Lewis Allison Highsmith
Agency patch
Customs Inspector

Lewis Allison Highsmith

Accident
End of Watch January 7, 1937
Age 48
The Vigil Panel 72 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Inspector Lewis Highsmith and Investigator William Butler, of the Internal Revenue Service - Alcohol Tax Unit, were killed in an automobile accident while traveling on official business from Wilmington to Raleigh, North Carolina.

As they approached the Black Lake Bridge, on Highway 301, the steering mechanism of their car failed and struck an abutment wall. Investigator Butler and Inspector Highsmith were both killed on impact.

Inspector Highsmith was survived by his wife.

Survivors

Inspector Highsmith was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-8ED4DE0E
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Customs Inspector Highsmith served with the United States Department of the Treasury.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Customs Inspector Highsmith.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Washington, DC
Platform Identity usdtuscsfed.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 7, 1937
Age 48
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Customs Inspector Lewis Allison Highsmith is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At United States Department of the Treasury - United States Customs Service, 44 of 94 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 46.8% of this agency's fallen.

United States Department of the Treasury - United States Customs Service
44
of 94 officers
46.8% Accident
DC — Statewide
454
of 1,419 officers
32% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Lewis Allison Highsmith's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Lewis Allison Highsmith Compares

Age at End of Watch
48
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Lewis Allison Highsmith is highlighted in Jan.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location