Daniel Marsh Frost (August 9, 1823 – October 29, 1900) was a former
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
officer who became a
brigadier general in the
Missouri Volunteer Militia The Missouri Volunteer Militia (MVM) was the state militia organization of Missouri, before the formation of the Missouri State Guard in the American Civil War.
Prior to the Civil War, Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciatio ...
(MVM) and the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. Among the handful of Confederate generals born in the
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
, Frost led the MVM during the
Camp Jackson affair in May 1861 that fanned
civil unrest
Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, civil strife, or turmoil, are situations when law enforcement and security forces struggle to maintain public order or tranquility.
Causes
Any number of things may cause civil di ...
in
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
.
Early and family life
Daniel M. Frost was born near
Duanesburg in rural
Schenectady County, New York
Schenectady County () is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,061. The county seat is Schenectady. The name is from a Mohawk language word meaning "on the other side of the pine lands," a te ...
. He was a descendant of the Winthrop family through
Elizabeth Fones
Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett (21 January 1610 – 1673) was an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1640 Fones, with her then-husband Robert Feake, were founders of Greenwich, Connecticut. Wolfe (2012)
She married her t ...
, and a descendant of
John Bowne
John Bowne (1627–1695), the progenitor of the Bowne family in America, was a Quaker and an English settler residing in the Dutch colony of New Netherland. He is historically significant for his struggle for religious liberty.
Background
Born i ...
.
He was appointed from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
to the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
in nearby
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
and graduated in 1844, ranking 4th in a class of 24.
In 1851, Frost met and married Elizabeth Brown "Lily" Graham, his second wife. They would have eleven children.
U.S. Army and Missouri life
Frost was
brevetted
In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...
as a
second lieutenant in the
infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
and assigned to garrison duty. With the outbreak of the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
, he served under
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...
in the
Army of Occupation in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and was brevetted for gallantry in action at the
Battle of Cerro Gordo
The Battle of Cerro Gordo, or Battle of Sierra Gordo, was an engagement in the Mexican–American War on April 18, 1847. The battle saw Winfield Scott's United States troops outflank Antonio López de Santa Anna's larger Mexican army, driving ...
.
Following that war, Frost spent part of 1849 as Regimental Quartermaster of an immense supply train sent to the
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...
. The following year he was assigned to
Jefferson Barracks
The Jefferson Barracks Military Post is located on the Mississippi River at Lemay, Missouri, south of St. Louis. It was an important and active U.S. Army installation from 1826 through 1946. It is the oldest operating U.S. military installatio ...
in St. Louis, the largest base in the west. After a brief assignment in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, Frost returned to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. He rejoined his
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation.
In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
on the
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary.
Australia
The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...
. In a skirmish with raiding Indians, he was severely wounded and nearly lost an eye.
Frost resigned his commission in 1853 for domestic reasons and became a partner in a lumber
planing mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and Wood drying, seasoned Wood, wooden boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the Thickness planer, planer and matcher, the Moulding plan ...
. He later established D. M. Frost & Co., a prominent fur-trading company from
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
to the
West Coast.
Politically active, Frost was elected in 1854 to the
Missouri General Assembly
The Missouri General Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Missouri Senate, Senate and a 163-member Missouri House of Represen ...
as a
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
from
Benton County and was a strong supporter of "Central Clique" of wealthy planters in Missouri state politics. He worked against the
Benton faction of the Missouri
Democratic Party, and worked for the expansion of slavery into the
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...
. He served until 1858.
Frost stayed involved with the army by serving on the Board of Visitors for West Point, and was appointed as a brigadier general in the Missouri Volunteer Militia in 1858 by the
Governor of Missouri
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
,
Robert Marcellus Stewart. He was assigned command of the First Military District, which encompassed St. Louis and the surrounding county.
American Civil War
In the early days of the American Civil War, General Frost supported the
secession
Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
ist movement endorsed and led by Governor
Claiborne Fox Jackson
Claiborne Fox Jackson (April 4, 1806 – December 6, 1862) was an American politician of the Democratic Party in Missouri. He was elected as the 15th Governor of Missouri, serving from January 3, 1861, until July 31, 1861, when he was for ...
. In February 1861 Frost enrolled the members of the pro-secession
Minutemen para-military organization as Companies in a new Second Regiment, MVM (despite Missouri's "official" policy of neutrality). This allowed the Minutemen to operate and recruit overtly. He secretly met with Jackson and other secessionist leaders to discuss the possibility of attacking the
Federal Arsenal in downtown St. Louis. Governor Jackson dispatched two members of the Minutemen to seek siege artillery from the
Confederate
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
Government. At the recommendation of General Frost, Governor Jackson ordered the mustering in of the MVM in St. Louis on May 6, a deployment which would allow an attack on the Arsenal when the Confederate artillery arrived.
Confederate President
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...
agreed to provide the weapons, and they arrived in St. Louis on May 8. Frost's soldiers took possession of the Confederate weapons, and moved them to Camp Jackson, as the MVM encampment was named. Union
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Nathaniel Lyon
Nathaniel Lyon (July 14, 1818 – August 10, 1861) was a United States Army officer who was the first Union Army, Union General officer, general to be killed in the American Civil War. He is noted for his actions in Missouri in 1861, at the beginn ...
conducted a reconnaissance on May 9, and verified the presence of the Confederate weapons. The next day, Lyon led a mixed force of U.S. Regular troops and Missouri volunteers to arrest the Militia. After surrounding the camp, they forced Frost and his militiamen to surrender without a shot being fired. As the prisoners were marched through the streets of St. Louis, however a
riot
A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...
broke out and 28 people were killed. On May 11, Frost was paroled and returning to his home.
