Uniform brings Civil War to life for history buffs

Visitors to the Spencer Research Library examine Civil War artifacts, including a Union uniform and saber that belonged to KU’s second chancellor, John Fraser. The items will be on display Aug. 21 at Lawrence’s Watkins Museum during a presentation by Lt. Col. Brian De Toy, former professor of military science at KU and current chief of research and publications at Fort Leavenworth’s Combat Studies Institute. R. Steve Dick/University Relations

Chancellor John Fraser’s Union jacket, saber were donated to KU in 1907

Lt. Col. Brian De Toy will spend the evening of Aug. 21 transporting an audience of history fans at the Watkins Museum back to the days of KU’s second chancellor, John Fraser, and thanks to the Spencer Research Library, he’ll have a few authentic Civil War artifacts to help him do so.

De Toy’s presentation, scheduled for 6:30 p.m., will focus on Fraser’s experiences as a Union officer during the Civil War. The Spencer Research Library will provide Fraser’s Civil War uniform and saber for display during the event.

De Toy, chief of research and publications at Fort Leavenworth’s Combat Studies Institute, was a professor of military science and head of the Army ROTC program at KU from 2001 to 2004.

The uniform was given to the library in 1907, according to archivist Becky Schulte, and is still in remarkably good condition for its age.

As with other chancellors, the library has preserved other bits of Fraser’s history, including a diary he wrote while in a Confederate prison camp and photographs from his lifetime.

Fraser was a prisoner of war for more than eight months during the last year of the war, and he rose to the rank of brigadier general.

He was later the chancellor of what would become Penn State University and became chancellor of KU in 1868.

De Toy first became interested in Fraser’s history while creating a walking tour covering KU’s military history for ROTC cadets and their families.

“As I looked at the school’s history and examined the background to each building’s name, I discovered Chancellor Fraser was often called ‘General’ Fraser back in his days on campus,” De Toy said.

Guessing that the chancellor had been a veteran of the Civil War, De Toy conducted research on Fraser at Spencer and Watson libraries, as well as at the U.S. military academy at West Point. He also made several visits to the Gettysburg battlefield to complete his study.

KU’s artifacts remained unknown to De Toy, however, until a member of the Spencer Library staff saw a notice for De Toy’s upcoming address and alerted him to the uniform and other Fraser artifacts at Spencer, Schulte said.