Smith, William Earl, 1853?-1909

Born in Peoria, Ill. in 1853? Enlisted in the Army in 1876 and served for 18 months in Co. E, 4th Cavalry. Was Gen. Ranald S. Mackenzie's orderly during the Sioux campaign of 1876 and thereafter promoted to trumpeter. Promoted to the rank of corporal in 1878. Participated in Gen. Mackenzie's border raid into Mexico in 1878. Deserted October 1878. Court-martialed on desertion charges on April 11, 1879 and sentenced to a 3-year imprisonment at Fort Leavenworth. After his imprisonment he returned to Illinois and worked for the Rock Island Railroad. Died in Chicago in 1909.

Born in Peoria, Ill. in 1853? Enlisted in the Army in 1876 and served for 18 months in Co. E, 4th Cavalry. Was Gen. Randal S. Mackenzie's orderly during the Sioux campaign of 1876 and thereafter promoted to trumpeter. Promoted to the rank of corporal in 1878. Participated in Gen. Mackenzie's border raid into Mexico in 1878. Deserted October 1878. Court-martialed on desertion charges on April 11, 1879 and sentenced to a 3-year imprisonment at Fort Leavenworth. After his imprisonment he returned to Illinois and worked for the Rock Island Railroad. Died in Chicago in 1909.