Charles W. Smith was born around 1838 in Connecticut, possibly to David and Anna Smith. He probably grew up in Litchfield County, Connecticut. By 1860, he was working as a painter and living with James Smith, who may have been his uncle.

 

Smith enlisted in the Union army on May 23, 1861, and mustered in as a private in Company I of the 1^st Connecticut Heavy Artillery later that day. The regiment took part in the Seven Days Battles, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the siege of Petersburg. He eventually received a promotion to 1^st lieutenant, and he mustered out on September 25, 1865. In April 1865, he reflected that "I am not half as good a man as thousands that have filled soldier's graves during the past month, but the danger is all over now and I am safe and sound so you can be as happy as you choose and rejoice over our glorious victorie with the rest of mankind." 

 

Smith returned to Connecticut after the war, and he married Emma Leach around 1866. They had four children, three of whom survived: Mary, born around 1869; Carrie, born around 1874; and Robert, born around 1883. The family lived in Plymouth, Connecticut, and Smith worked as a farmer. They moved to New Britain, Connecticut, sometime in the 1870s, and Smith worked in the town’s fish market. He died sometime after 1900.

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