Simon Fraser was a British general during the American War of Independence. He was killed in the Battle of Bemis Heights during the Saratoga Campaign. The shot that killed Fraser is often attributed to Timothy Murphy, of Daniel Morgan's Rifle Corps, which was assigned to the Left and under the command of Benedict Arnold, who was leading Morgan's men as well as Dearborn, Cilley, Poor, and the rest of the American left wing, which was attempting to push back the reconnaissance in force led by Simon Fraser on the Barber Wheatfield.
General Simon Fraser
The Burial of General Fraser after the Battle at Bemis Heights
The Battles of Saratoga marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion army of 7,200–8,000 men southward from Canada in the Champlain Valley, hoping to meet a similar British force marching northward from New York City and another British force marching eastward from Lake Ontario; the goal was to take Albany, New York. The southern and western forces never arrived, and Burgoyne was surrounded by American forces in upstate New York 15 miles (24 km) short of his goal. He fought two battles which took place 18 days apart on the same ground 9 miles (14 km) south of Saratoga, New York. He gained a victory in the first battle despite being outnumbered, but lost the second battle after the Americans returned with an even larger force.
Surrender of General Burgoyne, an 1822 portrait by John Trumbull depicting John Burgoyne, a British Army general, surrendering to General Horatio Gates, who refused to take his sword. The painting presently hangs in the United States Capitol Rotunda.
General Horatio Gates, portrait by Gilbert Stuart
General John Burgoyne by Sir Joshua Reynolds
The slaying of Jane McCrae by Native Americans under Burgoyne's command was widely published in newspapers throughout the colonies. This led to a massive turnout of colonial militia, outnumbering Burgoyne's army by two to one.