Grave marker for Gettysburg post-battle casualty installed

By Leon Reed · Originally published January 2021 · p. 6

Bruce Davis, chair of the Gettysburg Civil War Roundtable and historians Tim Smith and Fred Hawthorne spoke at a brief November 21 ceremony in Gettysburg’s Evergreen Cemetery. The ceremony celebrated the installation of a grave marker at the grave of Allen Frazer. Frazer was a 13 year old Gettysburg resident who was killed on November 20, 1863, the day after Lincoln’s speech, when a visitor in town, Russell Briggs, caused a recovered artillery shell to explode. Frazer was buried in an unmarked grave in the family plot of his employer, Solomon Powers. The effort to develop a grave marker was brought to attention by the Evergreen Cemetery board and sponsored by the Gettysburg Civil War Roundtable. The Roundtable has supported historic preservation since the 1950s, when it undertook the restoration of the “Old Dorm” on Gettysburg’s Seminary Ridge. Smith gave a brief history of the cemetery, Davis addressed past preservation efforts by the Gettysburg Roundtable, and Hawthorne described Frazer’s short life and the episode that ended it. “For over a century and a half, this boy, one of the tragic civilian casualties of the battle, was buried here, unmarked and largely forgotten,” said Hawthorne. “Today we assemble to finally correct that omission and permanently mark the resting place of Allen James Elmore Frazer, may he rest in peace.” Frazer was killed when a shell recently found or purchased by a man named Russell Briggs exploded. Briggs had come to town to attend the dedication ceremonies and was trying to remove the explosive charge from the shell when it exploded. Frazer had just stepped forward to warn him the shell was dangerous and the explosion killed him instantly. Local stonecutter Solomon Powers, who had taken Frazer under his wing when Frazer’s father fell on financial hard times, buried him in his family plot at Evergreen Cemetery. Leon Reed is a former congressional aide, defense consultant, and U.S. History teacher. He lives in Gettysburg, volunteers at the visitor center when it’s open, and is the author of Stories the Monuments Tell: A Photo Tour of Gettysburg, Told by its Monuments. He is a frequent contributor to Civil War