Washington County Georgia Biographies Zachariah Smith

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msmithjr@nlamerica.com  Milo Smith, Jr.

Georgia Table of Contents: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm

Descendants of ZACHARIAH SMITH

ZACHARIAH SMITH
Milo Smith, Jr.
ZACHARIAH SMITH was born April 07, 1824 in WASHINGTON
COUNTY, and died September 16, 1863 in WASHINGTON COUNTY.
He married SOPHIA BURNETTE November 14, 1854 in
WASHINGTON COUNTY, daughter of ISMA BURNETTE and
ELIZABETH HUTCHINS.

In the 1848 tax digest, he owned 46.5 acres of pineland
adjoining Peacock and his brother, Thomas B. Smith and
paid a tax of 43 and 42/100 cents. In 1849 his land
remained the same, but in 1850 and in 1851 he sold his
land and paid a poll tax of 25 cents.

In the 1850 census he was living with his brother. Thomas
B. Smith and both owned 46.5 acre farms. In the 1860
census, he was living in the 89th District on his farm
which was worth $1,200.00, and his personal property was
worth $2,700.00. Living in his home were his wife,
Sophia, 23, Micajah A., 6, Silas, 4, and a two month old
infant. His farm consisted of 80 acres of improved land
and 300 acres of unimproved land. His tools were worth
$15.00. His livestock consisted of 1 mule, 8 oxen, and 55
hogs worth $400.00. He produced 18 bushels of wheat, 400
bushels of corn, 3200 pounds of cotton, 12 bushels of
peas, 100 bushels of sweet potatoes, 2 tons of hay,
$50.00 worth of home manufacturers, and $104.00 worth of
animals slaughtered.

THEY HAD FIVE CHILDREN AS FOLLOWS:

(1) Robert E. Smith born December 6, 1863, died February
15, 1944  married Anne Frost, born April 7, 1873, died
December 13, 1933

(2) Charles A. Smith, never Married

(3) Silas Smith, born September 24, 1857, died September
30, 1890, married Mamie Vickers, who later married Tom
Jones

(4) Macajah Addison M. Smith, Born January 24, 1856,
never married, died August 12, 1885

(5) Zachariah D. Smith, born on November 16, 1869, never
married, died on November 18, 1879

Zachariah was a private in Co. H, 2nd Regiment, Georgia
State Line Troops, CSA.He entered the service of the
Georgia State line sometime in February of 1863 according
his wife sophia's widow's pension application filed in
September of 1863 in Johnson County, Georgia.. Perhaps he
entered the service at the time of the call to arms on
February 11, 1863 by Colonel (at that time Captain)
Beverly D. Evans. We do know that Lt. Col. Beverly D.
Evans, who had a law practice and lived in Sandersville,
Washington County, Georgia, headed up this particular
unit. 

The Confederacy had two Acts of Conscription of men into
the war. The first was for men up to the age of 35, and
the next was for men from 35 to 45 years old, and took
place in October of 1862. Micajah would have been 38
years old at that time since he was born in 1824. Lt.
Colonel Evans began in September of 1862 when he was
elected Colonel of the 13th Regiment of the Georgia State
Milita. He was determined to raise a company for
Confederate Service and he had gathered about thirty men
when the word of the Governor's call for two State
regiments reached him. He decided to offer his men for
state service and recruited up to the necessary strength,
drawing not only from Washington County, But from Warren
County and Emanuel County as well, despite what he called
the "relentless hands of the conscription officers"." The
company styled the"Joe Brown Volunteers," was accepted in
January 1863. Upon acceptance of the state captaincy to
which his men elected him, Evans resigned the militia
colonelcy which until that time had protected him from
Confederate conscription. As the time approached for
regimental organization, Captain Evans had the following
notice printed in the Sandersville Central Georgian for
February 11, 1863:

Attention Joe Brown Volunteers! You are hereby ordered to
parade at Sandersville MONDAY 16th instant at 12 o'clock
P. M. for inspection and pay and to be formally enrolled
in the State Service, pursuant to orders from the
Adjutant and Inspector General. Every member of the
Company will be expected to be present and no excuse
considered valid that accounts for his absence. Each
member will bring with him a Blanket, Quilt, or
Counterpane, and also at least two days rations to
subsist on, preparatory to take the cars for Fort Valley,
Houston County, Georgia, the place of rendezvous
designated.

