Last updated: July 18, 2024
Person
Private Robert Frazer
Quick Facts
Significance:
Private on the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Place of Birth:
Augusta County, Virginia
Date of Birth:
1775
Place of Death:
Franklin County, Missouri
Date of Death:
Between July 29th 1836 and January 31st 1837
Place of Burial:
Unmarked Grave
Cemetery Name:
Unknown
"Robert Frazer being regularly inlisted and haveing become on of the Corps of Vollenteers for North Western Discovery, he is therefore to be viewed & respected accordingly." - Clark, October 8th, 1804.
Robert Frazer was originally only intended to be a temporary member of the party, but through his diligant work, and the desertion of the party by Moses Reed, he earned himself a place on the expedition.He was well renowned as an excellent shot and skilled leatherworker.
On the Expedition
Originally assigned to the squad of Corporal Richard Wafington, Robert Frazer was to help man the barge on the expedition and assist with its safe return from North Dakota. However this would change as then-member Moses Reed would desert the expedition on August 4th, 1804, leading to his removal from the expedition and severe punishment. As Lewis and Clark sought to replace him they would turn to Robert Frazer, with Clark officially enlisting him for the permanant party on October 8th, 1804, under the command of Sergeant Patrick Gass.
He was no doubt chosen for his hard work and excellent hunting skills, as one of the first mentions of Frazer was him coming in 4th place in a shooting contest back on January 16th, 1804.
While stationed at Fort Mandan on February 14th, 1805, he was amongst a group of 3 other men who were onset by 106 Sioux. They were robbed of 2 horses, but were given 1 back before their departure. Frazer managed to keep their cool and helped make sure a bad situation didn't turn worse.
At some point in the journey Frazer had made a name for himself with his stitching skills, as on June 26th, 1805, Lewis entrusts him to sew the skins for "the Experiment," a collapsable iron boat which was to be covered with pitch and hide to make an on-the-go boat. Unfortunately this experiment would end in failure due to a lack of the pitch required to seal the seams amongst other problems.
Lewis noted Frazer's luck on the expedition as well, when on September 19th, 1805, while traveling along a very narrow path his horse fell and roled a hundred yards down into a creek. Frazer was completely uninjured and the horse returned to work within 20 minutes. As Lewis writes: "this was the most wonderfull escape I ever witnessed, the hill down which he roled was almost perpendicular and broken by large irregular and broken rocks."
Some of the final notes Lewis and Clark made on him were of his good trading skills. Clark, on April 28th, 1806, named Frazer of having the duty of "Makeing the purchases, to lay in as maney fat dogs as he could procure" to which he was able to aquire 10. Then, on May 29th, 1806, Sergeant Ordway remarked Frazer was able to trade an old razer for 2 spanish dollars. Quite the impressive deal when a Private made 5 dollars per month.
After the Expedition
Robert Frazer was awarded $166.66 for his service to the expedition. Unfortunately not much is written about him or his time post-expedition. He was believed to have served in the war of 1812.Interestingly, Robert Frazer got permission from Lewis and Clark to publish his own journals of the expedition. However these were never published and unfortunately are now entirely missing.
Resources:
Morris, Larry E. The Fate of the Corps. Yale University Press, 2004. Print.
Moulton, Gary. The Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition: August 30, 1803 - August 2, 1804 . University of Nebraska Press, 1986. Print.
Moulton, Gary. Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. University of Nebraska Press. Web.