Giles Alexander Smith (September 29, 1829 – November 8, 1876), was a general in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Biography

Smith was born in

Jefferson County, New York Jefferson County is a county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,721. Its county seat is Watertown. The county is named after Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United S ...

. When he was 18, he moved to southwestern

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, and for a decade engaged in business in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. In the late 1850s, he moved to

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the List of municipalities in Illinois, 13th-most populous ci ...

, where he was proprietor of a hotel. At the beginning of the Civil War, he joined the 8th Missouri Infantry Regiment, in which he became a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He took part in the capture of

Fort Donelson Fort Donelson was a fortress built early in 1862 by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River, which led to the heart of Tennessee, and thereby the Confederacy. The fort was named after Confederate general Da ...

, the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

, and the operations against

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

, becoming, later in 1862,

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

which he led at

Chickasaw Bayou Chickasaw Bayou is a stream in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is a tributary to the Yazoo River. Chickasaw Bayou derives its name from the Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. T ...

. After the final campaign against Vicksburg, on August 4, 1863 he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers to rank from August 4, 1863. He was wounded at the

Third Battle of Chattanooga The Chattanooga campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil War. Following the defeat of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Union Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga ...

. He took part in the Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign. He was appointed to the rank of major general of volunteers on November 24, 1865, the last one based on seniority for the Civil War. His brother

Morgan Lewis Smith Morgan Lewis Smith (March 8, 1822 – December 29, 1874) was a Union brigadier general in the American Civil War Biography Smith was born in Oswego County, New York. In 1843, he settled in Indiana, and later had some military experience in the ...

was a Union Army brigadier general of volunteers. Giles Alexander Smith - Brady-Handy

After the war, Smith declined the offer of a colonelcy in the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

. He was mustered out of the volunteers on February 1, 1866. He was subsequently engaged in Illinois politics, retiring from public life in 1872. Smith was an Illinois delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

. He moved to California in 1874 in a futile attempt to improve his health, but returned to Illinois two months before his death. He died at Bloomington, Illinois, and was buried in Bloomington Cemetery.Eicher, 2001, p. 495.

Notes

References

* * Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Giles Alexander 1829 births 1876 deaths American hoteliers People from Jefferson County, New York People from Bloomington, Illinois Union army generals People of Illinois in the American Civil War

Biography

See also

Notes

References