The rendevous for regimental elections was to be on the
16th, but not at the place designated. Quartermaster
General Foster had not carefully investigated Fort
Valley's suitability as a rendezvous point; he discovered
only five days before the troops were to assemble that
the village was entirely unsatisfactory: "Timber scarce,
no running water in four miles, few wells, deep and
poorly supplied with water."

Foster Suggested that one of the two stations on the
Central of Georgia Railroad, Gordon, or Griswoldville,
would serve. The govenor chose Griswoldville and
telegrams were hastily dispatched to the company
commanders involved, notifying them of the change.

Griswoldville was near to the line between Twiggs and
Jones Counties, the site of a battle on November 22,
1864. The forces engaged were, 2nd Brigade, 1st.
Division, XV Corps, Army of the Tennessee and two
regiments of calvary (US); 1st. Division Georgia Milita
and Calvary Corps, Department of South Carolina, Georgia,
and Florida. The Union Commander was Brig. Gen. Charles
Walcutt (US) ; Brig. Gen. Pleasant J. Phillips and Maj.
Gen. Joseph Wheeler (CS) The casualties were estimated at
712 total, of which the Union forces lost 62 and the
Confederate forces lost 650 men. The result was, of
course, a Union victory. So at Griswoldville, the Second
Regiment met, while the First Regiment assembled above
Atlanta at Big Shanty, location of Camp McDonald. The
Second Regiment's encampment, called Camp Wayne after the
adjutant general, was located west of Sam Griswold's
industrial village. Thus the early beginning of Zachariah
Smith's unit the 2nd Regiment of the Georgia State Line.

He was supposed to have been at Camp Wilson on August 10,
1863. Camp Wilson is located about 115 miles north of
Atlanta. It's location on an 1863 map showing the posts
and camps of the Georgia State Line Troops, also shows
that it was about 8-10 miles south of Ringold, Georgia on
Chickamuga Creek and what was the Western and Atlantic
Railroad. Also located about that area was Catoosa
Platform, Camp Coosa which was later renamed Camp Wilson,
possibly for Captain, later Colonel James Wilson a
thirty-four old lawyer from Terrell County who had
earlier served 15 months in the 5th Georgia Regiment.

Zachariah's son Robert E. Smith said he died of "camp
dysentary", but his wife Sophia's pension application in
Johnson Co., Georgia says he died of measles while at
home on furlough. The application also verifies the date
of his death as September 16, 1863 when he was only 39
years old, which is incorrectly listed in Elizabeth
Newson's Washington County Toomstone Book as September
16, 1868. He is buried at the Young cemetary and Sophia
is buried at the City Cemetary in Glenwood, Georgia. We
also do not know at this time when they moved to Johnson
County from Washington County, since Sophia apparently,
at least at the time she made application for a pension,
was living in Johnson County. Sophia Burnette died in
Wheeler on January 28, 1905 where she had been living
with her youngest son Robert E. Smith. She lived with him
the latter days of her life. He had moved there from
Washington County around 1900 and then he moved back to
Johnson County sometime before 1910, where he lived until
sometime after 1920 he moved to Dublin, Georgia, Laurens
County, and lived for a time East of Dublin on now
Highway 80 just outside of town where he engaged in
farming. Additional information pertaining to the
"Georgia State Line", Zecharih's regiment and his company
muster roll may be found may be found in a book in the
Laurens County Library by the name of "Joe Brown's Army,
The Georgia State Line, by William Bragg.

A SPECIAL NOTE:

August 24, 1997

Zachariah Smith was the father of Robert E. Smith, the
Grandfather of Milo Smith, Sr. and the great-grandfather
of William R. "Bill" Smith and Milo Smith, Jr. William R.
"Bill" Smith and Milo Smith, Jr. have in their posession
several pieces of confederate money that apparently
belonged to their great-grandmother, Sophia Burnette
Smith. Some of this is actually printed on the backs of
real newspapers. Apparently the South was so desperate to
keep money in circulation that they had resorted to
printing it on anything that they could. This money was
left to them by their father, which was handed down to
him by his father, Robert E. Smith. This money, was in
all probability the former property of Robert's mother
Sophia. They also have in their posession a Confederate
Bond. This bond is is a "coupon bond" whereby the
purchaser could clip a coupon each six months and redeem
it. It is also a bearer bond, that is, no person's name
is stated on the face of the bond, it could, in fact,
have been redeemed by anyone who had posession of it. The
original face value of this bond was $500.00 and
apparently only one coupon was ever clipped, since only
one is missing.

