Deputy Sheriff

James Walton Smith

Felonious
End of Watch July 24, 1894
The Vigil Panel 12 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Smith and Deputy Charles Cole were shot and killed while attempting to serve warrants on a father and son involved in a previous murder. When the two deputies approached the family's home the suspects opened fire, killing both deputies. The previous murder was on July 15 at the strike where Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff B. W. Pearce was killed. Both suspects fled into nearby hills where the father was located by a posse. He was later tried for murder and acquitted. The son gave himself up to the Birmingham Police on May 7, 1897. In 1898 the charges were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

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August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

132 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Deputy Sheriff Smith served with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Birmingham community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Type Sheriff's Office
Location Birmingham, Jefferson County, AL
Platform Identity jcso.jefferson.al.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 24, 1894
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

James is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

34,117 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 1894, 70 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 103rd heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

When

July holds 9.3% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Tuesdays: 13.4%.

By month
By day of the week
III

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was gun, in 22.8% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
IV

His people

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has 24 officers remembered here, James among them.

Deputy Sheriff James Walton Smith

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office · End of Watch July 24, 1894

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 14-E

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