That was a big question back in the day. Just how much Smithwick really remembered. He was blind and like 96 (?) years old when he dictated his memoirs to his daughter. When scholars later researched his stories and compared them with those of other who were involved in many of the same affairs they discovered very little variance in the dialogs. Birdy can expound upon this much more than myself.
But his stories are generally accepted as quite factual by the majority of historians. And he is quoted quite often. The old gentleman had quite a mind!!!
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
