Persifor Frazer Smith (November 16, 1798May 17, 1858) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer during the

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

and

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. As commander of U.S. forces in California, he was one of the last military governors of the occupied territory before

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

became a state, and died during the

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

conflict.

Early life

Smith was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, the son of Jonathan and Mary Ann (Frazer) Smith. His maternal grandfather was Revolutionary War figure Persifor Frazer. General Smith is sometimes confused with his cousin, also named Persifor Frazer Smith, who was a well-known lawyer in Philadelphia. Persifor Frazer Smith the lawyer was the son of Joseph Smith (brother of Jonathan Smith) and Mary Frazer (sister of Mary Ann Frazer). Other notable relatives include his cousin,

Joseph Smith Harris Joseph Smith Harris (April 29, 1836 – June 1, 1910) was an American surveyor, civil engineer, and railroad executive. Largely self-taught, he worked on several projects for the U.S. government, including the Coast Survey of the Mississippi ...

Career

Smith served as a colonel of volunteers in the

from 1836 to 1838, before taking part in the Mexican–American War. He commanded the 2nd Brigade in Worth's Division at the

Battle of Monterrey In the Battle of Monterrey (September 21–24, 1846) during the Mexican–American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by the Army of Occupation, a force of United States Regulars, Volunteers an ...

. He was

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in September 1846 and joined

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

's army as commander of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division. He led his brigade at the battles of

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

, Cerro Gordo, and Contreras. He was brevetted

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

for actions at Contreras and fought in the battles for Mexico City. He served on the armistice commission and then as military governor of

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. He was an original member of the Aztec Club of 1847. After the war, Smith commanded the Pacific Division of the U.S. Army, predecessor of the

Department of the Pacific The Department of the Pacific or Pacific Department was a major command (Department) of the United States Army from 1853 to 1858. It replaced the Pacific Division, and was itself replaced by the Department of California and the Department of Or ...

. In 1849, in his capacity as commander, he sent relief parties across the Sierra Nevada in the fall to meet the last arrivals in the emigration, saving many lives. Smith next commanded the U.S. Army's

Department of Texas The Department of Texas was a military department of the United States Army that existed from 1850 to 1861, and again from 1865 to 1866, from 1870 to 1913 and during the First World War. It was subordinate to the Military Division of the Missouri. ...

in 1850–1856, wherein he selected the site for Fort Davis and issued orders for the establishment of Fort Lancaster. Smith was commander of the U.S. Army's

Department of the West The Department of the West, later known as the Western Department, was a major command ( Department) of the United States Army during the 19th century. It oversaw the military affairs in the country west of the Mississippi River to the borders of C ...

at Fort Leavenworth during the

conflict, which included the

sacking of Lawrence The sacking of Lawrence occurred on May 21, 1856, when pro-slavery settlers, led by Douglas County Sheriff Samuel J. Jones, attacked and ransacked Lawrence, Kansas, a town which had been founded by anti-slavery settlers from Massachusetts w ...

by proslavery forces in May 1856, the Pottawatomie massacre by John Brown and other abolitionists at month's end, Col. E.V. Sumner's forcible dispersal of the territorial legislature on July 4, 1856, the

Battle of Osawatomie The Battle of Osawatomie was an armed engagement that occurred on August 30, 1856, when 250–400 pro-slavery Border ruffians, led by John W. Reid, attacked the town of Osawatomie, Kansas, which had been settled largely by anti-slavery Free-Sta ...

in August 1856, and following the installation of a new territorial governor, the Marais des Cygnes massacre in May 1858. Obeying the request of Territorial Governor

Wilson Shannon Wilson Shannon (February 24, 1802 – August 30, 1877) was a Democratic politician from Ohio and Kansas. He served as the 14th and 16th governor of Ohio, and was the first Ohio governor born in the state. He was the second governor of the Kansas ...

, a proslavery sympathizer in the process of being removed from office, in September 1856, General Smith sent 1,300 troops to protect the Lecompton territorial capital from a threatened attack by freesoilers.

Personal life

General Smith married his first wife, Frances Jeanette Bureau, in 1822. Their only child, Howard Smith, became a physician and surgeon. After his first wife died in 1852, General Persifor Frazer Smith married Anne Monica Millard Armstrong, widow of Francis Wells Armstrong.

Death and legacy

Smith died at Leavenworth, Kansas, while trying to quell a disturbance three years before the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. He is buried at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

in Philadelphia. His son, Dr. Howard Smith, who practiced medicine in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, most of his career, served on the staff of C.S.A. General

Kirby Smith General Edmund Kirby Smith (May 16, 1824March 28, 1893) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded the Trans-Mississippi Department (comprising Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, western Louisiana, Arizona Territory and the Indi ...

, and his stepson,

Frank Crawford Armstrong Francis "Frank" Crawford Armstrong (November 22, 1835 – September 8, 1909) was a United States Army cavalry officer and later a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He is also known for being the only C ...

, rose to

in the Confederate States Army.Black, Robert W., ''Cavalry Raids of the Civil War'' (2004)

References

* New International Encyclopedia, Vol XVIII, New York, Dodd, Mead and Company, 1912 {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Persifor F. 1798 births 1858 deaths Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Military personnel from Philadelphia United States military governors of California American military personnel of the Mexican–American War People of the Conquest of California Members of the Aztec Club of 1847 American people of the Seminole Wars 19th-century American politicians