Henry Carpenter Smither (July 28, 1873 – July 13, 1930) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer and

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

from 1906 to 1907, compiling a record of 7–2–1. Smither was born on July 28, 1873, at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark a ...

and was the son General Robert Gano Smither. He attended schools in

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000 United States Census, 2000. Burlington ...

, and graduated from West Point in 1897. Smither was a commanding officer during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

and the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served as an adjutant to

Peyton C. March General Peyton Conway March (December 27, 1864April 13, 1955) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He served in the Philippines, on the Mexican border, and World War I. March was the ninth Chief of Staff from 1918 to 1921, accomplishi ...

, the

Chief of Staff of the United States Army The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...

. Smither was promoted to brigadier general in 1925. Smither died on July 13, 1930, at the Olney sanitarium in

Lawrenceville, Illinois Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Illinois, United States, located along the Embarras River. The population was 4,348 at the 2010 census. Lawrenceville is located in southeast Illinois, northwest of Vincennes, ...

, following two operations for appendicitis.

Head coaching record

Notes

References

1873 births 1930 deaths American military personnel of the Philippine–American War American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Army Black Knights football coaches United States Army generals United States Army personnel of World War I United States Military Academy alumni People from Burlington, Iowa People from Fort Sill, Oklahoma Coaches of American football from Iowa Military personnel from Iowa Deaths from appendicitis {{1900s-collegefootball-coach-stub