A Fraternal Civil War: Smith Brothers Fought on Opposite Sides
Samuel E.
Smith: 1840-1882 (Maternal Great-Granduncle)
Elias
Guess Smith: 1842-1862 (Maternal Great-Granduncle)
When
people discuss the Civil War, they often use the phrase “brother-fighting-brother”
to emphasize how the war tore apart families and friends, and how people from
the same communities ended up fighting on opposite sides. In the case of Elijah
Smith’s two eldest sons, the Civil War truly was a brother-against-brother
conflict. Samuel fought for the Union, while Elias fought for the Confederacy.
Samuel E.
Smith was the oldest son of Elijah F. Smith and Nancy Vanlandingham Weir Smith.
He was born January 1, 1840. Samuel’s brother Elias Guess Smith was born two
years later. The boys grew up in Greenville, Kentucky where their father Elijah
worked as a blacksmith.
At the
time of the 1860 census, twenty-year-old Samuel was listed as a “student”—I
believe he was a law student, preparing for his post-war career as a lawyer.
Eighteen-year-old Elias was working as a schoolteacher.
 |
| 1860 census |
When war
broke out on April 12, 1861, Elias quickly volunteered, travelling to nearby
Hopkinsville to enlist as a private in the Confederate 9th Infantry just
ten days later on April 22, 1861. He was in Muster Company C.
Less than
a year later, Elias fought in the battle of Shiloh and was wounded on April 6,
1862. He died of his wounds on April 29, and was apparently buried somewhere in
Tennessee near the battlefield.
 |
| Elias Smith's Civil War Record from Ancestry Databases |
Samuel
made a very different choice, enlisting in the Union Army. Did Samuel’s legal
studies lead him to a different conclusion about the war’s rationale than his
younger brother? Did he disagree with secession? Was he an abolitionist like
others in his mother’s extended Weir family?
I wonder how
his parents and siblings reacted to his choice. Was Samuel alone in his
beliefs? And how did the family react when Elias was killed in battle? Was
there resentment that Samuel supported and was part of the Union Army that was
responsible for Elias’ death? The year 1862 was one of great heartbreak for the
family. In addition to Elias’ death, Elijah and Nancy lost two other children,
three-year-old Edward and infant Esther. So much loss.
I have not been able to identify Samuel’s military records on Fold 3 or other Civil War databases, so I don’t know exactly when he either enlisted or was drafted. I know that he survived the war, and following the war he was referred to as “Captain Samuel E. Smith”, so I hypothesize that he must have been promoted to the rank of captain before the war’s end. I found one record for a Samuel W Smith (W for Weir, his mother’s maiden name?), listed as a 1st Lieutenant on “D.S.” to another officer. D.S. stands for Detached Service, which is a temporary duty assignment to another unit. As 1st Lieutenant is only one grade below captain, I suspect the Samuel Smith in this record might be the correct one, but I cannot verify it as yet.
Samuel
seems to have returned to Kentucky by January 23, 1864, which is when he married
Emma C. Milligan. Had he already left the Union army, or was he on leave? I can
find no records that shed light on the date he mustered out.
Following the war, Samuel continued to support the Union. He ran for Congress in the second district of Kentucky as a Republican candidate—an unpopular choice in that part of Kentucky.
The local Owensboro newspaper was scathing, saying he was a
“radical”, not a Republican.
“Capt.
Samuel E. Smith, a young lawyer of Greenville, appeared as the champion of
radicalism. His address was principally a rehash and repetition of the radical
literature of the day, interspersed with the usual hosannas to the spread-eagle
bird of America, and peons of praise to the so-called loyal and progressive
element of the country. He informed the audience that he favored and endorsed
nearly all the tyrannical actions of Stevens and Sumner, and their satelites
(sic) towards the South, except negro
suffrage—presuming, we suppose, that that pill would prove a little too
nauseous for Kentucky to swallow just now….”
