When we think of the American Civil War and the havoc it wrought upon the southern states and the nation as a whole, how often do we consider the women left behind? The soldier who fought may have military records stating specifics, but we seldom have any account of the soldier’s mother, sisters, or wife. In that case, we need to research the soldier and then dig into the historical accounts that can shed light on what life was like beyond the battlefield.
Nancy E. (Briscoe) Frazier, my 2nd great-grandmother, was such a woman. When the Civil War began, she was just a girl of 14 years. She would have grown up quickly with the war coming to the Ozarks of northern Arkansas and southwestern Missouri, where her family resided. She married a Confederate soldier in the midst of war and would have witnessed first-hand the brutality of the guerilla warfare in the Ozarks. Although she left no stories, what do the records and the history reveal about Nancy’s life?
Birth and Early Years
Nancy was born between 1845 and 1850, depending on the census records and her headstone. Her children likely erected the headstone, which gives Nancy the birthday of 15 February 1847.1
That correlates well with the 1850 census, where Nancy is a three-year-old in the household of her parents, John and Susanna Briscoe. The family lived in Sugar Creek, Benton County, Arkansas. Since Nancy’s older siblings were also born in Arkansas per the census, it seems to be the most likely place of birth.2
- John Briscoe 56 Tenn
- Susana Briscoe 33 NC
- Wm R Briscoe 13 Ark
- John E Briscoe 16 Ark
- James C Briscoe 9 Ark
- Isaac J Briscoe 6 Ark
- Lucinda M Briscoe 5 Ark
- Nancy Briscoe 3 Ark
Unfortunately, the Briscoe family appears to have been missed in the 1860 census enumeration. Perhaps they were moving during this time, as Nancy reported her marriage to Richard Frazier as occurring in October of 1863 in McDonald County, Missouri. The marriage record was likely destroyed when the courthouse burned that same year.
According to memories of early settlers, “In August or September, 1863, a raid was made on the town by a band of bushwhackers and the court house, with all the records there, was fire to and burnt.”3 This raid on the courthouse could have been prior to the marriage, but with the upheaval of the Civil War, marriage records in the county weren’t recorded again until 1865.
Mapping the Records
Viewing the locations mentioned in the records revealed that Nancy resided on the Missouri/Arkansas border. The records name Benton County, Arkansas, Mcdonald County, Missouri, and Barry County, Missouri, and the map below shows their proximity.4 The counties where Nancy was born, resided, and married are all located squarely in the Ozark Mountain range. Although the artificial border between Missouri and Arkansas runs squarely through the Ozarks, the people of the area would have moved back and forth without noticing much of a difference between the states. The rich land would have yielded good crops, and Nancy’s father and husband all farmed the land to provide for their families.
Civil War in the Ozarks
How did the Civil War affect Nancy Briscoe and other settlers in the Ozark Mountains of southwestern Missouri? County histories reveal that during the Civil War: “the inhabitants of the county up to that time were principally from the southern states, and a majority considered that their interests were with the southern people. At the same time there was a strong Union element among them who resisted secession until the war was begun, when they cast their fortunes with the Confederacy. There was still another element, largely in the minority in this county, that remained loyal to the last.”5
Nancy’s spouse, Richard Frazier, enlisted in the Confederate Army on 27 August 1862 at McDonald County, Missouri. He was enrolled by Captain Clanton for 3 years or the war and entered his service with a horse valued at $125 and equipment at $2. 6
According to Nancy’s widow’s pension application, Richard first served in the infantry, then the cavalry. No record exists for the infantry service – all the extant cards in his Compiled Service Record are for his service in the 3rd Cavalry, Missouri. Although only four service cards survive, they do give a glimpse of his service. He appears to have served as a teamster in the Cavalry, possibly driving the supply wagons. He was recruited and enrolled by Captain Clanton, a possible relation of his future wife whose mother was Susanna Clanton, according to family records.
Richard Frazier’s service records reveal the following:
- 27 August 1862 Enlisted at McDonald County, Missouri by Captain Clanton
- 30 October 1862 Present on the muster-in-roll at Fulton County, Arkansas; detailed as a teamster to the Regiment team master from 1 November to present
- Jan/Feb 1864 Present on Company Muster Roll
- 7 June 1865 Appears on a roll of prisoner of war of Company F, 3 Regiment Missouri Cavalry, Confederate States Army, commanded by Capt. Chas. K. Polk, surrendered at New Orleans, LA., by General E.K. Smith, C.S.A. to Maj. Gen E.R.S. Canby, U.S.A., May 26, 1865, and paroled at Shreveport, La., June 7, 1865. Roll dated Shreveport 7 June 1865.
