Who was Andrew Jackson Smith?

Answer: Andrew Jackson Smith (September 3, 1843 - March 4, 1932) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Honey Hill.

Andrew Jackson Smith was the last black Civil War soldier to receive a Medal of Honor. Smith was born on September 3, 1843, into slavery to Susan, an enslaved African American woman, and her white owner, Elijah Smith, in Lyon County, Kentucky. When his father enlisted in the Confederate army, intending to bring Smith along as a servant, Andrew and another slave ran away. After walking 25 miles through the rain, they arrived at a Union army encampment in Smithland, Kentucky.