Gustavus Woodson Smith

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Gustavus Woodson Smith (November 30, 1821 – June 24, 1896), more commonly known as G.W. Smith, was a career U.S. 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.

Smith was born in Georgetown, Kentucky. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he was trained as a civil engineer. After serving in the U.S. Army, he resigned his commission to become a civilian engineer in New York City, where he became Streets Commissioner.

Smith's home state of Kentucky became a border state when the American Civil War broke out. Some months afterwards, he presented himself at Richmond to serve the Confederate States of America. Commissioned as a major general, he served in Northern Virginia and fought in the Battle of Seven Pines near Richmond during the Peninsula Campaign. He briefly took command of what would become the Army of Northern Virginia after Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was wounded. However, he suffered a nervous breakdown upon taking command and was replaced by Gen. Robert E. Lee the following day, June 1, 1862.

Resigning his commission, he served as interim Confederate States Secretary of War before resuming a military command in Georgia in 1864.

He died in New York City and is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London, Connecticut.

[edit] References

• Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.

[edit] External links

• Gustavus Woodson Smith at Find A Grave Retrieved on 2008-02-13