Gustavus Woodson Smith

Gustavus Woodson Smith (November 30, 1821 – June 24, 1896), more commonly known as G.W. Smith, was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Mexican–American War, a civil engineer, and a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He briefly commanded the Army of Northern Virginia from May 31 until June 1, 1862, following the wounding of General Joseph E. Johnston at the Battle of Seven Pines, and before General Robert E. Lee took command. Smith later served as Interim Confederate Secretary of War and in the Georgia state militia.

Gustavus Woodson Smith
Gustavus Woodson Smith, photo taken during the Civil War 1861–65
Born	(1821-11-30)November 30, 1821 Georgetown, Kentucky
Died	June 24, 1896(1896-06-24) (aged 74) New York City, New York
Place of burial	Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London, Connecticut
Allegiance	United States of America  Confederate States of America
Service/branch	United States Army  Confederate States Army
Years of service	1842–1854 (USA) 1861–1863, 1864–1865 (CSA)
Rank	Brevet Captain (USA) Major General (CSA)
Commands held	Army of Northern Virginia
Battles/wars	Mexican–American War Battle of Cerro Gordo Battle of Contreras American Civil War Battle of Seven Pines
Other work	Civil engineer streets commissioner iron manufacturer insurance commissioner author
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Early life and Mexico

Smith was born in Georgetown, Kentucky, and was a brother-in-law of Horace Randal and a distant relative of John Bell Hood. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point as a brevet second lieutenant in 1842. Smith finished eighth out of 56 cadets while at West Point. He entered the Army Corps of Engineers afterward, and was promoted to second lieutenant on January 1, 1845.[1]

Smith fought in the Mexican–American War, winning two brevet promotions for his actions there. On April 18, 1847, he was appointed brevet first lieutenant for his service at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, and on August 20, 1847, brevet captain for his service at the Battle of Contreras. In 1848 he became an original member of the Aztec Club of 1847.

On March 3, 1853, Smith was promoted to first lieutenant. He resigned his commission on December 18, 1854, to become a civil engineer in New York City, and was Streets Commissioner there from 1858 to 1861.[1]

Civil War service

Smith's home state of Kentucky became a border state when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Some months afterward, he presented himself at Richmond to serve the Confederate States of America. Commissioned as a major general on September 19, he served in Northern Virginia as a divisional and "wing" commander, and fought in the Battle of Seven Pines near Richmond during the Peninsula Campaign.

On May 31, 1862, Smith briefly took command of the Army of Northern Virginia after Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was wounded at Seven Pines, due to his being the senior major general in Johnston's army. However, Jefferson Davis replaced him with Robert E. Lee the following day, June 1. On June 2, Smith became ill and took a leave of absence to recuperate.[2]

In late August, Smith returned and took command of the defenses around Richmond, which was expanded to become the Department of North Carolina & Southern Virginia in September. In addition, he acted as interim Confederate States Secretary of War from November 17 through November 21, 1862.

He resigned his commission as a major general on February 17, 1863, and became a volunteer aide to General P. G. T. Beauregard for the rest of that year. Smith was also the superintendent of the Etowah Iron Works in 1863 until June 1, 1864, when he was commissioned a major general in the Georgia state militia and commanded its first division until the end of the war.[1]

Postbellum life

Smith was paroled in Macon, Georgia, on April 20, 1865, and moved to Tennessee to become an iron manufacturer from 1866 to 1870. He moved back to his native Kentucky to become Insurance Commissioner until 1876, and then moved to New York City and began writing. Smith authored Notes on Insurance in 1870, Confederate War Papers in 1884, The Battle of Seven Pines in 1891, and Generals J. E. Johnston and G. T. Beauregard at the Battle of Manassas, July 1861 in 1892. His final work, Company "A," Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., 1846–48, in the Mexican War, was published in 1896 after his death.

In December 1894 he was one of nineteen founders of the Military Order of Foreign Wars - a military society for officers who were veterans of wars with foreign nations and their descendants.

Smith died in New York City in 1896 and is buried in the Cedar Grove Cemetery in New London, Connecticut.[1]

See also

• List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)

Notes

1. Eicher, p. 495.
2. The war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies. Series 1, Volume 11 (Part III), p. 685

References

• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.

External links

• Works by Gustavus Woodson Smith at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Gustavus Woodson Smith at Internet Archive