Although he initially denied involvement in any conspiracy when questioned by authorities,
Union intelligence later obtained a letter that revealed that Frost was indeed an active participant in Governor Jackson's plotting.
After being exchanged for a captured Federal officer, Frost traveled south to join the Confederate Army. On March 3, 1862, Frost was commissioned as a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army and assigned to duty in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, under
Major General Sterling Price
Sterling Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was an American politician and military officer who was a senior General officers in the Confederate States Army, officer of the Confederate States Army, fighting in both the Weste ...
. He briefly served as the
inspector general in the army of Gen.
Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army Officer (armed forces), officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate General officers in the Confederate States Army, general in th ...
, and then in October was assigned to the
Trans-Mississippi
Trans-Mississippi was a common name of the geographic area west of the Mississippi River during the 19th century. The term "Trans-Mississippi" was historically used to refer to any land "across the Mississippi" (or the entire western two-thirds ...
Department. Frost led a
division into action at the
Battle of Prairie Grove
The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on December 7, 1862. While tactically indecisive, the battle secured the Union control of northwestern Arkansas.
A division of Union troops in the Army of the Fronti ...
in the
corps
Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...
of Maj. Gen.
Thomas C. Hindman
Thomas Carmichael Hindman Jr. (January 28, 1828September 28, 1868) was an American lawyer, politician, and a senior officer of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, he later moved to Mississip ...
. On March 2, 1863, Hindman was relieved of duty and replaced by Frost in
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...
.
In August 1863, Frost's wife was forced from their home in St. Louis because of the family's ardent Confederate sympathies and had taken the children and moved to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
for safety and refuge. Frost reacted quickly upon hearing the news. He left the army, without first obtaining any official approval or permission, and traveled to Canada to join his family. Frost was listed as a deserter by the Confederate Army, and in December the Confederate War Department officially dropped Frost from the muster rolls. Frost stayed in Canada for the rest of the war and did not return to Missouri until late 1865.
Later life

Following the war, Frost became a farmer on his land near St. Louis. His second wife died in the early 1870s and Frost later married a third time in 1880, this time to a young widow Catherine Cates (1840–1900) with two children. The couple had two children of their own. In 1875, Frost's daughter Jane Graham married
Sir Lewis Molesworth, 11th Baronet
Sir Lewis William Molesworth, 11th Baronet (31 October 1853 – 29 May 1912) was an English landowner from Cornwall and a Liberal Unionist Party politician.
Family and education
Lewis Molesworth was the eldest son of The Reverend Sir Paul Wil ...
.
General Frost spend much of his time in his later years simultaneously explaining: to Unionists that in May 1861 he had not engaged in pro-Confederate plotting, and to ex-Confederates that he had not deserted from the Confederate States Army in 1863. While Frost wrote many post-war articles attempting to explain his contradictory actions during the American Civil War, his memoirs do not address the Civil War period. From 1891 to 1892 he was president of the
Aztec Club of 1847
The Aztec Club of 1847 is a military society founded in 1847 by United States Army officers of the Mexican–American War. It is a male-only hereditary organization with membership of those who can trace a direct ancestral connection "based on ma ...
.
Death and legacy
At the age of 77, Frost died at Hazelwood, his estate in what is now
Berkeley, Missouri
Berkeley is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,228 at the 2020 census. Portions of St. Louis Lambert International Airport are within the city limits. Airport Elementary S ...
(suburban St. Louis). He is interred at
Calvary Cemetery, Section 18.
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...
named its main campus "The Frost Campus"
The Frost campus: Name origins and changes
''The University News'', April 27, 2017 to honor the General after his daughter Mrs. Harriet Frost Fordyce contributed $1,000,000 to the university in 1962. Ironically, part of the Frost Campus covers the former "Camp Jackson" militia encampment site.
See also
* List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)
Confederate generals
__NOTOC__
* Assigned to duty by E. Kirby Smith
* Incomplete appointments
* State militia generals
The Confederate and United States processes for appointment, nomination and confirmation of general officers were essential ...
References
Further reading
* .
* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher
David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...
, ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. .
* Miller, Robert E., "Daniel Marsh Frost, C.S.A." ''Missouri Historical Review'' #85 (July 1991).
* .
* . See also Official Records of the American Civil War
The ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion'', commonly known as the ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'' or Official Records (OR or ORs), is the most extensive collection of Americ ...
*.
*
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Daniel M.
1823 births
1900 deaths
American military personnel of the Mexican–American War
United States Army personnel of the Indian Wars
Burials at Calvary Cemetery (St. Louis)
Confederate States Army brigadier generals
Confederate militia generals
Members of the Aztec Club of 1847
Missouri State Guard
Missouri state senators
People from Duanesburg, New York
People of Missouri in the American Civil War
United States Army officers
United States Military Academy alumni
Northern-born Confederates
Winthrop family
19th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly