ALBERT TITUS SMITH -- 83rd and 97th INFANTRYSADDLER/HARNESS MAKER WENT TO WAR - Albert Titus Smith was on the DraftRegistration Record for the Town of Lewis in June 1863. The followingmonth, the 30-year-old enlisted in the 83rd Infantry as a substitutein Plattsburgh and was sent to Virginia as a replacement recruit afterthe regiment had received 82 casualties at Gettysburg.For the next 10 months he remained with the 83rd, however during thefirst battle of 1864, at The Wilderness, he was severely injured in theankle by a Minié ball on May 6th and was sent to hospital.While he was in hospital, the 83rd Infantry came to the end of their3-year term and Albert was transferred to the 97th Infantry. It wasn'tuntil the end of October that he met up with the 97th about a monthafter they had suffered 111 casualties at the Weldon Railroad.Albert fought in the Petersburg area until he went on the AppomattoxCampaign. Two months after Lee's surrender, he was mustered out as acorporal on May 29, 1865, from a camp in the field.He returned home to Essex County to his wife and two children and hisparents. Albert supported his family by being a harness maker. Beforethe census was taken in 1880, Janet died, leaving Albert a widowerliving in Lewis, still working at his trade.
