Sir Augustus Frazer KCB FRS

Augustus Simon Frazer was born on 5 Sep 1776. He came from a family of Engineers, his father being Lieut-Col Andrew Frazer a military engineer, and architect of St Andrew’s Church, Edinburgh. He was in charge of the demolition of the fortress at Dunkirk where Augustus was born. Frazer’s mother was Charlotte Durnford who was the granddaughter of John Peter Desmaretz the engineer who built gun batteries on the south coast. Frazer was educated in Edinburgh and then in 1790 went to the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. He entered the RA on 18 Sep 1793. He served in Flanders under the Duke of York. He was in command of two field guns attached to the 3rd Foot Guards, operating at Tournay and Boxtel. He returned to England in May 1795 and was appointed to the RHA. He went with them to Holland in 1799 as a captain lieutenant.
In 1803 he was a captain, and four years later was part of the expedition to Buenos Aires. In 1811 he went to the Peninsula and commanded Horse Artillery at Salamanca, Osma, the Siege of Burgos, Vittoria, Papeluna, San Sebastian, Nivelle, Nive, Bayonne (where he was severely wounded) and Toulouse. He was a lieutenant-colonel by the end of the Peninsula War. He was rewarded with the appointment of Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.
He was on Wellington’s staff for the Hundred Days, commanding the Royal Hose Artillery in the retreat from Quatre Bras, the battle at Genappe and finally the battle of Waterloo. His gunners succeeded in dislodging the French from the woods round Hougemont. He ensured the replacing of the RHA’s 6-pounders with 9-pounders, which, using case-shot, proved more effective against the advancing French columns. One Troop was given howitzers. After the battle the Prussians had seized French guns captured by the British but Frazer got them back.
Sir Augustus Frazer was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1816 and later appointed Director of the Royal Laboratory at Woolwich. He was in command of HQ RHA until he was promoted to Colonel in Jan 1825. He reached the rank of major-general. In 1809 he was married to Emma Lynn and they had two sons, one of whom was an officer in the RA and the other an officer in the Rifle Brigade. Sir Augustus died at Woolwich on 11 June 1835. His writings were published as: The Letters of Sir Augustus Frazer KCB, Commanding the Royal Horse Artillery in the Army under The Duke of Wellington (Wagram Press 2015) The portrait, painted in 1815 shows him in the uniform of the RHA wearing the insignia of the Order of the Bath. The scene behind him probably represents the siege of San Sebastian in Sep 1813 where he directed the fire from the flank, remarkable for its accuracy.

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