April 11, 1865

Sarah Jane Smith, a Confederate sympathizer who sabotaged Union military telegraph wires and poles during the Civil War, was released from Alton Military Prison. Little is known about her life. At the time of her father’s enlistment in the Confederate army, Smith moved repeatedly between Springfield, Missouri, and Washington County, Arkansas, often under the company of refugees. Following her release from a Springfield jail for sabotaging four miles of telegraphing poles and wires, Smith was arrested once again for cutting a military telegraph outside of Rolla, Missouri. Originally sentenced to death by hanging, her sentence was later reduced to imprisonment for the duration of the war.