Nathan B. Smith was born in Morgan County, Ohio on August 5, 1837, the son of John I. Smith and Edith Spencer. When the Civil War broke out, he was an unmarried, 24 year old farmer living in Meigsville Township, five foot-ten inches tall, with blue eyes, black hair and a fair complexion. He enlisted in McConnelsville on December 9, l86l into Captain Chandler's company (Company K) of the 77th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for a term of three years. The company was sent to Marietta, Ohio for mustering in. Later Smith would claim that he suffered from chronic diarrhea and stomach trouble caused by impure water and improper diet while stationed there.

His aliments did not affect his military efficiency. Mustered in as a private, Smith was promoted after a month to 3rd sergeant, on January 11, l862. In the regiment’s first action, he was slightly wounded three times. He would later call it the battle of Pittsburgh, Tennessee, but historians refer to it as Shiloh. The attrition of the officers from death and wounds in this battle resulted in a Smith being promoted to 1st Sergeant on April 26, l862. During the siege of Corinth, Mississippi from April .30 to May 30, l862, he contracted malarial fever and received treatment at Chawalla, Tennessee for about a month.

After six months of front-line action, the regiment was sent to Alton, Illinois to recuperate. It remained there about a year, performing garrison duty at the Prison that was located there. Nathan Smith continued to move up the ranks. On October 21, l862, he was formally commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant, re-enlisting as an officer for three years. Although still suffering from illnesses, being hospitalized in February and August 1863, he was well enough to get married on June 28, 1863 in Shipman, Montgomery County, Illinois to Miss Emily Caroline Rhoads.

In the fall of 1863, the 77th Ohio returned to action in the battle of Little Rock, Arkansas on September 10, 1863. Shortly thereafter, from October 28 to December 22, 1863, Lt. Smith was detached from the regiment to command the guard for the train that ran from Little Rock to Duvall's Bluff. In March 1864, he was again guarding a train, this time the one that ran to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. After being engaged in the battles at Okolona on April 5 and Prairie D'Ann from April 10 - 15, the regiment fought in the battle of Marks' Mills, Arkansas on April 25, 1864. A large portion of the regiment, including Lt. Smith, was captured in this engagement.

The prisoners were taken to Camp Ford at Tyler, Texas, the largest prison camp in the western portion of the Confederacy. While he was imprisoned there, the 77th Regiment was consolidated into the 77th Battalion, composed of six companies instead of original ten. Thus Lt. Smith became 2nd Lieutenant of Company F. After 10 months imprisonment, he was paroled at Red River Landing, Texas on -February 25, 1865. He was given a furlough in March, presumably to visit his family, and rejoined his company in April. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant of Company B on April 17, l865. At this time he also given special duty as acting adjutant, which he performed until his resignation on July 7, l865 at Clarksville, also referred to as San Diego and Brazos Santiago, Texas.

Settling near Raymond in Montgomery County, Illinois in September l865, Nathan Smith and his wife became the parents of children Edith on October l4, l867, Charles C. on November 28, 1868 and Oscar on October 28, 1876. After fifteen years in Illinois, the family moved across the Mississippi River in December 1880 to DeWitt in Clinton County, Iowa. Five years later, in February l886, they moved again, this time to Sumner County, Kansas, living near Conway Springs and Milton. On May 28, 1916, Nathan B. Smith died in Conway Springs. His wife followed him March 25, 1925.

Nathan’s body was returned to Morgan County, Ohio for burial in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.