Processed by
David Pfeiffer
20 February 2008
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
1 Manuscript Box and 7 Oversized Folders |
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COLLECTION |
1861–1913 |
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PROVENANCE: |
James Bopp, Jr. Terre Haute, IN January 2008 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
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ACCESSION |
2007.0388 |
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NOTES: |
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Charles M. Smith was born in Middletown, Ohio in May 1828. He later moved to Vigo County, Indiana and lived in Terre Haute. While in Ohio, he became a tinner. He served in the Mexican War as a private in Company K, 1st Regiment of United States Mounted Rifleman, which formed in New Orleans, Louisiana. After the war, he joined a filibustering campaign to Cuba in 1850 under Narciso Lopez, but the campaign ended in failure and the troops retreated to Key West. At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, he was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant in the 14th Indiana Infantry in Company F, and then he resigned and enlisted in the 31st Indiana Volunteers, and was elected captain of Company K in September 1861. This unit was part of fellow Indianan Lew Wallace’s 3rd Division at Fort Donelson and later took part in the Battle of Shiloh. In May 1864, he became a Lieutenant Colonel in the 133rd Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, which served in Tennessee, and then he enlisted with the 156th Indiana Infantry with the same rank. This regiment was actually only a battalion and performed guard duty in the Shenandoah Valley. In 1867, he lost all his possessions in a fire and accepted a position with the railway mail service as a mail agent and was employed until his retirement in 1907. He was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He died from complications of diabetes in 1909.
Belle Stevens was the daughter of Charles Smith. She also lived in Terre Haute.
Sources:
www.civilwardata.com Accessed on 6 February 2008.
Terrell, William H.H. Report of the Adjutant General’s Office. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana. [vol. 2, pgs. 117, 308, vol. 3 pgs. 299, 321, 372, 377] Indianapolis: A. H. Connor [etc.] State Printer, 1865–69. General and Reference Collection: E506.2.I39 T4 1865.
Welcher, Frank. The Union Army 1861–1865 Organization and Operations: [vol. 2 pgs. 581, 804] Indianapolis: University of Indiana Press, 1989. General and Reference Collection: E491.W34 1989 vol. 2
Information from collection
Charles M. Smith was a soldier during the Mexican War and Civil War and an employee of the railway mail service. This collection contains several Civil War period enlistment/discharge forms from the 31st, 133rd, and 156th Indiana Volunteer Regiments during his service from 1861–1865. There are also a few company rolls of enlisted men and letters. The letters mention General William “Bull” Nelson, General Charles Cruft, the request for the removal of an inefficient commander, and the Battles of Chickamauga and Fort Donelson. There is a picture of an unknown Union general included. Smith also served in the Mexican–American War and the collection has several documents from 1888–1907 as he attempted to gain a pension for time served.
Also included are several stock certificates. They include The Jones Bonanza Mining Company (1881), Deeds Metallic Packing Company (1886), and the Union Cereal Company (2 certificates and one dividend notice from 1902).
Another section contains material regarding his employment with the Post Office Department as a railway mail clerk. Documents include his release, appeal for rehire, paperwork regarding his rehire, and various promotions.
As a veteran, Smith communicated with the Treasury Department and the Department of the Interior with regards to his pension and receiving back pay. Several of these letters and forms are included in this collection, including one form for his daughter to claim his allowance after his death. There are also several miscellaneous forms such as mortgage payments, insurance forms for his house and later for his daughter Belle Stevens, purchase of a cemetery plot, and the cost of his funeral arrangements for his daughter. Finally, there are newspaper clippings from 1907 and 1909 covering his retirement and death respectively.
The collection is divided due to the oversize nature of some of the forms. OM 0467 contains several oversize letters about Smith’s Civil War service, some company rolls, and some insurance forms split into seven oversize folders.
The material is arranged by subject and ranges from 1861–1913.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Material related to the Mexican War and Pension, 1888–1907 |
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Civil War Enlistment/Discharge papers and Letters, 1862–65 |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Department of Interior Pension Forms, 1891–1903 |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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Treasury Department Forms, 1896–1910 |
Box 1, Folder 4 |
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Forms to Receive Back Pay, 1895–1903 |
Box 1, Folder 5 |
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Mail Railway and Post Office Related Material, 1886–1901 |
Box 1, Folder 6 |
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Stock Certificates and Material, 1881–1902 |
Box 1, Folder 7 |
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Mortgage Papers, Warranties, and Bonds, 1883–1902 |
Box 1, Folder 8 |
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Insurance Forms and Funeral Arrangements, 1909–13 |
Box 1, Folder 9 |
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Receipts, Contracts, and Miscellaneous, 1888–1910 |
Box 1, Folder 10 |
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Newspaper Clippings and Letters, 1907–09 |
Box 1, Folder 11 |
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Company K Roll, 31st Indiana Volunteers, 20 October 1861 |
OM 0467, Folder 1 |
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Letter confirming Smith as Captain of Volunteers 18 October 1863 |
OM 0467, Folder 2 |
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Appointment as Lt. Col. Of 133rd Infantry 18 May 1864 |
OM 0467, Folder 3 |
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Commissioning into 156th Infantry 13 March 1865 |
OM 0467, Folder 4 |
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Mustering into 156th Infantry 18 April 1865 |
OM 0467, Folder 5 |
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Alterations to 156th Infantry Roll May 1865 |
OM 0467, Folder 6 |
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Documents on the 133rd and 156th Infantry and Insurance Forms from after 1900 |
OM 0467, Folder 7 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, M 0956, OM 0467).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.