Leon Smith
Leon Smith was a Confederate soldier from Scott County who died during the Civil War. However, little is known about him.
See Also: Scott Countians killed in war
Background
In his book, Scott County in the Civil War, Paul Roy lists Leon Smith as a soldier who was “captured and confined to a prisoner of war camp, where he died during the war.” His information comes from the book Scott County, Tennessee and Its Families, published by the Scott County Historical Society. Roy mentions in his book that this “might be the same man as the Leonida Smith, son of Isaac M. Smith, mentioned in his father’s will which was probated on August 1, 1853.” Roy also mentions that Leon Smith married Sally West, who, following his death, married Christopher Columbus Sexton.
Isaac M. Smith was the Methodist circuit rider who settled down in what is now the Ponderosa area of Oneida. He married Matilda Elliot. Their son, Leonidas Smith, did indeed serve in the Civil War, fighting for the Confederacy. The Smith family was one of the few families in Scott County that were pro-Confederacy. In fact, their devotion to the rebellion caused such a split in the Methodist church during the war that Isaac Smith was forced to leave Scott County and return to his native Virginia. He returned to Scott County after the war ended.
Biography
Leonidas Smith was the son of Rev. Isaac M. Smith (1795-1867) and Matilda Rose Elliot (1800-1867). His siblings included Richard Warren Smith, John Lee Smith, Mary Polly Smith, Rebecca Jane Smith, Martha Smith, Ewel W. Smith, Malinda Smith, Martha Smith, Nova Smith, Lucinda Smith, Bailey Smith, Rhodes Smith, Rebecca Smith, Frankie Ellen Smith, and Polly Smith, according to a family tree compiled by Roger Hall.
When the 1850 census was taken, Isaac and Matilda were listed with 21-year-old R.J. Smith, 18-year-old Leonidas Smith, 17-year-old B. Smith, 15-year-old L. Smith, and 5-year-old Ewel Smith. These children may have been Rebecca Jane, Bailey, and Lucinda.
When the 1860 census was taken, Leonidas was listed as age 23, married to 22-year-old Sarrah Smith, with children James A., age 4; Betsy; and John H., age 1.
Based on those two census records, Leonidas was born between 1832 and 1837.
Civil War
There are several records of Leonidas Smith in the Confederate army during the Civil War, including as a sergeant in Co. F, 32nd Tennessee Infantry; Co. K, 3rd Infantry (enlistment date of May 15, 1861); Stuart’s Horse Artillery; and 18th Virginia Infantry (enlistment date of 1864).
According to Confederate pension files, the Leonidas Smith who served in the 32nd Tennessee Infantry appears to have been from Giles County, Tenn.
Separately, there’s a prisoner of war record for a Lee Smith of the 18th Virginia Infantry, though there’s no notation of the outcome. If Leonidas Smith was indeed a prisoner of war, he could very well have enlisted in the 18th Virginia Infantry in 1864. That would not be inconsistent with the family record, as the Smiths are known to have left Scott County and returned to Virginia for a period of time during the war, following an incident at Isaac M. Smith’s home that resulted in a Union loyalist being shot in the leg, a story related in H. Clay Smith’s Dusty Bits of the Forgotten Past.
(It should be noted that, as Roy noted in his book, Isaac Smith’s will was probated in 1853. Additionally, Matilda Smith was listed without Isaac in the 1860 census. Isaac Smith’s stone in the Carson Cemetery lists his death date as 1867. However, the stone is a more modern stone that was placed some years after his death. The probate record and the 1860 census are strong indications that Isaac Smith died in 1853 rather than 1867, which would disprove the Dusty Bits story of Civil War-era confrontation at the Smith home.)
Aftermath
When the 1870 census was taken, Sarah Smith was listed with children Albert (14), Jane (13), John (12), Etta (10), Jeremiah (8), Gilbert (4) and William C. (2). In 1880, she was living with John and his wife, Mary, in Anderson County, along with Jerry (Jeremiah?), Gilbert, William, Reubin (7) and Emely (4). In 1900, she was living with her nephew, Monroe Sexton, and his family.
Roy’s book states that Sarah Smith remarried to Christopher Columbus Sexton (1842-1901). However, other reports indicate that the two were never married. Although Sarah appears to have had children with Christopher C. Sexton, he married Nancy Phillips (1843-1912) in 1868.
Gilbert B. Sexton (1866-1933) and William Charley Sexton (1869-1912), listed with Sarah in the 1870 census, appear to be her children with Christopher. Reubin and Emely, listed in the 1880 census, may have been John’s children (her grandchildren).