Frank White was commissioned captain of Company A, 10th New York Infantry in New York City in late April 1861. Described as “a scout by profession,” he scouted around Fortress Monroe, where he was involved in a number of small actions and won the admiration of General Benjamin Butler. He then came west and asked General John C. Fremont to allow him to organize a battalion of scouts and rangers. The general had known White’s parents for some time, so he promoted the young man to major, appointed him an aide, and allowed him organize two companies of “Prairie Scouts.”

White led his scouts to Lexington on October 16, 1861, where he captured prisoners, stores, and a steamboat. He was then ordered to join Major Charles Zagonyi and the Fremont Body Guard in an attempt to wrest Springfield, Missouri from the Missouri State Guard. Unfortunately, just before White’s men and the Fremont Body Guard captured Springfield in a dramatic charge on October 25, 1861, White was wounded and captured by the Missouri State Guard. Freed shortly afterward, he was assigned to General John M. Schofield’s staff as provost marshal general of Central Missouri. In October 1862 White was mustered into the 2nd Battalion Missouri State Militia Cavalry as the unit’s major. In early 1863 he resigned and returned to staff duty.

White became lieutenant colonel of the 2nd U.S. Colored Cavalry in October 1864, served in the Petersburg campaign, and was mustered out in March 1866.

Carte-de-Visite by J.A. Scholten, St. Louis, Mo.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 11762