Portal:American Civil War/Selected biography/15

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General Sir Arthur James Lyon Fremantle, GMCG, CB (November 1835 – 25 September 1901) was a British soldier, a member of Her Majesty's Coldstream Guards, known for being a notable British witness to the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. While in the rank of lieutenant colonel he spent three months (from April 2 until July 16, 1863) in the Confederate States of America. Contrary to popular belief, Colonel Fremantle was not an official representative of the United Kingdom; instead, he was something of a tourist.

Upon returning to England, he wrote a book on his experiences in America, Three Months in the Southern States, which was published three months before the end of the war. The book predicted a certain Southern victory. A young man, Fremantle married upon his return and embarked upon several years of military service in the later part of the nineteenth century, including a mission to the Sudan. His career ended on a high note, seeing service as Governor-General of Malta between 1894 and 1899. General Fremantle died on the Isle of Wight at the age of 65. On the centenary of his funeral, a ceremony marking the restoration of his grave in Brighton was conducted by his descendants and Civil War reenactors from the United States.

In Michael Shaara's historical novel The Killer Angels, concerning the events of the Battle of Gettysburg, Lieutenant Colonel Fremantle appears as an important character, providing a neutral (if sympathetic) viewpoint on the struggle for Southern independence. In the 1993 film adaptation of the novel, retitled Gettysburg, Fremantle is played by the actor James Lancaster. In both versions of the story, Fremantle is a genial, if somewhat naive, observer who engages in important discussions with General Longstreet and his officers on the Confederacy's relations with the United Kingdom.