page_title: John W. Frazer
section_title: Cumberland Gap
hierarchical_section_title: John W. Frazer / Civil War service / Cumberland Gap
context_page_description: John Wesley Frazer was an American soldier, planter, and businessman. He was a career officer in the United States Army, and then served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War.
  Frazer's most notable action during the Civil War was when he surrendered the Cumberland Gap and was captured in the autumn of 1863. He was held as a prisoner of war until after hostilities ended in the spring of 1865, and then took up work in farming and business.
context_section_description: Following the Kentucky Campaign, Frazer again resigned from the Confederate Army in late 1862. His most notable military service occurred after he was appointed a brigadier general on May 19, 1863, and given command of the 5th Brigade of the Army of Tennessee that July. His force consisted of about 2,300 men in three regiments and a battery of artillery, and was ordered to defend the Cumberland Gap "at all hazards" by area commander Maj. Gen. Simon B. Buckner, who was himself ordered to rejoin the Army of Tennessee just prior to the Battle of Chickamauga. Frazer began strengthening the fortifications already there to try to block any Federal advance into East Tennessee.
  That fall, forces under Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside moved toward the Cumberland Gap. Burnside sent a brigade under Col. John F. DeCourcy to deal with Frazer's men, while the rest of the Union soldiers quickly marched on and captured Knoxville, Tennessee, on September 2. DeCourcy threatened the Gap from the north, but Frazer did not think this force sufficient to remove him and held his position. On September 7, Burnside sent another brigade led by Brig. Gen. James M. Shackelford, who approached Frazer's men from the south and demanded surrender of the Confederates, which Frazer again rejected. On September 8, both DeCourcy and Shackelford sent messages requesting Frazer's surrender, and those too were rejected. The next day, Burnside himself along with yet another brigade (under Col. Samuel A. Gilbert) closed on Frazer's position. At about 10:00 a.m., Burnside demanded a surrender, saying he now had enough soldiers to assault and take the Confederate garrison. This was finally enough to convince Frazer to give up the Gap, which he did at about 3 p.m. on September 9. No blood was shed in the three-day Battle of the Cumberland Gap.
  Burnside had succeeded in deceiving Frazer, leading him to believe that the opposing Federals were much stronger than they appeared. Frazer thought his Confederates to be surrounded, outnumbered, and lacking enough provisions needed for a prolonged siege, and he unconditionally surrendered his garrison. The Confederate defeats at Vicksburg and Gettysburg earlier in July may also have affected Frazer's decision.
  As they lined up, the Confederates were shocked to see the size of the force to which they had surrendered. Although around 100–300 men did escape through DeCourcy's lines just after the surrender, Frazer, his men and their weapons, and 14 guns were turned over to Burnside. This also gave the Union control of the Cumberland Gap, which it retained until the war's end.
caption: The Cumberland Gap in relation to the Wilderness Road from Virginia into Kentucky
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