Private Nimrod Newton Smith

1827 - Abt 1865  (37 years)

• Name	Nimrod Newton Smith  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Title	Private
  Birth	27 Jun 1827	Anderson County, South Carolina, USA   [3, 5]
  Gender	Male
  Census	1860	McMinn County, Tennessee, USA   [5]
  	Residence Post Office: Cog Hill; Married to Margaret
  Military Service	23 Nov 1861	McMinn County, Tennessee, USA   [2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8]
  	Confederate Army - War Between the States; 59th Tennessee Mounted Infantry Regiment,Fought at the Battle of Vicksburg
  		War-Battle of Vicksburg (Civil) The Siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate Army of Mississippi, led by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, into the…
  Military POW	4 Jun 1863	Alton, Madison, Illinois, USA   [4, 7, 8]
  	Captured at Battle of Vicksburg, Died in Military Prison
  Death	Abt 1865	Alton, Madison, Illinois, USA   [4]
  	Cause: Killed in Action - Civil War
  	Died in Military Prison as a Prisoner of War
  Burial	Confederate Cemetery, Alton, Madison, Illinois, USA   [4, 7]
  		Confederate Cemetery (also known as Military Burial Grounds for Alt, North Alton Confederate Cemetery, Small Pox Island) Alton, Madison, Illinois Find a Grave: #105212 Plot: Confederate Casualties
  Person ID	I15000	A Tree Called Smith
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

  Father	Silas Smith,   b. 15 Feb 1802, Pendleton, Anderson, South Carolina, USA d. 1873, Hamilton County, Tennessee, USA (Age 70 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Nancy Virginia Swain,   b. 13 May 1797, South Carolina, USA d. 13 Jan 1863, Hamilton County, Tennessee, USA (Age 65 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	8 Jul 1824	Anderson County, South Carolina, USA   [9, 10]
  Family ID	F8819	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Margaret Louisa 'Eliza' Smith,   b. 20 Jan 1832, Tennessee, USA d. 17 Jan 1912 (Age 79 years)
  Marriage	27 Dec 1847	McMinn County, Tennessee, USA   [1]
  Family ID	F5459	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 27 Jun 1827 - Anderson County, South Carolina, USA Marriage - 27 Dec 1847 - McMinn County, Tennessee, USA Census - Residence Post Office: Cog Hill; Married to Margaret - 1860 - McMinn County, Tennessee, USA Military Service - Confederate Army - War Between the States; 59th Tennessee Mounted Infantry Regiment,Fought at the Battle of Vicksburg - 23 Nov 1861 - McMinn County, Tennessee, USA Military POW - Captured at Battle of Vicksburg, Died in Military Prison - 4 Jun 1863 - Alton, Madison, Illinois, USA Death - Cause: Killed in Action - Civil War - Abt 1865 - Alton, Madison, Illinois, USA Burial - - Confederate Cemetery, Alton, Madison, Illinois, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Arms Icons & Insignia

  Military Grave Marker - Southern Cross of Honor Killed in Action: American Service in the Civil War (Confederacy)

  
  

  Biographies and Histories

  History-Battle of Vicksburg (Civil War) The Battle of Vicksburg May 18- July 4, 1863 in Vicksburg, Mississippi Union Forces Commanded by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant Strength-~+mn~ 70,000, Killed & Wounded-10,142, Missing/Captured-303 Confederate Forces Commanded by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton Strength-~+mn~40,000, Killed & Wounded-9,091, Missing/Captured-29,491 …

  
  

  Wars & Battles

  War-Battle of Vicksburg (Civil) The Siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate Army of Mississippi, led by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, into the…

  
  