The editor
continued:
“We
exceedingly regret to see any one bearing the proud title of Kentuckian
enlisting himself in the ranks of a party who have imposed such degradation and
tyranny upon the white race of the country as has the party of…Mr. S…..[H]e
found but few disciples here ready to throw themselves before the black
jugurnaut (sic) car of radicalism—a fact we are proud to record. As it was the
first public speech ever uttered in this community in advocacy of the
principles of a party whose mission is the white man’s degradation, so we hope
it be the last.”
He ended
his 3-column long piece encouraging Owensboro residents to vote, asking:
“Are
the people of our State willing to ratify the action of the vindictive, radical
and destructive body of Jacobins at Washington, and raise their voices in
chorus with these infidel dervishes, and proclaim this shall be no longer a
white man’s government, but a miserable, loathsome, semi-negro oligarchy?...Let
your watchword be that the color of your own race is thicker than the cowardly
cringing subserviency to a wild, frenzied and despotic power…”
The
article also exhorted “foreigners”—those we now refer to as immigrants—to vote
Democrat and oppose the Republican Party.
“Foreigners,
remember the present vindictive and radical party will proscribe and
disfranchise you as readily, and give your rights to the negro, as they have
done in the South…They hate foreigners just in proportion as they love the
negro.”
The brazen
racism in this article is horrifying, and demonstrates the difficulties Samuel
Smith faced as a Republican candidate in Kentucky. He is quoted as telling
supporters that the Democratic candidate Brown and his supporters:
“…talk about the Reconstruction Bill, the
Civil Rights Bill and the Tenure of Office Bill with derision and contempt. The
same sentiments which actuated them at the beginning of the war are still
lurking in their venomous and malicious bosoms this day as bitter and
proscriptive as ever before. I am led to believe from the manifestations of
treason and the spirit of revenge that has come under my observation in several
portions of this district, if a little reconstruction was done in our own old
noble commonwealth it would be better for her people.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Samuel Smith was soundly trounced in the election, with the Democrat John Young Brown receiving over 8000 votes to Smith’s 2000. Smith surprised the district by contesting the election, arguing that Brown had provided aid and comfort to the Confederacy, making him ineligible to run for office under the post-war law.
Congress ended up deciding the election,
concluding as follows:
“Resolved,
That John Young Brown, having voluntarily given aid, countenance and
encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility to the United States, is
not entitled to take the oath of office as a representative in this House from
the Second Congressional District of Kentucky, or to hold a seat.
Resolved,
That Samuel E Smith, not having received a majority of the votes cast for a
Representative in this House from the Second District of Kentucky, is not
entitled to a seat.
Resolved,
that the Speaker be directed to notify the Governor of Kentucky that a vacancy
exists in the representation in this House from the Second Congressional
District.”
Samuel and
his wife stuck it out in Greenville after the election, even though community
feelings probably ran against them. They appear on the 1870 census, below.
Samuel is still working as a lawyer, but I suspect his business fell off
dramatically among the Democratic party supporters.
Samuel and
his wife also lost two infants during these difficult years. Their third child,
Clarence M. Smith, who survived to adulthood, was born November 15, 1871. Four
years later, Samuel moved his family to Evansville, Indiana. Indiana had supported
the Union during the war, and the Republican Party had strength in the state.
He probably felt he would fit into the community better than in his hometown.
From
articles in the Evansville newspaper, it appears he built a successful legal
practice and became a valuable community member. He also travelled back to his
hometown of Greenville, Kentucky in August of 1876 to give a speech at a
“Republican Flag and Pole Raising” event held at the courthouse. The Evansville
newspaper printed a letter about the event, which said, “Mr. Samuel E. Smith of
Evansville, formerly of this place, delivered a most effective and able speech,
in fact one of the happiest of his life.”
