USA Bio William F. "Baldy" Smith

[Battleline]

3855 characters
Maj. Gen. William F. Smith (b. 1824, d. 1903) From First Manassas until well after the war was over, William Farrar Smith played a role in the Civil War and how it was represented to future generations. Smith, nicknamed “Baldy,” was a writer of several articles for the seminal Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. Born in St. Albans, Vermont, Feb. 17, 1824, Smith graduated fourth in the Class of 1845 at the U.S. Military Academy. He served the old army as an engineer in many survey and exploration duties before returning to instruct at West Point. He also served on the lighthouse board. With war coming, Smith was named colonel of the Third Vermont, to date from July 16, 1861, and served on Gen. McDowell’s staff at First Manassas. Smith was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers Aug. 13, 1861. During Gen. McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign, Smith commanded a division in the VI Corps, fighting at Yorktown, Williamsburg and in the Seven Days Campaign. At the White Oak Swamp, a stand of Smith’s men kept troops of Stonewall Jackson from flanking the Federal forces. His actions earned nomination for promotion to major general, which was to rank from July 4, 1862. At Fredericksburg, Smith led VI Corps. After Fredericksburg, Smith and William B. Franklin, the commander of the Left Grand Division, wrote a letter to Pres. Lincoln which was critical of Gen. Burnside’s plan for future operations. A friend of Gen. McClellan, Smith received punishment for his political blunder. Members of Congress wanted him removed from the army. Pres. Lincoln didn’t go that far. Smith was reassigned to command IX Corps in Newport News, Virginia. The Senate then refused to confirm Smith’s promotion and he reverted to a brigadier general of volunteers. Minor commands in Pennsylvania and West Virginia followed before Smith showed up in Chattanooga as chief engineer of the Department of the Cumberland. He immediately showed his abilities, helping to open a supply route to the beleaguered city. Smith’s pontoon bridge at Bridgeport, Alabama, was important to the Federals keeping the key city in Southeastern Tennessee. During the Battle of Missionary Ridge, Smith’s placement of batteries and use of temporary bridges impressed Gen. Grant, who urged for Smith to be promoted, calling him one of the most talented generals in the army. He received praise from Generals Sherman and Thomas as well. Finally, he was reappointed to major general to rank from March 9, 1864. When Grant went East, so did Smith. Here, Smith was assigned to command the XVIII Corps of Gen. Ben Butler’s Army of the James. Smith didn’t like his immediate commander, calling Butler “as helpless as a child on the field of battle and as visionary as an opium eater in council.” Smith’s corps was attached to the Army of the Potomac for the Cold Harbor battle. Smith tried Grant’s patience by complaining about Butler and Gen. George Meade, the Army of the Potomac commander. Smith was assigned to take his corps and a division of colored troops to capture Petersburg. Smith hesitated long enough for the Confederates to reinforce their position. Grant could defend Smith no more and “Baldy” was relieved of his command. Smith served in a number of noncombat roles for the rest of the war. He was breveted to major general, U.S. Army, during the omnibus promotions of March 1865. His last military assignment was to inspect the military situation west of the Mississippi River. Smith resigned his volunteer commission in 1865 and the regular army commission in 1867. He was a president of a cable telegraph company and served as president of the board of police commissioners. From 1881 until 1901, Smith worked as a civilian engineer on river and harbor improvements. He also wrote. Smith died in Philadelphia Feb. 28, 1903, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

[Gil R.]

Got it. Thanks.

[General Quarters]

Great bio. It wasn't until re-reading some stuff that I realized that Smith was considered a candidate for top army command. IIRC, Grant recommended him for AoP if they wanted to get rid of Meade. Given a chance to follow up on that recommendation, Grant did not reply, perhaps having meanwhile changed his mind. He also considered putting Smith rather than Sherman in charge of the AoT when Grant went to Washington.

[Gil R.]

Announcing the 300th edited bio! William “Baldy” Smith gets the honor. I’ll stop with him for now, since I like the idea of the upcoming patch having a nice, even number. Just 700 more to go!

