George W. Frost spent the final months of the American Civil War as Acting Master of the U.S.S. Fort Donelson. He was assigned to this position by Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles after some three years of various short-term assignments throughout the Navy. On several occasions Frost ran awry of naval regulations, most notably in January and February 1863 when he was arrested for `disobedience' and in March 1865 when an order - which was revoked in the same month - was issued for Frost's dismissal from the Navy. Despite these irregularities, however, Frost survived in the Navy and performed guard, convoy and messenger duties aboard the Fort Donelson until the war's end.
George Frost died 14 November 1885 (his birth date remains unknown) as can be seen in folder two of `kidney and heart trouble.' This illness was, in Frost's opinion, contracted while in the U. S. Navy and he felt himself justified in claiming a compensatory pension increase. The Department of the Interior Pension Office, however, disagreed and as folder two illustrates, Frost died without receiving the desired increase.
From the guide to the George W. Frost Military and Personal papers, MS 321., 1861-1885, (Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX)
