The following information is from Janice Brown, an avid researcher and a friend of mine.
James Axley Stevens, captured along with Thomas Smith on
New Year's Day, 1862, survived the war and returned home to Ohio County. Born in 1817, he was the son of Henry Stevens
and Hannah Bennett, both of whom are said to have come to Ohio County, from Montgomery
County, Maryland.
The Stevens and Smith families appear to be closely
connected and some of the families may have intermarried. Almost five years later, on the 21st day of
October, 1869, Thomas Smith's friend, James A. Stevens, gave an affidavit,
along with several others, on behalf of and for the benefit of Kitty Ann, when
she was trying to obtain a widow's pension.
In this affidavit, James declared and made oath:
"that he
and Thomas Smith were both members of Capt. William H. Porter's Company of
Home Guards, and that on the 1st day of January, a squad of the company were
guarding Borah's Ferry on Green River by order of Colonel McHenry of the
17th, who was then at Hartford, and the Rebels then held Bowling Green
and the ferry way between those points, and that the squad was captured
by the Rebels, and affiant and Smith were retained in custody until 15th
Sept. 1862 when they were paroled and sent to Annapolis, Md. Smith was sick
at the time they were paroled, and Thomas was sent to a hospital and died there
of diahrrea (sic) which disease he caught while a captive."
Kitty Ann
(Jenkins) Smith, then age 32, was never to see her husband again. She was left
with a small farm near Cromwell and the duty of raising their five young
children, ranging in age from six months to eleven years. She eventually obtained a widow's pension by
a special Act of Congress. It took a
special Act because her husband was in the Home Guards, and not a soldier in
the regular U. S. Army. But, because the
Home Guard militia had been ordered out by Col. John McHenry of the 17th
Kentucky Regiment, Thomas Smith's duty at Borah's Ferry was considered to be
active war service. She was granted a
pension of $8.00 per month as shown in the Special Act of Congress.
Additional information about Thomas Smith: Thomas Smith begins in Meade County, Kentucky in 1849, where I first found
documented record of Thomas' marriage to Catherine Ann "Kitty Ann"
Jenkins. They were married by George H.
Hicks, M.G., on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1848. Further documentation was found in the
"consent" records wherein Benjamin Shacklett Jenkins, father of Kitty
Ann, gave his consent to Mr. Fairleigh, the county clerk, requesting him to
issue a license for his daughter to unite her in marriage to Thomas Smith. Likewise, Thomas F. Smith, father of Thomas,
Jr., gave consent for his son to be joined in matrimony with Kitty Ann
Jenkins. This was recorded in the Meade
County, Kentucky Marriage Bonds Consent notes.
Both were required to have the consent of their parents because they
were under age to marry.
Further, John James Leach was also captured and imprisoned and returned home as did James Axley Stevens. Janice tells the following story that was told to her by her great-aunt, Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Smith) Sandefur: "Auntie said that when the war was over, Thomas Smith was too sick to return home by foot, and the Leach friend went to get him in a wagon to take him to back home in, and before he could get back to the prison -- upon his return there -- he found that Thomas Smith had died two days before."
My grandmother went on to say that the men in the family took a wagon and went down to Green River to meet the boat when it was expected to come in, with the Ohio County men on it and to get Thomas Smith to take him home. Of course, they found out he was not on the boat because he had died. My grandmother said his wife, Kitty Ann (Jenkins) Smith had made him his favorite pie - a cherry pie, to welcome him home. Thomas Smith did not live to see his youngest son born."
John James Leach died May 12, 1892 at home near Cromwell at age 63. He was a Mason and he is buried in the Williams family cemetery.
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