George W. Frost military and personal papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 0321

Staff Only

Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

This collection is comprised chiefly of George W. Frost's correspondence, created while Frost served as a Union naval officer during the Civil War, including his service aboard the U.S.S. Fort Donelson (1861-1865). Other correspondence relates to Frost's pension, dating from the 1880s. Two order books are also present.

Several documents contained in the Frost Papers were issued by high-ranking Civil War personalities including Rear Admiral David D. Porter (1813-1891) and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles (1802-1878).

Dates

Creation: 1861 - 1885

Conditions Governing Access

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Access Restrictions

No access restrictions; this material is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the George W. Frost Papers must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Biographical Note

George W. Frost spent the final months of the American Civil War as Acting Master of the U.S.S. Fort Donelson. He was assigned to this position by Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles after some three years of various short-term assignments throughout the Navy. On several occasions Frost ran awry of naval regulations, most notably in January and February 1863 when he was arrested for `disobedience' and in March 1865 when an order - which was revoked in the same month - was issued for Frost's dismissal from the Navy. Despite these irregularities, however, Frost survived in the Navy and performed guard, convoy and messenger duties aboard the Fort Donelson until the war's end.

George Frost died 14 November 1885 (his birth date remains unknown) as can be seen in folder two of `kidney and heart trouble.' This illness was, in Frost's opinion, contracted while in the U. S. Navy and he felt himself justified in claiming a compensatory pension increase. The Department of the Interior Pension Office, however, disagreed and as folder two illustrates, Frost died without receiving the desired increase.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection is comprised chiefly of George W. Frost's correspondence, created while Frost served as a Union naval officer during the U.S. Civil War, including his service aboard the U.S.S. Fort Donelson (1861-1865).

Arrangement

The material is arranged into three separate folders, and in chronological order within each folder.

The first folder contains 71 items of correspondence either to or from Frost or relating directly to Frost's activities as a Naval Officer during the Civil War.

Folder two contains 7 pieces dating from the 1880's referring to the issue of Frost's application for a Naval pension increase.

The third folder comprises two order books probably from the year 1864. One is from the U. S.S. Fort Donelson and includes Naval laws and regulations, ships' watches and bills, regulations in case of fire and for firing the ship's guns, and some records of the operations of the ship throughout the conflict. The other item is a general Naval order book from Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter distributed to all beneath his command in October 1864.