James Smallen was born in Ireland on August 3, 1840. He immigrated to the United States with his parents, James and Hannah Smallen.

During the Civil War he joined the Union Army. Lt. J. F. Marsh recruited him at Preston, Minnesota on August 15, 1862. James was living in Amherst, Minnesota at that time. The company in which he enlisted, Company E of the 7th Minnesota Volunteers, mustered at Fort Snelling, Minnesota on September 24, 1862.

They were camped within two miles of Capt. Grant at Birch Coolie on September 31st, during the Indian Wars. They were in the Battle of Wood Lake also. They then went to Camp Release, but abandoned it on October 24th. The winter of 1862-1863 was spent in Madelia, Minnesota and a fifteen day leave of absence was given to James starting on the 18th of February.

After returning from his leave James was detailed to help build a stockade on the south branch of the Watonwan River. On April 16th there was a skirmish with the Indians and a bullet hit him in the upper right arm. He spent the next three or four months in and out of the hospital at Mankato, Minnesota. He was on detached duty in Mankato until sometime in October of 1863.

Sometime in late October or early November he was sent to St. Louis, Missouri for detached duty at the St. Louis District Headquarters. James was an orderly for Maj. General Fisk. The rest of his time in the Army he was an orderly and messenger attached to the St. Louis District Headquarters.

On June 24, 1865 he was discharged from the Army. Two days later, in Ramsey County, Minnesota, James filed a declaration for Invalid Pension because of the wound that he received in April of 1863. A pension of twelve dollars per month was granted because of this and later appeals. This amount was later raised to twenty-four dollars per month while in a Soldiers Home.

James married Susan (Bursley) Schelefoo in Santiago, Minnesota on October 3, 1870. Susan was the widow of William Schelefoo, a Union soldier who was killed in a battle during the Civil War. William and Susan had a daughter named Cynthia.

Michael Anthony Smallen at James’ grave in Arlington National Cemetery

The first child of James and Susan was born on August 30, 1871. Her name was Marrion and was followed by seven brothers and sisters, namely James, Thomas, Mary, Martha, Robert, Julia, and the youngest, Edson. Thomas and Julia both died before their third birthday. James’ wife Susan died December 19, 1887 at the age of forty-two years. A short time later James put his youngest son, Edson, in a foster home and moved to St. Cloud, Minnesota to work as a desk clerk at the St. Germain Hotel.

Sometime before 1910, he moved to the Bristol, Virginia area and married a woman by the name of Lavina Snow. This marriage later ended in a divorce. On April 6, 1910, at the age of 70 (the marriage license says 68) he married Rosa Horton, who was 49 years old and her first marriage. James stayed with Rosa for three months, which includes the two and one-half months he was in the Soldiers Home in Johnson City, Tennessee. He left her on the 30th of July of that same year, and Rosa never saw or heard from him after that time. He never even told her that he was going.

On or before October 31, 1910 he was admitted to the Soldiers Home in Los Angeles, California. He was also reported to have been in the Soldiers Home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at one time or another. James ended up in St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. where he died on April 21, 1916. He was interred in Grave 18763, Section 17 of Arlington National Cemetery.