• Sources

  [S266] Ancestry.com, Tennessee, State Marriages, 1780-2002, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Lehi, UT ; Date: 2008;). Tennessee, State Marriages, 1780-2002 [S1119] National Park Service, U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2007;). [S361] Ancestry.com, U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2011;), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Tennessee; Series Number: M268; Roll: 336. [S1420] Ancestry.com, U.S., Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2007;). U.S., Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865 [S93] Ancestry.com, 1860 United States Federal Census, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2009;), Year: 1860; Census Place: District 15, McMinn, Tennessee; Roll: M653_1262; Page: 328; Family History Library Film: 805262. 1860 United States Federal Census Year: 1860; Census Place: District 15, McMinn, Tennessee; Roll: M653_1262; Page: 328; Family History Library Film: 805262 [S1629] Fold3 - Killed in Action: Nimrod N Smith, CSA (POW), PVT (Private) Nimrod N Smith, 59th Tennessee Mounted Infantry Regiment, CSA Captured at the Battle of Vicksburg and Killed in Action in Military Prison. https://www.fold3.com/page/637667389-nimrod-n-smith?xid=1945 [S1630] American Battlefields: Prison: Alton, (Name: American Battlefield Trust; Location: Washington DC;), CIVIL WAR - Alton Military Prison Site. The Alton prison opened in 1833 as the first Illinois State Penitentiary and was closed in 1860, when the last prisoners were moved to a new facility at Joliet. By late 1861, an urgent need arose to relieve the overcrowding at two St Louis prisons. On December 31, 1861, Major General Henry Halleck, Commander of the Department of the Missouri, ordered Lieutenant-Colonel James B. McPherson to Alton for an inspection of the closed penitentiary. Colonel McPherson reported that the prison could be made into a military prison and house up to 1, 750 prisoners with improvements estimated to cost $2,415. The first prisoners arrived at the Alton Federal Military Prison on February 9, 1862, and members of the 13th U.S. Infantry were assigned as guards, with Colonel Sidney Burbank commanding. During the next three years over 11,764 Confederate prisoners would pass through the gates of the Alton Prison. Of the four different classes of prisoners housed at Alton, Confederate soldiers made up most of the population. Citizens, including several women, were imprisoned here for treasonable actions, making anti-Union statements, aiding an escaped Confederate, etc. Others, classified as bushwhackers or guerillas, were imprisoned for acts against the government such as bridge burning and railroad vandalism. Conditions in the prison were harsh and the mortality rate was above average for a Union prison. Hot, humid summers and cold Midwestern winters took a heavy toll on prisoners already weakened by poor nourishment and inadequate clothing. The prison was overcrowded much of the time and sanitary facilities were inadequate. Pneumonia and dysentery were common killers but contagious diseases such as smallpox and rubella were the most feared. When smallpox infection became alarmingly high in the winter of 1862 and spring of 1863, a quarantine hospital was located on an island across the Mississippi River from the prison. Up to 300 prisoners and soldiers died and are buried on the island, now under water. A cemetery in North Alton that belonged to the State of Illinois was used for most that died. A monument there lists 1,534 names of Confederate soldiers that are known to have died. An additional number of civilians and Union soldiers were victims of disease and illness. During the war several different units were assigned to serve as guards at Alton. The 13th U.S. Infantry was followed by the 77th Ohio Infantry, the 37th Iowa Infantry, the 10th Kansas Infantry and the 144th Illinois Infantry. Formed at Alton specifically to serve as prison guards, the Illinois 144th was almost completely made up of Alton area residents. The prison closed July 7, 1865 when the last prisoners were released or sent to St Louis. The buildings were torn down over the next decades and the land was eventually used by the city as a park named after the Joel Chandler Harris character, "Uncle Remus, " from Song of the South. Stone from the prison buildings is found in walls and other structures all over the Alton area. The Confederate Cemetery contains the remains of Confederate soldiers and civilians who died while prisoners at the Alton Military Prison. The monument there includes the names of the soldiers who died at Alton. https://www.battlefields.org/visit/heritage-sites/alton-military-prison-site [S1631] USWars: Battle of Vicksburg - My Civil War, (Name: USWars;), Battle of Vicksburg. The Battle of Vicksburg May 18- July 4, 1863 in Vicksburg, Mississippi https://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/630518.html History-Battle of Vicksburg (Civil War) The Battle of Vicksburg May 18- July 4, 1863 in Vicksburg, Mississippi Union Forces Commanded by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant Strength-~+mn~ 70,000, Killed & Wounded-10,142, Missing/Captured-303 Confederate Forces Commanded by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton Strength-~+mn~40,000, Killed & Wounded-9,091, Missing/Captured-29,491 … [S315] Family Bibles, Family Bible of Silas Smith. Silas Smith married to Nancy Swain Jul 8th 1824 -- Caleb Wyatt Smith married Lucinda Newton Oct 6th 1857 -- John James Swain born Apr 21st 1825 departed this life Sep 17th 1845 -- A son born May 15th 1826 deceased same day -- Miriam Elizabeth Smith born Apr 25th 1829 and departed ? Oct 1830 -- Letisha Jane Smith was born Jan 24th 1834 and departed this life Aug 21st 1837 -- William Silas Smith was born Sep 17th 1835 and departed this life Aug 15th 1837 -- Nancy Smith Wife of Silas Smith departed this life Jan 13th 1863 Bible-SMITH Silas Family Records for the Silas Smith/Nancy Swain Family [S1747] Ancestry.com, South Carolina, Compiled Marriage Index, 1641-1965, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2005;).