Andrew Jackson Smith (1843-1932)
January 21, 2018 by contributed by: Adam Rozen-Wheeler Andrew Jackson Smith was the last black Civil War soldier to receive a Medal of Honor. Smith was born on September 3, 1843, into slavery to Susan, an enslaved African American woman, and her white owner, Elijah Smith, in Lyon County, Kentucky . When his father enlisted in the Confederate army, intending to bring Smith along as a servant, Andrew and another slave ran away. After walking 25 miles through the rain, they arrived at a Union army encampment in Smithland, Kentucky. They were admitted to the camp, and Smith, in order to remain under the military’s protection, became a servant to Major John Warner of the 41st Illinois Volunteer Regiment. During his time with the 41st, Smith witnessed the battle of Shiloh and sustained a minor injury from a spent bullet. In 1862, while on a furlough in Illinois with Major Warner, he learned of President Lincoln’s deci...