Our recollection from having been told by our father,
Milo Smith, Sr. is that their great grandmother, Sophia,
after our great grandfather went off to the war, sold the
farm and bought this bond. The agricultural census record
of 1860 shows that he had a farm that consisted of 380
acres of both "improved" and "unimproved" land, and that,
according to the census, was worth $1,200.00, which was
quite a sum at that time. If our recollection is/was
true, then her selling the farm might tie in with the
fact that he died with measles while at home on furlough
from the Confederate Army. Robert E. Smith, our
grandfather, was born after his father died.

We know that this is a genuine CSA Bond, however for
verification purposes we have also found the following
information.

(1) Stated on the face of the bond is "AUTHORIZED by the
ACT of CONGRESS, CSA of AUGUST 19, 1861. (This was one of
the official authorizations dates)

(2) The official record shows that 1,933 of this type of
bond was issued with this authorization date.

(3) The record also shows that the official engraver was
"DUNCAN"

(4) The record also shows that the official due date for
redemption of this bond was to be July 1, 1877.

(5) The picture on the face of this bond was a man by the
name of Howell Cobb. (He was Major General Howell Cobb
who commanded the Georgia State Guards and an archenemy
of then Govenor Joe Brown)

(6) The record also shows that this particular bond was
number "1699" out of 1,933 that were issued.

(7) The face amount of this bond was $500.00

Notes for SOPHIA BURNETTE:

The year was 1863. The Civil War had been going on since
1861. The war had not yet come to Middle Georgia, but
many brave young men from Washington County had already
left for service in the Confederate Military. The men
from Washington County had been assigned to the 28th
Georgia Infantry, which was headquartered at Camp Stevens
near Griffin Georgia. This unit later served through many
of the important battles of the Civil War such as
Manassas Junction, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Seven Pines,
Seven Days Battle, Malvern Hill, South Mountain,
Antietam, Fredicksburg, and Chancellorsville. By August
of 1863 the Georgians were in Charleston, and help
garrison Forts Wagner and Gregg on Morris Island, and
later Fort Johnson, and Fort Sumpter. In February of 1864
the 28th fought at Olustee under command of Captains
William Crawford and James Banning. The 28th Georgia lost
ninety-five in the battle The regiment fought at Cold
Harbor and Petersburg before being assigned to North
Carolina where it surrendered in 1865. The Confederacy
had two conscriptions for men to serve in the military.
The first one was for men who were from 18 through 35
years of age. However, in October of 1862 the Confederacy
issued another conscription which would take men from the
age of 36 through 45. Beverly D. Evans, who had a law
practice in Sandersville, at the request of then

Governor Joe Brown,issued a call to arms for men of that
area. Colonel, at that time Captain, Evans issued this
call to arms on February 11, 1863.

At the request of the Governor, Lt. Colonel Evans began
in September of 1862 when he was elected Colonel of the
13th Regiment of the Georgia State Militia. He was
determined to raise a company for Confederate service and
had gathered about thirty men when the word of the
Governor’s call for two State regiments reached him in
Sandersville. He decided to offer his men for State
service and recruited up to the necessary strength,
drawing not only from Washington County, but from Warren
County and Emanuel County as well, despite what he called
the “relentless hand of the conscription officers”. The
company styled the “Joe Brown Volunteers”, was accepted
by the State of Georgia in January of 1863. Upon
acceptance of the State Captaincy to which his men
elected him, Evans resigned the militia colonelcy which
had until that time protected him from Confederate
conscription. As the time approached for regimental
organization, Captain Evans had the following notice
printed in the Sandersville Central Georgian for February
11, 1863.

Attention Joe Brown Volunteers! You are hereby ordered to
parade at Sandersville MONDAY 16th instant at 12 o’clock
P.M. for inspection and pay to be formally enrolled in
the State service, pursuant to orders from the adjutant
and inspector General. Every member of the company will
be expected to be present and no excuse considered valid
that accounts for his absence. Each member will bring
with him a Blanket, Quilt, or Counterpane, and also at
least two days rations to subsist on. preparatory to
taking the rail cars for Fort Valley, Houston County,
Georgia, the place of rendezvous designated. Zachariah
Smith answered this call on February 16, 1863!

