Fred Thaddeus Austin (December 28, 1866 – February 26, 1938) was an American military officer who attained the rank of major general as the United States Army's Chief of Field Artillery.

[3] Austin served in the 1st Regiment of the Vermont National Guard from 1888 to 1894; a musician, he advanced from private to sergeant to drum major before moving to Massachusetts.

[2] When the 5th Massachusetts was activated for federal service, Austin was commissioned as a first lieutenant and appointed as regimental adjutant.

[1] The citation for the medal reads: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Brigadier General Fred T. Austin, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I, in command of Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky, and particularly during the period that said camp was subject to a severe epidemic of influenza.After World War I, Austin became the director of the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, in Oklahoma, after which he served in the Inspector General's Department.

[2] They were the parents of a son, Gordon Harrison Austin (1913–2010), a career officer in the United States Air Force who was a veteran of World War II and attained the rank of major general.