Garrison FrazierListed in Freedman Bureau and other records as "Garrison Fraser" or "Garrison Frazer" (1798? - 1873) was an African-American Baptist minister and public figure during the U.S. Civil War. He acted as spokesman for twenty African-American Baptist and Methodist ministers who met on January 12, 1865 with Major General William Tecumseh Sherman, of the Union Army's Military Division of the Mississippi, and with U.S. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, at General Sherman's headquarters in Savannah, Georgia. This meeting is commonly known as the "Savannah Colloquy" or the "Forty acres and a mule" meeting.Colloquy with Colored Ministers, The Journal of African American History Volume 16, Number 1 January 1931 (University of Chicago Press Journals). https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.2307/2714000?journalCode=jnh"Lest We Forget: Minutes of an interview between the colored ministers and church officers at Savannah with the Secretary of War and Major-General Sherman. Bennie J. McRae, Jr., LWF Network, http://lestweforget.hamptonu.edu/page.cfm?uuid=9FEC3212-90DA-5859-77BF63F1120E4DAF; "Forever Free." The New York Times. By Eric Foner, Jan. 29, 2006 https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/books/chapters/forever-free.html
Frazier's intervention helped to motivate General Sherman's Special Field Orders, No. 15 or the "Forty acres and a mule" order. Issued January 16, 1865, this order instructed Union Army officers to settle African-American refugees on the Sea Islands and inland: a total of 400,000 acres divided into 40-acre plots. Though mules were not mentioned in the Special Order, some African-American refugees did receive mules from the army. These 40-acre plots were colloquially known as "Blackacres", which may have a basis for their origin in contract law.Freedmen and Southern Society Project, "Order by the Commander of the Military Division of the Mississippi, IN THE FIELD, SAVANNAH, GA., SPECIAL FIELD ORDERS, No. 15." January 16th, 1865.
At the time of the "Forty acres and a mule" meeting, Frazier was 67 years old.
Early life
There are no clear records of Frazier's day of birth or his parentage. Nonetheless, Frazier was considered to be of pure African blood. There is some confusion on Frazier's birth place. One account lists Frazier's birth place as Granville County, North Carolina, located just north of Durham, North Carolina. Another account lists Frazier's birthplace in Virginia.
Where it is not clearly documented who owned him, Frazier and his wife Diana Williams' enslavers brought them to Georgia around 1850. Having been enslaved for sixty years, Frazier purchased his and his wife's freedom in 1856, paying $1,000 (~$ in ) in gold and silver.
Frazier lived on White Bluffs Road in Savannah, Georgia.Garrison Fraser, United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NSTP-M45 Frazier and his wife had several children: William Fraser, Roderick O'Neil, John Stafford, Chas Frazier, son Andrew, son Green, daughter Bell Atkinson, and Charity Williams.Notes: Records may show Garrison and his family's names as Frazer or Fraser. Garrison Fraser, United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NSTP-M45
Ministry
Initially a member of the Methodist Church in Georgia, Frazier joined the Baptist Church after later becoming convinced "that the Baptist faith was according to the Bible." He was baptized at Savannah, Georgia's Third African Church (later renamed the First Bryan Baptist Church), becoming ordained in the ministry as First Bryan Baptist Church's pastor in December, 1851. He was First Bryan Baptist Church's 8th pastor, serving from December 1851 to 1860. Overall, Frazier served in the ministry for 35 years.
Frazier was known to be "endowed with fair natural gifts, a commanding presence, and a good voice." Considered plain and impressive as a preacher though not learned in theology, Frazier understood and could explain the doctrines of Christ quite clearly.
With the U.S. Civil War roaring throughout the South and with his health failing, Frazier resigned as First Bryan Baptist Church's pastor in 1861. He was succeeded by Deacon Ulysses L. Houston, also a "Forty acres and a mule" colloquy attendee.Freedmen and Southern Society Project, "Newspaper Account of a Meeting between Black Religious Leaders and Union Military Authorities, New York, N.Y. February 13, 1865. In fact, First Bryan Baptist Church had more representatives at the "Forty acres and a mule" meeting than any other church.
After his official duties at First Bryan Baptist Church, Frazier was still regarded by Savannah's African-American community and fellow clergymen as a respected elder and highly knowledgeable leader.Sherman's March and the Emergence of the Independent Black Church Movement: From Atlanta to the Sea to Emancipation. Love Henry Whelchel Jr. 2014. Palgrave Pivot
General Sherman's March to the Sea, Savannah's Refugee Crisis, Frazier's "Forty Acres and a Mule" Colloquy As General Sherman executed his military strategy to defeat the Confederacy, he divided his efforts along a West-to-East path following the Confederacy's strategic rail lines. Sherman's Army would exchange its inland base of Atlanta for the more secure base in coastal Savannah, now controlled by the Union Navy. By destroying the Confederacy's manufacturing, rail & communication systems, food/livestock access, and enslaved labor infrastructure, Sherman disrupted the Southern economy, preventing the Southern Army from defending its heartland.
