The Soldier
With little more than eight hours’ notice, Dr. Smith, along with Company B, took the early train from Groton and arrived at Lowell, Massachusetts, by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of April 16. Here they met the other companies of the regiment at Huntington Hall, where they listened to patr...
The Doctor
Shortly after the Eighth Regiment Massachusetts arrived in Washington, Dr. Smith performed what is widely reported as the first amputation of the Civil War. When the Eighth Regiment arrived on the evening of April 26, the men stacked their guns along the wall in the Capitol Rotunda wher...
The Husband
Dr. Smith returned to his wife and stepdaughter and finally found the stability of love and family that had eluded him early on. Although Mary Jane’s move to Groton and Dr. Smith’s departure for war so soon after strained the relationship, he would reassure her in a letter from Baltimo...
