William W. Fraser

William W. Fraser was a Scottish-born Union Army soldier who served during the American Civil War and earned the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the assault on Vicksburg, Mississippi. He was born on March 7, 1844, in Scotland and later came to the United States. When the Civil War began, Fraser entered Union service and became a Private in Company I, 97th Illinois Infantry. The 97th Illinois Infantry was organized for Union service during the war and took part in operations in the Western Theater. Fraser’s regiment eventually became involved in Major General Ulysses S. Grant’s campaign against Vicksburg, one of the most strategically important Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi River. Vicksburg occupied commanding ground overlooking the Mississippi River. As long as the Confederacy controlled the city, it maintained an important connection between its eastern and western territories. Union leaders therefore considered the capture of Vicksburg essential to gaining full control of the Mississippi and dividing the Confederacy. Grant’s forces maneuvered around Vicksburg during the spring of 1863, defeating Confederate forces in a series of engagements and eventually surrounding the city. Before beginning a prolonged siege, Grant attempted to capture the Confederate defenses by direct assault. On May 22, 1863, Union troops launched a major attack against the fortified Confederate positions surrounding Vicksburg. The defenses included trenches, earthworks, rifle pits, and artillery positions constructed on difficult terrain. Soldiers advancing against these fortifications faced intense rifle and cannon fire. Before the main assault, volunteers were requested for an especially dangerous assignment. A group of men would move ahead of the attacking Union columns carrying materials intended to help troops cross defensive obstacles and reach the Confederate works. Because of the extreme danger involved, this detachment became known as the “volunteer storming party.” The men who volunteered understood that casualties were likely to be severe. They would be among the first Union soldiers exposed to concentrated Confederate fire, with little protection as they approached the enemy positions. Participation therefore required exceptional courage. Private William W. Fraser volunteered for this storming party. On May 22, 1863, he advanced with the detachment toward the Confederate defenses at Vicksburg under heavy enemy fire. His willingness to participate in this dangerous charge and his gallantry during the assault became the defining act of his military career. The attack itself did not succeed in breaking the Confederate defenses. Union troops suffered heavy casualties, and Grant eventually abandoned further immediate frontal assaults in favor of a siege. Nevertheless, the courage displayed by members of the volunteer storming party was later officially recognized. For his gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party, William W. Fraser was awarded the Medal of Honor. His official citation specifically recognized his conduct during the assault at Vicksburg on May 22, 1863. The Medal of Honor was presented to Fraser on October 24, 1895, more than thirty years after the action for which he was recognized. Such long delays were not unusual among Civil War recipients. Many awards were approved decades after the fighting as veterans, commanders, and government officials reviewed wartime records and submitted formal recommendations. The historically appropriate decoration for Fraser is the Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army. This was the Civil War-era Army version associated with the earliest generation of American Medal of Honor recipients. The Army Medal of Honor had been authorized by Congress in 1862, during the Civil War. At that time, the United States had not yet developed the wide range of decorations familiar from later military history. The Medal of Honor therefore became the principal national decoration for soldiers whose gallantry or distinguished conduct in combat deserved exceptional recognition. The early Army Medal of Honor featured a five-pointed star with a central allegorical design. The imagery included Minerva, representing the Union and victory. Over later decades, the ribbon, suspension system, and overall appearance of the Medal of Honor changed, but Fraser’s service belongs historically to the 1862–1895 Army period. Fraser’s Medal of Honor is especially closely connected with the story of the Vicksburg storming party. The volunteers were performing a battlefield task that placed them at extraordinary risk even before the main assaulting force reached the Confederate positions. The volunteers were expected to move directly toward enemy works while carrying equipment needed to overcome defensive obstacles. Their exposed position made them obvious targets for Confederate defenders. Many members of the storming party were killed or wounded during the attempt. Fraser nevertheless continued with the charge. The official citation uses only a few words—recognizing his “gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party”—but the brevity reflects nineteenth-century military citation practices rather than any lack of importance in his actions. Civil War Medal of Honor citations were frequently much shorter than modern citations. Many identified only the battlefield, date, and principal act of bravery. The surrounding circumstances of the Vicksburg assault provide the broader context needed to understand how dangerous Fraser’s voluntary participation actually was. Following the unsuccessful May 22 assault, Grant changed tactics and placed Vicksburg under siege. Union forces tightened their lines around the city while Union naval forces controlled the river approaches. Confederate troops and civilians inside Vicksburg suffered increasingly severe shortages of food and supplies. After approximately six weeks of siege operations, Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg to Grant on July 4, 1863. The victory was one of the most important Union successes of the Civil War. The capture of Vicksburg, combined with Union control farther down the Mississippi River, effectively split the Confederacy and gave the Union control of the great river. This dramatically reduced Confederate transportation and communication between the Trans-Mississippi region and the eastern states. Fraser’s act of gallantry therefore occurred during a campaign of enormous strategic importance. Although the May 22 assault itself failed, the courage of soldiers such as Fraser formed part of the larger Union effort that ultimately resulted in the capture of the city. Fraser continued his military service and eventually attained the rank of Corporal. However, his Medal of Honor action occurred while he was serving as a Private, so Private remains the correct rank to associate with his hero profile and Medal of Honor action. His promotion to Corporal demonstrates that his military career continued beyond the specific act for which he became famous. Even so, his place in American military history rests primarily on his voluntary participation in the Vicksburg storming party. The Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army remains the confirmed decoration associated with Fraser’s profile. No device or clasp is verified for the award. Other campaign decorations should not automatically be added simply because Fraser served during the Civil War. His wartime service can demonstrate potential eligibility for decorations established later, but eligibility alone is not the same as documented individual entitlement. The Medal of Honor remains his clearly confirmed and historically significant military decoration. After the Civil War, Fraser eventually settled in California. Like many Civil War veterans, the details of his later civilian life are much less prominent in the historical record than the military action for which he received national recognition. By the time Fraser received his Medal of Honor in 1895, more than three decades had passed since the assault on Vicksburg. The award ensured that his voluntary participation in one of the campaign’s most dangerous operations would remain part of the official record. Fraser lived into the early twentieth century. He died on February 9, 1915, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of seventy. He was buried in Los Angeles, bringing to a close a life that had begun in Scotland and had included service in one of the defining conflicts of American history. William W. Fraser’s legacy is closely associated with the courage of ordinary enlisted soldiers. He was not a general, senior officer, or battlefield commander. He was a Private who voluntarily stepped forward when men were requested for a mission known to be exceptionally dangerous. That willingness to place himself at extraordinary risk during the assault on Vicksburg earned him a place among the recipients of the United States’ highest military decoration. His Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army symbolizes that act of courage. It connects Fraser with the earliest generation of Medal of Honor recipients and with one of the most decisive Union campaigns of the American Civil War. The defining moment of William W. Fraser’s military career remains May 22, 1863. On that day, as a Private in Company I, 97th Illinois Infantry, he joined the volunteer storming party and advanced toward the Confederate defenses of Vicksburg under deadly fire. More than thirty years later, the United States formally recognized that gallantry by presenting him with the Medal of Honor. His name remains preserved in Medal of Honor history because he voluntarily accepted one of the most dangerous assignments of the Vicksburg Campaign and demonstrated courage in the face of extraordinary battlefield danger.