Charles W. Smith
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 1st 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 1st 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.
526
DATABASE CONTENT
(526)Smith, Charles W.1838
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: 1st Lieutenant
  • Rank highest: 1st Lieutenant
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 4

  • (1339) [writer] ~ Charles W. Smith to Emma A. Leach, 25 January 1865
  • (3975) [writer] ~ Charles W. Smith to Emma A. Leach, 1 January 1864
  • (3976) [writer] ~ Charles W. Smith to Emma A. Leach, 21 November 1862
  • (3977) [writer] ~ Charles W. Smith to Emma A. Leach, 16 April 1865

People - Records: 1

  • (527) Leach, Emma A. is the [wife of] (526) Smith, Charles W.

Places - Records: 1

  • (294) [birth] ~ Connecticut

Show in Map

Regiments - Records: 1

  • (138) [enlisted] [I] ~ 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery
SOURCES

1860, 1870, 1880, and 1900 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; Charles W. Smith to Emma A. Leach, 16 April 1865, DL1652, Nau Collection