Satronia is how her name appeared in her obituary that was carried by newspapers from across the country. Though she died in August 1928, she just received a headstone on Veterans Day, 2016. She had lain in an unmarked grave for over 80 years. Click (HERE) to read more.
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| Sophrona's marker with her husband's in the background |
It seems appropriate that she received the marker on Veterans Day since those 1928 newspaper articles claimed she was a Civil War veteran, a status that is denoted on her new stone along with another spelling of her name, Sophronia. Another spelling, according to a relative, is Sophrona. The Sioux City Journal from August 3rd, 1928, noted that she disliked the public and pretty much kept to herself. According to the article, "She had never ridden on a railroad train or seen a vaudeville show." But she did go to a movie a few years before she passed away.
Unfortunately, the articles didn't really divulge much information about her service other than she followed her husband to war and served at his side for about a month before an officer discovered her. Instead of being sent home, she was allowed to stay on with the regiment as a nurse in which capacity she served until she returned to Iowa following her husband's death from wounds sustained in battle. After the war, she met John Hunt, another veteran, and the couple married. But nothing was known about Sophronia's first husband whom she followed to war. Newspapers never mentioned the battle where he sustained his mortal wounds, his unit, or even his correct name. All that was known was that his last name was Smith, a name that makes all researchers and genealogists quake with fear, gnash their teeth, curse, and pull hair in frustration. A dose of chocolate is usually a good remedy.
So armed with this scant information, off I went to search for Sophronia. One pension led to another, and behold!
Sophronia's Background
She was born in 1846 as Sophronia Allen to Cyrus Allen of Vermont and Eunice Lewis of Connecticut. At some point prior to 1840, the Allens moved west from their New England home. Along the way, children were born. Older siblings, George, Clarinda, and Aaron came into the world in Ohio. And then Sophronia was born in Illinois as the Allens continued their trek. (The 1880 census reported that she was born in Missouri. Newspapers specifically said her home was Boone County, Missouri. However, I believe this was a mistake. All other census reports note that her birthplace was Illinois. The South Sioux City Eagle from August 9th, 1928, claimed that she lived in the Ozarks for several years. So the family may have lived briefly in Missouri, but I don't think Sophronia was born there. )
In 1850, the Allens, who were farmers, were living in Fremont County, Iowa. And then in the state census in 1854, they appear in Rockford Township located in Pottawattomie County. Two years later, they moved to West Township in Montgomery County and then had returned to Fremont County by 1860. However, Sophronia was not with them. She remained in West Township with her mother's parents, Nathan and Clara Lewis. Maybe this had something to do with the Allens perhaps experiencing growing pains as they had added two more children to the family by 1860: Andrew and Eunice. At some point, however, it appears that Sophronia returned to Pottawattomie County because she was married there.
James Andrew Jackson Smith
Prior to the war, Charles W. Smith moved his wife, Margaret, and their six children from Tennessee to Iowa. In 1860, the farming family was living in Magnolia Township in Harrison County. James was listed as 16, the second oldest. When hostilities broke out the following year, the Smiths remained neutral. Due to their Tennessee roots - Margaret was originally from Alabama before moving to Tennessee - they may have harbored Southern sympathies which initially kept James and his older brother, Robert, out of the military. Or perhaps they merely wanted to be left alone to live their lives in peace and quiet. Regardless, the Smiths farmed their Iowa land while their neighbors marched off to fight for the Union cause.
At some point within the next couple of years, James met Sophronia. The two fell in love and went before Justice of the Peace F.A. Burke in Council Bluffs of Pottawattamie County, Iowa to wed on September 11th, 1863. A mere four months later, the newlyweds faced separation as James enlisted. The catalyst that led him to finally join the army is unknown. Perhaps he faced growing pressure from his neighbors, or even Sophronia herself. Perhaps he developed strong Unionist sympathies. Or more likely, he was drafted. Regardless of his motivation, James Smith enlisted in Co. C of the 29th Iowa Infantry on January 4th, 1864. He was 22 years old, 5'5" tall with dark hair and dark eyes. (So if he was 16 in 1860, he should have been about 20 in 1864 - depending on his birthday. I have no answer for the discrepancy in ages from the 1860 census to the age he gave upon enlistment.)
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| Plaque marking the site of Camp McClellan in Davenport, Iowa. This is where the Smiths mustered in to the 29th Iowa and also where Sioux prisoners were held after an uprising in 1862. Sophronia's second husband in the 2nd Nebraska Cavalry was involved in suppressing it. |
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| Back of the stone containing the plaque marking the location of Camp McClellen in present-day Lindsay Park in Davenport, Iowa. The Mississippi River is in the background. Sophrona, James, and other Iowa soldiers were sent south by steamer after mustering in here. |
After mustering in at Davenport, Iowa, James went south. And 17-year-old Sophronia cut off her hair, donned male clothing, and went with him. James' brother, Robert, however, did not. I could not find him in any unit. Nor could I find him in census reports after 1860. One family tree on Ancestry claimed that he died in 1860. Although I could not confirm this, that may very well have been the case. Sophronia's military-age brothers, George and Aaron, didn't serve either. Yet according to the 1928 newspaper articles, Sophronia did.
Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, Arkansas
When the Smiths reached the 29th Iowa in the winter, the unit was in Little Rock, which had fallen into Federal hands the previous September 1863.