This was one of those bios that was quite a struggle to shorten, since there was so much that deserved to remain in. For space reasons, I took out: the reference to the lighthouse board; that his promotion to colonel dated to July 16, 1861; that “His last military assignment was to inspect the military situation west of the Mississippi River” (which comes under his spending the rest of the war in non-combat roles); and, details about the supply route into Chattanooga that he established. But most noticeably, I removed the introductory reference to “Battles and Leaders of the Civil War,” since 1) that enabled me to get the bio under 3900 characters and 2) there were so many generals who wrote for BLCW and also wrote their memoirs (as Smith did) that I don’t think this makes him exceptional – unless he wrote an enormous amount for BLCW. Instead, I added a new sentence which hits on what seems to be the main theme of the bio.

Maj. Gen. William Farrar “Baldy” Smith (b. 1824, d. 1903). In a war that was notable for the role of politics in determining field commands, Smith stands out among the generals whose careers were impacted by their actions away from the battlefield. Born in St. Albans, Vermont, on February 17, 1824, Smith graduated fourth in the U.S. Military Academy’s Class of 1845. He went on to serve as an engineer in many survey and exploration duties before returning to instruct at West Point. With war having broken out, Smith was named Colonel of the 3rd Vermont Infantry. He served on the staff of Union commander Gen. Irwin McDowell at 1st Bull Run, and was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers three weeks later, on August 13, 1861. During Gen. George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign the following spring, Smith commanded a division in Gen. William B. Franklin’s VI Corps, fighting at Yorktown, Williamsburg and in the Seven Days’ Campaign – during which a stand by Smith’s men kept troops of Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson from flanking the Union forces at White Oak Swamp. His actions earned nomination for promotion to major general, which was to rank from July 4, 1862. Having led his division at 2nd Bull Run and Antietam, that December at Fredericksburg he commanded VI Corps itself, as part of Franklin’s Left Grand Division. After the defeat, he and Franklin wrote a letter to Pres. Abraham Lincoln criticizing army commander Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside’s plan for future operations. A friend of McClellan, who had fallen into disfavor by then, Smith received punishment for his political blunder, with congressmen calling for his removal from the army. Lincoln did not go that far: instead, Smith was reassigned to a command in Newport News, Virginia. The Senate then refused to confirm Smith’s promotion and he reverted to a brigadier general of volunteers. Minor commands in Pennsylvania and West Virginia followed before Smith reported to Chattanooga as chief engineer of the Department of the Cumberland. He immediately demonstrated his abilities, helping to open a supply route into the beleaguered city by means of pontoon bridges. At Missionary Ridge, where the Union beat back the besiegers, Smith’s placement of batteries and use of temporary bridges impressed Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who urged that Smith be promoted, calling him one of the most talented generals in the army; Smith also was praised by Gens. William T. Sherman and George H. Thomas. He was finally reappointed to major general, to rank from March 9, 1864. When Grant went east, so did Smith, who was assigned to command the XVIII Corps of Gen. Benjamin Butler’s Army of the James. Smith disliked Butler, calling him “as helpless as a child on the field of battle and as visionary as an opium eater in council.” For the Battle of Cold Harbor, Smith’s corps was attached to the Army of the Potomac, which Gen. George G. Meade commanded under Grant’s direction. Smith tried the latter’s patience by complaining about both Butler and Meade. In June Smith was assigned to take his corps and a division of colored troops to capture Petersburg, but hesitated long enough for the Confederates to reinforce their position. Grant could defend Smith no more, and he was relieved of his command, spending the rest of the war serving in non-combat roles. Smith was brevetted to major general, U.S. Army, during the omnibus promotions of March 1865. He resigned his volunteer commission in 1865 and his regular army commission in 1867, going on to serve as the president of a cable telegraph company and president of the board of police commissioners in New York City. From 1881 until 1901, he worked as a civilian engineer on river and harbor improvements. He also wrote of the war, partly to defend his reputation. Smith died in Philadelphia on February 28, 1903 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. (Bio by Bill Battle)

Leadership: 5
Tactics: 5
Initiative: 3
Command: 5
Cavalry:

Start date: 14

Teaches: Steady (14), Random (-1)