Tragically,
Samuel Smith died on April 20, 1882 at only 42 years of age. Evansville city
death records attribute his death to pneumonia. The newspaper coverage was
amazing and touching. His Presbyterian Church leadership issued resolutions
honoring him, saying in part that Samuel “was ripe in judgment and
discretion…and had by his gentle nature and manly qualities won the esteem and
affection of all who came in contact with him.” It noted that he was the
respected Superintendent of the Sunday School.
The local
bar association also passed resolutions honoring him. They read in part:
“The
kindness of a man’s nature, his acts of charity, his good words for his
neighbors, together with unflinching integrity, constitute the elements of
character that make the best citizen, the kindest neighbor and the truest
friend. And when with these elements of character we find a mind educated and
logical to a marked degree, coupled with an unconquerable will and never-ending
devotion to principle, we have one of whom nature might stand up and say to all
the world, this is a man! Captain Smith possessed all these qualities. He was a
friend whose friendship no man doubted. His charity was larger than his purse.
His kind acts and words have incited to a better life many men and taken
comfort to many homes. As a lawyer he was also faithful, honest and capable,
true to the interests of his clients... “
The
article concluded with the notation that “owing to the incapacity of the
residence of the late Captain S.E. Smith to accommodate the attendance of the
many friends of the deceased, it has been decided to hold the funeral services
at Evans Hall….The great edifice will no doubt be filled to the doors on the
occasioin.” The Knights of Honor, the Red Ribbon Club, and the Grand Army of
the Republic gathered to march to the funeral.
Surprisingly
and sadly, I found no mention of his death in the Greenville, Kentucky
newspaper despite the fact that his relatives continued to live there. I wonder
if Willis Smith (Lorene’s father) attended his brother’s funeral. I hope the
family rift wasn’t so great that his siblings had cut him off.
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| Photo of base of monument. Oak Hill Cemetery, Evansville, Indiana. Photo from Findagrave. Photographer Vicki Sakel Sprengel. |
Samuel E.
Smith must have been an extraordinary man to have merited such an outpouring of
grief and respect after living in Evansville for a mere seven years. He lived a
life of principle, supporting the Union in the war despite his own brother and
probably other family members supporting the Confederacy. He acquitted himself
well in war, rising to the rank of Captain.
 |
| Photo from Findagrave. Vicki Sakel Sprengel photographer. |
His
peacetime life showed equal courage and principle. He stood up for unpopular
political positions. He contributed to his community through his legal practice
and in his personal life. I wonder what he could have accomplished had he lived
to a ripe old age.
Sources:
Elias G
Smith in the U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865. Historical Data Systems, Inc.;
Duxbury, MA 02331; American Civil War Research Database.
National
Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, online <a href="http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/"
target="_blank"http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss//a>, acquired 2007.
Returns
From U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916; Microfilm Publication M617, 1550 rolls;
NAID: 561324; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1984, Record
Group 94; The National Archives in Washington, D.C. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1571/images/32169_126579-00126?pId=4867444
“Friends
of Liberty to the Breach”. Article on Congressional Race in Owensboro
Monitor, May 1, 1867. Accessed on Newspapers.com.
“Contested”.
Louisville Daily Courier, June 24, 1867. Accessed on Newspapers.com.
“Congress
voids 2d District contested election.” Louisville Daily Courier, January
22, 1868. Accessed on Newspapers.com.
Evansville
Journal articles:
“Republican Flag and Pole Raising”, Aug. 5, 1876. “Mr. Samuel E. Smith opens
law office”. Sept. 2, 1875. Accessed on Newspapers.com.
Evansville
Courier and Press. April 22, 1882. “Samuel E Smith:.Action of the Evansville
Bar Yesterday Afternoon.” Accessed on Newspapers.com.
Evansville
Journal. Evansville Indiana. April 24, 1882. “The Last of Earth. The Remains of
Capt. S. E. Smith Consigned to Their Final Resting Place.” Accessed on
Newspapers.com.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80763130/samuel-e-smith
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