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Speed S. Fry | |
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 Col. Speed S. Fry | |
| Birth name | Speed Smith Fry |
| Born | (1817-09-09)September 9, 1817 |
| Died | August 1, 1892(1892-08-01) (aged 74) nearLouisville, Kentucky |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Branch | United States Army Union Army |
| Rank |  Brigadier General |
| Commands | 4th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment |
| Battles / wars | Mexican–American War American Civil War |
Speed Smith Fry (September 9, 1817 – August 1, 1892) was a lawyer, judge, and aUnited States Army officer during theMexican–American War andAmerican Civil War.
Fry was born inMercer County, Kentucky (nowBoyle County) nearDanville. He graduated fromWabash College inCrawfordsville, Indiana, in 1840 and returned to Danville to practice law under his uncle. He served as acaptain in the 2nd Kentucky Volunteer Regiment during theMexican–American War and saw action at theBattle of Buena Vista, where his company fired the last shots of the battle. After the war he returned home and was appointed a judge of Mercer County and served in that position until the Civil War.
With the outbreak of theCivil War, Fry was immediately made acolonel of Kentucky Militia. He helped raise the4th Kentucky Infantry atCamp Dick Robinson and on October 9, 1861, he was appointed colonel of the regiment.
Fry led his regiment into action at theBattle of Mill Springs on January 19, 1862. During the battle the fighting became disorganized andConfederate GeneralFelix Zollicoffer rode up to Fry's regiment thinking they were Confederate troops, and addressing Colonel Fry, he ordered them to stop firing. Zollicoffer's aide came riding from the woods and, attempting to warn the general that he was in the midst of enemy soldiers, fired off a shot. Fry immediately raised his pistol and fired at Zollicoffer, who fell dead. But a debate exists over who actually killed the general. Fry never specifically claimed he was the one who killed Zollicoffer, but many reports and paintings at the time give full credit to him. However, there were members from three differentUnion regiments standing near Fry who also fired. Whether or not he was the sole person to shoot General Zollicoffer, the Confederates were so outraged that they accused Fry of murder.
On March 21, 1862, Fry was appointedbrigadier general of volunteers and commanded the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, in theArmy of the Ohio underDon Carlos Buell. His brigade arrived at theBattle of Shiloh at the end of the second day, too late to participate in the fighting. Buell reported that Fry's performance was "inefficient". His brigade did participate in thesiege of Corinth. Returning to Kentucky, he led his brigade into action at theBattle of Perryville just a few miles away from where he was born. Once the Confederate forces had withdrawn from Kentucky, Fry took command of the 3rd Division, Center Wing, of theXIV Corps (Army of the Cumberland), which he led in theStones River Campaign; he and most of his division were not engaged in theBattle of Stones River. For much of the remainder of the war, he commanded the North Central Kentucky sub-district. At the close of the war, he was in command ofCamp Nelson, the vast Union recruiting and deployment depot south of Lexington. He was mustered out of the service on August 24, 1865, without being awarded thebrevet rank ofmajor general, which was usually bestowed automatically in the case of a brigadier general with Fry's time in grade.
Camp Nelson Expulsion
Fry was directly responsible for the deaths of many Black refugees housed at Camp Nelson, primarily women and children who were the family members of Black recruits, when, on November 23, 1864, he ordered their forced expulsion from the camp during harsh winter conditions. Of the over 400 who were expelled, many froze or starved to death. The order was overturned by his superior Major GeneralStephan G Burbridge, giving Captain Theron Hall authority over refugees in the camp on November 29, 1864. Ultimately, only about 250 refugees returned, and of those 100 were confirmed to have died as a result of the ordeal.[1][2]
In 1866, Fry was an unsuccessfulRepublican candidate forCongress. He was the supervisor for Internal Revenue collection in his congressional district. He was the superintendent of the Soldier's Home and was also an elder of thePresbyterian Church.
He died nearLouisville, Kentucky, and is buried in theBellevue Cemetery,Danville, Kentucky.[3]
[1]Archived 2021-05-02 at theWayback Machine NEH Landmarks of American History: Camp Nelson Expulsion
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