Zechariah Smith was born on April 7, 1824 in Washington
County, Georgia. He was a son of Micajah and Elizabeth
Duty Smith. Micajah was born in Chatam County North
Carolina on July 18, 1786, a son of Colby and Anne Henry
Smith. Colby Subsequently moved to Burke County, Georgia
and then to Washington County Georgia where Micajah
probably met Elizabeth and they married around 1810.
Sophia Burnette Smith was born in Washington County,
Georgia on September 15, 1832. Her father was Isma
Burnette and her mother was Elizabeth Hutchins. Her
father, Isma was from a line of Burnetts who can be
traced back to around 1790 in Martin County, North
Carolina. The Burnetts subsequently moved to South
Carolina and then to Burke and Washington County,
Georgia.

Sophia and Zachariah had met in Washington County where
they later married on November 14, 1854, and they lived
there until they moved to Johnson County. The minutes of
Bethany Baptist Church located in Washington County,
shows that they joined the fellowship of that church
August 11, 1859. According to the 1860 agricultural
census of Washington County, Zachariah and Sophia were
farming on some land in the 89th District in Washington
County. That census showed their farm was worth $1,200,
and their personal property was worth $2,700. Living in
the home at that time were Zachariah, age 36, Sophia, age
28, Micajah Addison, age 4, William Silas, Age, 3 and a
two month old infant named Zachariah D. Smith. Zachariah
and Sophia managed somehow to accumulate the sum of
$500.00. It could have been from the sale of personal
property, or it could have been from the sale of some of
their farm land, which according the agricultural census
in Washington County, they had a total of 380 acres of
land which was valued at $1,200.00. On the 6th day of
January 1863, they purchased a Confederate Bond with this
$500.00, a coupon Bond, which was but one of the several
types of bonds issued by the Confederacy during the war.
According to the statement on the face of the bond, the
bearer would be able to redeem a coupon every six months
until the July of 1877 when it was all supposed to be
paid off. Unfortunately for Sophia, the war ended, the
South having lost, and the bond was worthless, only one
coupon was ever clipped from the bond.

When Zachariah was getting ready to leave with his unit
of the Georgia State Line Troops, they found that Sophia
was pregnant and that she would be expecting, probably in
December of that year. When Zachariah left home to join
his unit they had at home Charles Smith, 2 years old,
William Silas Smith, 6 years old, Micajah Addison Smith,
7 years old, and

Zachariah D. Smith, 4 years old. All the business and
farming affairs were left in the hands of Sophia.

As Zachariah’s regiment had notified him, they were to
assemble on the 16th of February and rendezvous at Fort
Valley, Georgia. Quartermaster General Foster had not
been careful to investigate Fort Valley’s suitability as
a rendezvous point; he discovered only five days before
the troops were to assemble that the village of Fort
Valley was entirely unsatisfactory: Timber scarce, and no
running water in four miles, few wells, and poorly supp
lied with water."

Foster suggested that one of the two stations on the
Central of Georgia Railroad, Gordon or Griswoldville,
would serve. The governor choose Griswoldville and
telegrams were hastily dispatched to the company
commanders involved notifying them of the change.
Griswoldville was near to the Twiggs and Jones County
lines, the site of a later battle on November of 1864. So
at Griswoldville, Zechariah’s regiment, the Second
Regiment met, while the First Regiment assembled above
Atlanta at Big Shanty, location of Camp McDonald. The
Second Regiment’s encampment, called Camp Wayne after the
adjutant general was located west of Sam Griswold’s
industrial village. Zachariah was officially assigned as
a private in Company H, 2nd Regiment, Georgia State Line
Troops, CSA. Thus the early beginnings of Zachariah
Smith’s unit of the Georgia State line.

