Persifor Frazer Smith
American politician (1798-1858)
Persifor Frazer Smith (November 16, 1798 – May 17, 1858) was an American military officer. He served as an officer in the Louisiana State militia and as Louisiana State adjutant general. He led two regiments of Louisiana and Pennsylvania volunteers during the Second Seminole War. He served as a colonel in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, was brevetted to major general, and became known as the "hero of Contreras". He commanded the Pacific Division from 1848 to 1849 including as the 6th Military governor of California from February to April 1849. He commanded the Department of Texas from 1850 to 1856 and the Department of the West from 1856 to 1858 during the Bleeding Kansas conflict. In 1858, he was appointed commander of the Department of Utah with orders to quell the Mormon Rebellion, but died at Fort Leavenworth before he could take command.
Early life and education
Smith was born on November 16, 1798, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Jonathan and Mary Ann (Frazer) Smith. His maternal grandfather was Persifor Frazer, an army officer in the American Revolutionary War. In 1815, he graduated from the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University) and studied law.
The public source identifies “Persifor Frazer Smith” as american politician (1798-1858). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Persifor, Frazer and Smith.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q886808. VIAF identifies the subject as 45741213. The Library of Congress control number is n85185691. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1798, 1858, 1848 and 1849.
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This entry incorporates text from “Persifor Frazer Smith” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.