Nancy E. (Briscoe) Frazier’s widow’s pension application states that Richard served from 1861-1865 in “Marme Dukes Division.” This would be General John S. Marmaduke. A native of Missouri, General Marmaduke began the war in the United States Army but following a defeat in 1861, he resigned and secured a commission in the Confederate Army. By April of 1862, he was leading the 3rd Infantry and by December of 1862 a division of the cavalry. A biographical sketch for General Marmaduke sheds light on what Richard Frazier would have been doing during the Civil War under his leadership.7
During the first half of 1863, Marmaduke operated independently by raiding southeastern Missouri from staging areas in northern Arkansas. When Marmaduke shifted tactics and used his cavalry to attempt a siege at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on April 26, 1863, he was forced to withdraw, eventually as far as Helena, Arkansas, without meeting the primary objectives of his raiding operations.
Matters did not improve for Marmaduke as the war progressed into Arkansas. Leading his cavalry division in an attack on the now Union-held Helena, Arkansas, on July 4, 1863, Marmaduke was driven back with heavy losses when supporting troops under Brigadier General Lucius M. Walker, fearing for their own exposed position, failed to support the Confederate advance.
The sketch describes multiple skirmishes and raids in Arkansas and Missouri as the Confederate positions collapsed. With the fighting taking place throughout the area where Nancy (Briscoe) Frazier resided as a young woman and then as a young bride, she likely spent her days toiling in the fields while the men were off fighting.
Post Civil War
The years following the war saw a great deal of unlawfulness in the area, and the county officials appealed to the U.S. government for a military outpost.8 In 1866, the Fox Township was established, and Richard and Nancy Frazier were listed together for the first time in the census of 1870 residing in that location. Their household included two sons, John age 2 and William 1.9
With the close of the Civil War, the couple started a new life together that would take them from the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas to Texas and then to Indian Territory/Oklahoma.
The 1900 census reveals that Nancy was the mother of 13 children, with 10 living.10 Having survived the disaster of the Civil War, she would have developed the tenacity and courage to face moving west to another frontier. Her children memorialized her life on her headstone: “She was the sunshine of our home.” 11
Bringing together the records and the history shed more light on this era of Nancy’s life.
Best of luck in all your genealogical endeavors!
Sources
- Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 30 January 2019), memorial page for Nancy E Briscoe Frazier (15 Feb 1847–30 Jan 1924), Find A Grave Memorial no. 14139934, citing Burneyville Cemetery, Burneyville, Love County, Oklahoma, USA ; Maintained by Phil & Donna (Stricklan) Whitaker (contributor 4308835) .
- 1850 U.S. Census, Benton County, Arkansas, population schedule, Sugar Creek, p.83A (stamped), dwelling 510, family 510, John Briscoe household; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Jan 2019); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 25.
- J.A. Sturges, Illustrated History of McDonald County, Missouri, From the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, (Pineville, Missouri: Sturges, 1897), 74.
- Adam & Charles Black, “Missouri and Arkansas,” (Edinburgh: A. & C. Black, 1856); David Rumsey Map Collection, (https://www.davidrumsey.com : accessed 6 Feb 2019).
- Sturges, 167.
- Compiled Service Record for Richard Frazier, Confederate, 3rd Missouri Cavalry, Capt W.C. Clanton’s Co. Greene’s Regiment, Missouri Vols. p. 3, digital images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/image/88561660 : accessed 6 Feb 2019); citing NARA M322, roll 23
- Russell Perkins, “Marmaduke, John S.” Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865. The Kansas City Public Library, (http://www.civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/marmaduke-john-s : accessed Feb, 06, 2019).
- McDonald and Newton County Sections : of Goodspeed’s Newton, Lawrence, Barry and McDonald Counties History, (S.l. : McDonald County Historical Society (Missouri), 1972), digitized book on FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 3 February 2019), 52.
- 1870 U.S. Census, McDonald County, Missouri, population schedule, Fox, p. 9 (penned), p.25A (stamped), dwelling 64, family 61, Richard Frazier household; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 Jan 2019); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 792.
- 1900 U.S. Census, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, population schedule, Township 7S Range 1W, enumeration district (ED) 177, sheet 6B (penned), dwelling 89, family 91, Richard Frazier household; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com accessed 30 Jan 2019); citing NARA microfilm publication T623.
- Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 30 January 2019), memorial page for Nancy E Briscoe Frazier (15 Feb 1847–30 Jan 1924), Find A Grave Memorial no. 14139934, citing Burneyville Cemetery, Burneyville, Love County, Oklahoma, USA ; Maintained by Phil & Donna (Stricklan) Whitaker (contributor 4308835) .
7 Comments
Leave your reply.