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| 29th Iowa Infantry in winter quarters at Little Rock |
The regiment remained there until March when General Frederick Steele's Camden Expedition began. The Federals marched across southern Arkansas with a goal to join forces with General Nathaniel Banks at Shreveport in his Red River Campaign, which was supposed to result in an invasion of Texas. But lack of supplies steered Steele back towards Little Rock. Once the Federals reached the Saline River, they discovered it to be high, which forced them to construct and deploy pontoon bridges in order to cross.
Rain began to fall on April 29th, 1864, and continued for 18 hours. James Smith and his comrades would spend that miserable night in a soaked cornfield. The next day, they continued their trek towards Jenkins' Ferry. However, Confederates led by Kirby Smith caught the Federals, who were mired in the mud, from behind and attacked on the 30th. Of the ensuing battle, Charles Musser of the 29th Iowa wrote, "So heavy was the musketry that we could not hear one another speak at four feet distance....The roar of battle was awful....Charge after charge was made by both sides in gallant style, and the ground was strewn with dead, wounded, and dying." The Federals were able to drive the Confederates from the field long enough to allow them to cross the Saline in the pouring rain. Musser noted that when the 29th Iowa crossed, the river was rising so fast that the pontoon bridge was already covered by two feet of water on one side.
The Federals escaped but in doing so, left their dead and wounded behind to suffer in the rain, mud, and blood that permeated the battlefield. To add to the misery, the wounded had fallen into Confederate hands. The 29th Iowa suffered 117 casualties during the battle of Jenkins' Ferry, more than 25% engaged. One of them was James Andrew Jackson Smith whose left thigh was badly broken by a musket ball. The limb was amputated on May 3rd. According to William L. Nicholson, surgeon of the 29th Iowa, he operated on him again on May 26th. In June, Smith was moved to a hospital in Princeton, Arkansas and then to Camden where he died as a prisoner of war the first part of October 1864.
I have been unable to find James Smith's grave. Some of his comrades who were killed during the battle were removed to Little Rock when the national cemetery was established there in 1869. However, the names have been lost to history. So he may be there. I also found some who died as POW's at Camden buried in Baton Rouge National Cemetery. Yet, I haven't been able to find him there either. Another option is that he was taken back home to Iowa where his grave hasn't been documented online.
Click [HERE] to visit a Facebook page dedicated to the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry.
As an aside, the opening scene in Spielberg's movie, Lincoln, shows events at the battle.
A Grieving Widow Returns to Iowa
It is unknown whether Sophronia was with James when he died. One must assume she was since she was serving as a nurse. As she watched his young life slip away, the reality must have struck her. After being married for less than a year, Sophronia found herself a widow and she was still just a teenager. The grieving Iowa woman returned home in mourning. She filed for a pension for her deceased husband's service and began receiving $8 a month from the government.
With her family, she moved to Nebraska where she met John Hunt.
John Hunt
Like Sophronia, Hunt had been born in Illinois and moved west. He was living in Nebraska when the war broke out and enlisted in Co. I of the 2nd Nebraska Cavalry in October 1862. He was 5'11" and 27 years old, 12 years older than Sophronia. With his dark hair and eyes, he may have reminded her of James.
The 2nd Nebraska Cavalry
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| Colonel Robert Furnas, front left, and staff of the 2nd NE Cav http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/military/CW/neincw/neincw.html |
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| Battle of Whitestone Hill http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/military/CW/neincw/neincw.html |
Hunt returned to farming his land and eventually met and married Sophronia. Their first child, Mary Ann, was born in 1867 (some sources say 1868). Viola, Charles, and John followed. In the 1900 census, Sophronia indicated that she had six children, four of whom were living. In 1910, she said only one child was still alive. This was Mary Ann who moved west to Washington where she died in 1955.
Following John Hunt's death in 1916, Sophronia filed for a pension. She lived alone and managed to care for herself until her death at the age of 81 on August 1st, 1928. She was buried in a gown she made fifteen years prior that she told her friends she wanted as her burial shroud.
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| Sophronia Allen Smith Hunt Courtesy Shirley Sides |
Documentation of Her Service
After checking the roster of the 29th Iowa Infantry, I could not find records for her. She supposedly served for only a month before she was discovered, so she may not have had any records for such a short period of time. Or if any existed, they may have been purged. Regardless, after Captain George Bacon exposed her secret, he apparently allowed her to stay with the 29th Iowa as a nurse. Yet William Nicholson, surgeon of the 29th Iowa, didn't mention her. This is also not surprising considering that Nicholson's account only covers a few months and ends prior to her husband's death. While she filed for pensions for both of her husbands, she never filed one for her own. She may not have felt she needed to. Plus, I'm sure she realized her uphill battle in trying to prove her service. The same reason may be why she didn't indicate on the 1910 census that she was a veteran while her husband, John Hunt, did. So far, the only evidence of Sophronia's service with her husband in the 29th Iowa Infantry is limited to the 1928 newspaper articles. It is not surprising, however, that she wouldn't have spoken about her adventures given her aversion to the public. Sophronia was illiterate, so there are no letters from her, and no corroborating letters or diaries written by male soldiers have been discovered. The lack of sources is disheartening but is not cause to dismiss the account. A lone source should be viewed as a stepping stone. Perhaps more will come to light later.
Until next formation....rest.
Additional Sources:
The Engagement at Jenkins' Ferry by William L. Nicholson
(click above)
The Sacred Cause of Union: Iowa in the Civil War by Thomas R. Baker, p. 196-197.
Harvest of Death: The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, Arkansas by Joe Walker.
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