From February to April of 1863 the State Line was sent to
form part of Savannah’s garrison, and then was sent
briefly to Charleston, SC in early April. By August 10,
1863, Zechariah’s unit was at Camp Wilson, Georgia. This
Camp was about 115 miles north of Atlanta. It’s location
on an 1863 map showing the posts and camps of the Georgia
State Line Troops, also showed that it was about 8-10
miles south of Ringold, Georgia on Chickamauga Creek and
what was then the Western and Atlantic Railroad. Also
located in that area was Catoosa Platform, Camp Coosa,
which was later renamed Camp Wilson, possibly for
Captain, later Colonel, James Wilson, a thirty-four old
lawyer from Terrell County who had earlier served 15
months in the 5th Georgia Regiment. Apparently Zachariah
developed measles at Camp Wilson sometime during the
month of August. Like any other diseases of that day,
they did not have a medical cure for measles and
subsequently his unit commander sent him to Washington
County and his wife Sophia. He did not live very long
after returning home. and he died on September 16, 1863
at the age of 39.

The effects of his death must have been extraordinarily
difficult for Sophia since she was left with four small
children at home and was expecting another in December.
Soon after Zachariah’s death in September, Sophia filed a
widow’s pension application in Johnson County. With no
one at home to help with the children or the farm. she
faced the prospect of a bleak and long winter. While her
parents were still living, and doubtless some relatives,
the loss of her husband and the prospect of another small
child at home must have been very painful for Sophia.

Little did She know at that time, her life was to suffer
many more hardships before it was over. Her eldest son,
Micajah Addison graduated from the Medical College of
Georgia in August of 1884 at the age of 24 years old. He
then set up a practice of medicine in Johnson County and
Laurens County around Lovett, Georgia and practiced there
for a relative short period of time. He became sick with
typhoid fever and returned home to his mother and died
soon thereafter on August 12th of 1885 at the age of 29.
Her son William Silas lived to begin a family, but also
died at an early age of 33 on September 31, 1890 of
typhoid fever, his wife being pregnant with their child
for four months when he died. 

Her son Zachariah D. Smith was not married. He had the
measles but he liked to hunt so much that he went hunting
anyway. While he was on this hunting trip, he was trying
to cross a rainswollen creek on a fallen log, and slipped
into the creek. He became very ill after he arrived at
home, developed pneumonia and died just a short time
later of complications from measles and pneumonia at the
age of 20 years. Her son Charles Smith also never
married. He was at one time the treasurer of Washington
County. Like his brothers, he became sick with typhoid
fever and died shortly thereafter at the age of 49 years.

However, on December 6th of 1863, three months after her
husband had died, and ninteen days before Christmas,
another son was born to Sophia Burnette Smith. His name
was Robert Eugene Smith. He was to become the father of
Milo Smith, Sr. along with eleven other children and the
Grandfather of William R. Bill Smith and Milo Smith, Jr.

While celebrating Christmas in 1863, Sophia must have
felt like she had a lot to be thankful for after all.

       Children of ZACHARIAH SMITH and SOPHIA BURNETTE are:

ZACHARIAH D.6 SMITH, b. WASHINGTON COUNTY, GEORGIA; d. November 18, 1879, WASHINGTON COUNTY, GEORGIA.

MICAJAH ADDISON SMITH, b. January 24, 1856, WASHINGTON COUNTY, GEORGIA; d. August 12, 1885, WASHINGTON COUNTY, GEORGIA.

Notes for MICAJAH ADDISON SMITH:

HE GRADUATED FROM THE MEDICAL COLLEGE AT AUGUSTA IN 1884

HE THEN PRACTICED MEDICINE IN JOHNSON COUNTY NEAR SCOTT, GA., AND LAURENS COUNTY NEAR LOVETT, GEORGIA FOR A RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. HE BECAME SICK WITH TYPHOID FEVER AND RETURNED TO HIS MOTHER'S HOME IN WASHINGTON COUNTY WHERE HE DIED ON AUGUST 12, 1885 AT THE AGE OF 29. HE IS BURIED IN THE YOUNG CEMETARY IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, GEORGIA. HE WAS NEVER MARRIED.

WILLIAM SILAS SMITH, b. October 24, 1857, WASHINGTON COUNTY, GEORGIA; d. September 03, 1890, WASHINGTON COUNTY, GEORGIA.

ROBERT E. SMITH, b. December 06, 1863, WASHINGTON COUNTY, GEORGIA; d. February 15, 1944, DUBLIN, LAURENS COUNTY, GEORGIA.

CHARLES T. SMITH, b. November 10, 1861, WASHINGTON COUNTY; d. June 06, 1910, WASHINGTON COUNTY.

Submitter: Milo Smith, Jr.
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