 1898 to January 1899, Frank served as commanding general of the 2nd Division, 4th Army Corps and acting commander of the 4th Army Corps. From January to March 1899, he was commander of the 1st Separate Brigade, 2nd Army Corps. From March to October 1899, Frank was commander of the

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was cons ...

. On 12 May 1899, he reverted to his permanent rank of colonel. On 17 October 1899, Frank was promoted to brigadier general in the regular army. He retired from active duty on the following day. On 14 March 1908, Frank died at his home in Washington, D.C. He was buried in Section 1 of

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

three days later.

Legacy

Fort Frank Fort Frank (Carabao Island, the Philippines) was one of the defense forts at the entrance to Manila Bay established by the United States. The entire island was designated as Fort Frank, in honor of Brigadier General Royal T. Frank, as part of ...

in the Philippines was named in his honor. Two U.S. Army ships also bore his name. The USAT ''General Royal T. Frank'' was launched in 1908 and served as an inter-island transport in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. In January 1942, it was sunk by a torpedo from Japanese submarine ''I-171'' while transporting Army recruits. The USAMP ''Brigadier General Royal T. Frank'' (MP-12) was launched in 1942 and served as a mine planter at

Fort Miles Fort Miles was a United States Army World War II installation located on Cape Henlopen near Lewes, Delaware. Although funds to build the fort were approved in 1934, it was 1938 before construction began on the fort. On 3 June 1941 it was name ...

on Delaware Bay until transferred to the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

in 1944.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Royal Thaxter 1836 births 1908 deaths People from Gray, Maine United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of the Indian Wars People of Maine in the American Civil War Union Army officers American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Army generals Military personnel from Washington, D.C. Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American Civil War prisoners of war held by the Confederate States of America