For the Iowa politician and lawyer, see Hiram Y. Smith

Hiram Y. Smith

Hiram Ypsilanti Smith was a nineteenth century Republican politician, lawyer and clerk from Iowa. For three months, he represented Iowa's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, after winning election to serve out the term of John A. Kasson following Kasson's appointment...

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For persons named Hyrum Smith, see Hyrum Smith (disambiguation)

Hyrum Smith (disambiguation)

Hyrum Smith may refer to:*Hyrum Smith , Latter Day Saint presiding patriarch and brother of movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr.*Hyrum G. Smith , presiding patriarch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

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Private Hiram T. Smith is a legendary casualty of the bloodless Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 Aroostook War

Aroostook War

The Aroostook War was an undeclared nonviolent confrontation in 1838/1839 between the United States and Great Britain over the international boundary between British North America and Maine. The compromise resolution win a mutually accepted border between the state of Maine and the provinces of...

, having died in 1839. Although one of roughly 38 men killed (all were non-combat deaths), he is the most famous because many locals consider him the only casualty of the war. A memorial placed in the middle of the Haynesville Woods along U.S. Route 2

U.S. Route 2

U.S. Route 2 is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada...

 that also added to his fame. In 1930, the Daughters of the American Revolution

Daughters of the American Revolution

The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....

(DAR) placed a wooden marker at the site and later updated it with a granite marker that still stands today.

It is unknown how exactly Smith died or why he stands out from the rest of the men who died, as there is no official reason for his death. There are several ongoing theories:

1) He froze to death. Temperatures in that area of Maine during the winter of 1839 reached negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit. However, many believe he died in the summer of 1839.

2) Run over by an army supply wagon.

3) Killed by a horse when he went to feed them.

4) Falling through the ice of Lake St. Clair. While he may have died from falling through the ice, there has never been a Lake St. Clair in Maine.

5) Shot for desertion. Probably also not true, as this would have had a record of some type.

6) Fell into a pond and drowned. A pond now called Soldier's Pond has a marker stating "Soldier's Grave Aroostook War 1838" which is attributed to Smith but the year would be inconsistent with reports he died in 1839, and is not the same marker the DAR erected.