In addition to a cavalry division, Sherman's forces comprised two armies or wings. The right wing/southern column, the Army of the Tennessee, marched along the Georgia railroad, the Macon and Western railroad. The left-wing or Army of Georgia, led by General Henry Warner Slocum, marched following the Georgia railroad, feinting toward Augusta, Georgia. Sherman's plan was to confuse the Confederate Army as to his objectives. His initial target was Georgia's then-state capital Milledgeville, Georgia, captured on November 22, 1864. The ultimate objective was Savannah, captured and occupied on December 21, 1864. This March to the Sea or Savannah Campaign, was among the most effective campaigns of the Civil War.Nevins, Allan (1971). The War for the Union: Volume IV: The Organized War to Victory, 1864–1865. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 162. .
As Union armies march upon Savannah, over 17,000 formerly-enslaved African-Americans had abandoned Georgia and South Carolina plantations, following Slocum's 26,703 troops.U.S. War Department. (1881–1901). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Vol. 44, Series 1. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Though General Slocum and his troops employed some of these newly freed refugees as pontoon builders and road-building detachments, General Sherman complained that such a large contingent of refugees could disrupt the Union Army's military operations, possibly bringing defeat to Union forces should they encounter a respectable enemy force, especially as Slocum's left wing turned its attention north to the Carolinas."The Context of Freedom: Georgia's Slaves During the Civil War." Paul D. Escott. The Georgia Historical Quarterly. Paul D. Escott. Vol. 58, No. 1 (Spring, 1974), pp. 85 This became a real concern when hundreds of African-American refugees either drowned or were captured and re-enslaved by Confederate forces during the Ebenezer Creek Massacre of December 8, 1865.Miles, Jim. To The Sea, Revised Ed., Cumberland House Publishing, 2002.
Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton suggested to General Sherman that they meet with "the leaders of the local Negro community" to discuss Savannah's refugee crisis, and what the clergymen wanted for their people after the war had concluded. On January 12, 1865 at 8:00PM, twenty African-American Baptist and Methodist ministers including Frazier, Ulysses L. Houston, William Gaines, James D. Lynch (future Secretary of State of Mississippi), and Alexander Harris met with General Sherman and Secretary Stanton. The meeting took place at General Sherman's Gothic-style Southern mansion headquarters, the Green-Meldrim House, in Savannah.
Garrison Frazier, selected by his fellow clergyman as spokesperson, introduced each of his fellow clergymen by name and position in their church.
After Sherman and Stanton gave the group assurances of protection and provision until the refugees could be settled, Frazier answered twelve questions, eloquently addressing the desires of African-Americans fleeing chattel enslavement."Meeting between Black Religious Leaders and Union Military Authorities [Clipping from New-York Daily Tribune, [13 Feb. 1865], "Negroes of Savannah," Consolidated Correspondence File, series 225, Central Records, Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, National Archives.
According to accounts, Sherman and Stanton were impressed by Frazier's precise reason for the US Civil War, President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and its implication for African-Americans.Freedmen and Southern Society Project, "Newspaper Account of a Meeting between Black Religious Leaders and Union Military Authorities, New York, N.Y. February 13, 1865. Frazier is most known for the following "Forty acres and a mule" colloquy:
Question: "State in what manner you think you can take care of yourselves, and how can you best assist the Government in maintaining your freedom."
Brother Frazier: "The way we can best take care of ourselves is to have land, and turn it and till it by our own labor–that is, by the labor of the women and children and old men; and we can soon maintain ourselves and have something to spare. And to assist the Government, the young men should enlist in the service of the Government, and serve in such manner as they may be wanted. (The Rebels told us that they piled them up and made batteries of them, and sold them to Cuba; but we don't believe that.) We want to be placed on land until we are able to buy it and make it our own."
Question: "State in what manner you would rather live–whether scattered among the whites or in colonies by yourselves."
Brother Frazier: "I would prefer to live by ourselves, for there is a prejudice against us in the South that will take years to get over; but I do not know that I can answer for my brethren."Mr. James D. Lynch, a 26 year old, Baltimore-native "freeborn" serving as the presiding elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and missionary to the Department of the South, countered, believing that African-Americans should not be separated, but live together. All the other persons present, being questioned one by one, answer that they agree with Garrison Frazier. This is notable given Lynch's freeborn status, seven years in the ministry, and only two years in the South. ("Meeting between Black Religious Leaders and Union Military Authorities [Clipping from New-York Daily Tribune, [13 Feb. 1865], "Negroes of Savannah," Consolidated Correspondence File, series 225, Central Records, Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, National Archives."
Aftermath of Sherman's Meeting, Special Field Orders, Number 15 Four days later, Sherman issued his Special Field Orders, No. 15.