Hildreth Frost

Hildreth Frost (1880–1955) was a lawyer and soldier from Colorado who commanded Company A of the 2nd Infantry Regiment during the Colorado Coalfield War. He also served as Judge Advocate for the military courts-martial for prosecuting members of the Colorado National Guard following the Ludlow Massacre.

Early life Hildreth Frost was born to Walter Clarence Frost and Ella Hildreth Frost in Newton, Massachusetts on 22 June 1880. Walter Frost was a prominent figure in mining around Cripple Creek and Leadville. Frost received a bachelor's degree from Colorado College in 1901, the same year as the Cripple Creek Strike, and a law degree from Harvard in 1904.

Colorado Coalfield War On 26 October 1913, Governor of Colorado Elias M. Ammons ordered the Colorado National Guard to deploy to the southern coalfields near Trinidad and Walsenburg in response to violence associated with the United Mine Workers of America strike against the Colorado Fuel and Iron company that had begun on 23 September. Captain Frost led Company A in the strike zone, one of several units deployed. Like other units of the National Guard in the strike zone, Company A began incorporating CF&I mine guards into its ranks.

Following the conflict, several members of the Colorado National Guard, including Lt. Karl Linderfelt and Major Patrick J. Hamrock were court-martialed in relation to the violence at Ludlow and the killing of strike-leader Louis Tikas. Frost participated in the trials, which resulted in no punishments, as Judge Advocate.

Frost married Bertha K. Marcum on 1 October 1914.

Frost died in 1955. His son Hildreth Frost Jr. would be appointed by President Richard Nixon as assayer for the Denver Mint in 1970.