Washburn issued a militia commission to Ann Eliza Smith, the wife of Governor J. Gregory Smith. The Smiths were residents of St. Albans, and Smith had been in the state capital of Montpelier on the day of the raid. His home was a target, and when Mrs. Smith appeared in the front doorway carrying an unloaded pistol (the only weapon she could find), the raiders decided to bypass the house. Mrs. Smith then worked to organize the people of St. Albans to mount a pursuit of the raiders, which unsuccessfully attempted to prevent them from escaping to Canada. Washburn recognized her heroism by appointing her as a brevet lieutenant colonel on the adjutant general's military staff.