Frazier Augustus Boutelle papers, 1869-1933

Frazier Augustus Boutelle (1840-1924) was born Sept. 12, 1840 in Troy, NY. His father, James Augustus Boutelle (1808-1889), was from Massachusetts and descended from Revolutionary War fighter Ebenezer Boutwell. (The family name has variant spellings.) Little is known about his mother, Emeline Lamb Boutelle, but by 1871 she was married to E.F. Gordon and living with a daughter in Ontario, Canada. James Boutelle relocated to northern California in the 1850s, and lived with his sister, Susan Boutell Messenger Sterling, in Arcata, CA.

In 1873 Frazier married “Dollie,” Mary Adolphine Augusto Hayden, at Vancouver, WA. Dollie was the daughter of Mary Jane and Gay S.B. Hayden, pioneers who left Wisconsin in 1850 for Vancouver. One of Dollie’s sisters, Adelle Spaulding, lived in Fairbanks, AK, and the two held shares in an Alaskan mine in the 1920s. Frazier and Dollie had one child, Henry Moss Boutelle, born June 17, 1875 at Vancouver. “Harry” attended Stanford for a year and then received a commission as a second lieutenant in the 3rd Artillery Regiment in the Philippines. He was killed in action leading the Macabebe Scouts at Aliago on Nov. 2, 1899. In memory of Harry Boutelle, his name was applied to a place in Macabebe Province, a Boston Harbor steamer of the Quartermaster’s Department, and a still-extant battery near the Presidio in San Francisco.

Frazier Boutelle’s military career began June 4, 1861, when he enlisted as one of the first volunteers of the 5th New York Cavalry, Company A. Entering as a quartermaster sergeant, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant Nov. 4, 1862. Following an injury, and promoted to first lieutenant Apr. 2, 1864. During the latter half of 1863, following an injury he was assigned as an ambulance officer to 3rd Cavalry. He was mustered out on disability Aug. 31, 1864 but returned to duty as a captain in the 5th New York on Jan. 10, 1865. Boutelle served at Antietam, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Wilderness, Gettysburg, and the second battle of Bull Run. He served on the staff of Gen. J.H. Wilson, under Gen. Phil Sheridan, and was mustered out in July 19, 1865.

On Feb. 12, 1866 he reenlisted as a private in the regular Army, and was sent, via Panama, to the West to join the First Cavalry’s Company F. By Nov. 1866 Boutelle was at Fort Boise, Idaho, at the beginning of Crook’s Winter Campaign. By 1867 he was a sergeant major. He was commissioned as brevet second lieutenant Jan. 2, 1869, and confirmed May 8, and rose to first lieutenant July 31, 1873. Boutelle served in the Indian wars against the Apache, Piute, Snake, Modoc, and Nez Perce. Most of 1872 was spent in the Klamath region where he was active in the Modoc War and, in a scuffle with Scar-Faced Charlie, precipitated a battle at Lost River that subsequently gained him a brevet promotion and a citation for distinguished service. He was also given a medal during the Nez Perce conflict. Boutelle was promoted to captain on Apr. 24, 1886, and retired Aug. 27, 1895.

In June 1889 Frazier Boutelle was appointed acting superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. Established as a park in 1872, Yellowstone was initially run by civilians who found it difficult to protect the landscape and the wildlife with resources. The.

Boutelle retired from the Army a second time on Aug. 27, 1895 but immediately took up work with the Washington National Guard. In 1896 Gov. John H. McGraw appointed Boutelle to head the Guard as Adjutant-General, with the rank of brigadier general. Boutel.

Frazier Boutelle returned to duty in 1905 as a recruiting officer. He was active at the Seattle office during World War I, the oldest serving officer of his time, and when the office closed in 1919, he retired from military service for the third and final.