James Leander Smith enlisted in Company A, 17th Texas Cavalry on 1 February 1862 in Nacogdoches, Texas, according to his Confederate pension application in Shelby County, Texas, dated 3 February 1908. The physician examining him found James "weak and feeble from old age, hardwork and exposure." James was diagnosed "very much emaciated only weighing 105 lbs."

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