Born in Georgia on October 3, 1841, he served in the Civil War in the 56th Regiment, New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry. He fought at Fair Oaks,Seven Pines, Malvern Hill. He died on October 5, 1900 and was originally buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He was reinterred in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery on October 20, 1917. His wife, Sarah Emma Barnes Smith (April 20, 1835-April 3, 1930) was buried with him on May 24, 1930.
Their son, Fred E. Smith, Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army, who was born on May 29, 1873, was killed in action in World War I while serving with the 308th Regiment, 77th Division, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). He was killed on September 29, 1918 in the Argonne Forest and was buried at Ramagne Sous Mont Falcion, Meuse, France. He was awarded the Medal of Honor and an “In Memory” section about him is included on his parent’s stone.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard