Co. B, 44th Tennessee Regiment, CSA |
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Co. B, 44th Tennessee Regiment, CSA |
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Pvt. James Knox Polk Smith enlisted in Company B., 44th Tennessee Infantry Regiment on February 7, 1863, while the Regiment was in winter quarters at Tullahoma. Smith participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Fort Sanders, Bean's Station, Walthall Junction, Swift Creek, and Drewry's Bluff. In June, 1864, he found himself in the trenches, outside Petersburg. On June 17, 1864, Smith was captured and sent to Point Lookout, Maryland. He was transferred to Elmira (Hellmira), New York on June 24. During the harsh New York winter of '64-'65, Pvt. Smith watched, in despair, as blankets and clothing, sent by his family in Tennessee, were piled into a heap and burned by the Yankee guards. On February 25, 1865, Smith was listed on a roll of prisoners, to be exchanged. However, he was "too weak to travel," and was removed from that roll. Smith remained in captivity at "Hellmira" until July 3, 1865, almost three months after Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. Upon his release, Smith returned to his Tennessee home, and later married his childhood sweetheart, Mary Ann Holt. Mary Ann's father, Thomas Holt, and eldest brother, John Holt, both gave their lives in defense of their beloved Tennessee and the Confederacy. A few years later, James and Mary Ann Smith relocated to Southern Missouri, where they raised their nine children. Following the marriage of their eldest son, William, to the daughter of a Yankee, James and Mary Ann packed their remaining children and moved to Texas. Pvt. James K.P. Smith died on April 16, 1923 and is buried near Rock Island, Texas. James remained a Confederate throughout his life. The pall bearers at his funeral were Confederate Soldiers or Sons of Confederate Soldiers. In 1981, almost sixty years after his death, the United Daughters of the Confederacy honored James when the Pvt. James K. Smith Chapter #755 of the Children of the Confederacy was chartered in Alvin, Texas. His GG-Grandaughter was among the Charter Members. was written by his GG-Grandson, Richard L. Norton
Copyright 1997 |
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