General James Stuart Fraser (1 July 1783 – 22 August 1869) was a British army officer in the

Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations manda ...

in India. He was involved in the

Coorg War The Coorg War was fought between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Coorg in 1834. Defiance of the Raja of Coorg ( Chikka Virarajendra), a small state in South India, led to a short but bloody campaign in 1834. In February 183 ...

of 1834 and the town of

Kushalnagar Kushalanagar or Kushalanagara is a city located in the Kodagu district of the Indian state of Karnataka. Surrounded by Kaveri river, it is the gateway to Kodagu district. It also serves as the headquarters of Kushalanagar Taluk. By population, ...

was for sometime named after him as Fraserpet. James was born at

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the youngest son of Colonel Charles Fraser belonging to the

Clan Fraser of Lovat Clan Fraser of Lovat ( ) is a Highland Scottish clan and the principal branch of Clan Fraser. The Frasers of Lovat are strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gained lands there in the 13th century. ...

, a naval officer who later joined the Madras army who died at

Masulipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the mandal headqua ...

on 5 May 1795. James was one of six sons and three daughters through his wife Isabella Hook. James went to school at Ham, Surrey before joining Glasgow University where he showed a talent in languages and astronomy. Joining as a cadet, he went to India in 1799 and became a lieutenant in the 18th Madras native infantry by December 1800 before becoming an aide-de-camp to Sir George Barlow. His knowledge of French led him to be involved in discussions and negotiations with the French in

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

. While posted at Pondicherry, he married Henrietta James at Cuddalore on 18 May 1826. In 1828 he was deputed to Mahé and made a special agent. In 1834 he saw action in the

and was appointed resident at Mysore and commissioner of Coorg on 6 June 1834. Coorg was administered from

Mercara Madikeri (), earlier called as Mercara is city and headquarters of Kodagu district in the Karnataka state of India. It is recognised as one of the world's eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. ...

most of the year but during the monsoon, the office was shifted west to Kushalnagar which went for a period by the name of Fraserpet. He became a major-general by June 1838, considered a rapid rise for that time. From the end of 1839 he served as Resident at Hyderabad in the Nizam's kingdom. This period was a difficult one and disputes with Lord Dalhousie led him to resign in 1852 and return to England. Fraser became blind towards the end of his life and died at Twickenham Park on 22 August 1869.

References

External links

Fraser, Hastings (1885) Memoir and correspondence of General James Stuart Fraser of the Madras Army. Whiting and Co., London.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, James Stuart 1783 births 1869 deaths British Army generals British people in colonial India Madras Staff Corps officers People from the Madras Presidency British resident at Mysore