He walked with a cane and sang spirituals.And the former slave who fought for the Union Army told stories to his family.“He said he was once traded for a horse,” Clarence Coker recalled of his great-uncle, Alvin C. Smith.Private Smith, the last surviving Summit County Civil War veteran, died in 1948 a few days shy of his 105th birthday. He was honored Saturday on the 168th anniversary of his birth at a ceremony held at his grave at Akron’s Mount Peace Cemetery on Aqueduct Street.At the ceremony, Paul Huff, past commander of the General A.C. Voris Camp of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, told about 15 descendants of Smith gathered at the grave that “Alvin Smith not only fought to preserve our nation” but “ultimately Alvin Smith fought to prove he was worthy of being called a human being.”At the ceremony, the songs Battle Hymn of the Republic and the Battle Cry of Freedom were sung.“He was a very nice old gentleman,” said Coker, 80, of Akron, who retired from concrete work and carpentry.In 1998, a marker was placed on Smith’s grave.Smith was born in Kentucky in 1843 and was sold for $760.50 at the age of 19.He escaped slavery, crossed the Ohio River in 1864 and walked 30 miles to Hillsboro, Ohio, where he joined the Union Army by enlisting in the 27th Colored Infantry, said Jack Bowers of Streetsboro, commander of the General A.C. Voris Camp of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War.Smith fought in several important battles, including Petersburg, Va., on July 30, 1864.After the war, he moved to Akron, but began searching for his mother, brothers and sisters. He eventually found them in Kentucky, where they were hiding and living in secrecy, unaware that they had been freed as slaves, wrote African-American historian Shirla McClain in her doctoral thesis Contributions of Blacks in Akron 1825 to 1875, on file at the Akron-Summit County Public Library.Smith brought his family to Akron. He worked as a plasterer and lived in Akron the rest of his life.The wreath-laying ceremony at the cemetery included comments from Don Martin of Chillicothe, Ohio Department Commander of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, who spoke of the hardships and horror experienced by soldiers such as Smith.“Not unless we can see the long lines of bodies and hear the pitiful cries for water and the pleas for help, our imagination falls far short of reality,” he said. “It was the lack of provisions, the wounds, the deaths, the suspense, loneliness and suffering, the roar of cannons and crash of muskets and blare of the bugle sounding charge that turned into sounds of mourning, grief, shattered limbs and wasted forms.”The event at Mount Peace honoring Smith coincides with the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War in 1861.“We are trying to remember and honor Civil War veterans in each county, especially the last veteran in each county,” Bowers said.Smith was the great-great-great uncle of Quaid McIver, 23, of Akron, who attended the service.“His story is extraordinary,” McIver said. “The fact he went through such a hard life and still fought in the war is a big part of me. He helped where we are today to have freedom and the Constitution. It is important. He put his life on the line to make sure our country is united as one.”Coker said his great-uncle took part in many parades in Akron.He said he is thrilled that the Civil War group remembered his great-uncle.“It is most gratifying,” he said.Coker said he remembers the former slave and war veteran singing hymns; Jesus Loves Me was one of his favorites.Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or at jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.