Giles Alexander Smith | |
---|---|
Born | Jefferson County, New York | September 29, 1829
Died | November 8, 1876 Bloomington, Illinois | (aged 47)
Place of burial | Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, Bloomington, Illinois |
Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
Service/ |
United States Army Union Army |
Years of service | 1861 - 1866 |
Rank | Major General |
Commands held | 8th Missouri Volunteer Infantry |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Giles Alexander Smith (September 29, 1829 – November 8, 1876), was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Smith was born in Jefferson County, New York. When he was 18, he moved to southwestern Ohio, and for a decade engaged in business in Cincinnati. In the late 1850s, he moved to Bloomington, Illinois, where he was proprietor of a hotel.
At the beginning of the Civil War, he joined the 8th Missouri Volunteer Infantry, in which he became a captain. He took part in the capture of Fort Donelson, the Battle of Shiloh, and the operations against Corinth, becoming, later in 1862, colonel of a regiment which he led at Chickasaw Bayou. After the final campaign against Vicksburg, on August 4, 1863 he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers to rank from August 4, 1863. [1] [2] He was wounded at the Third Battle of Chattanooga. He took part in the Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign. [3] 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. [4]
His brother Morgan Lewis Smith was a Union Army brigadier general of volunteers. [5]
After the war, Smith declined the offer of a colonelcy in the Regular Army. [3] He was mustered out of the volunteers on February 1, 1866. [6] He was subsequently engaged in Illinois politics, retiring from public life in 1872. [3] Smith was an Illinois delegate to the Republican National Convention. 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. [7]
Giles Alexander Smith | |
---|---|
Born | Jefferson County, New York | September 29, 1829
Died | November 8, 1876 Bloomington, Illinois | (aged 47)
Place of burial | Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, Bloomington, Illinois |
Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
Service/ |
United States Army Union Army |
Years of service | 1861 - 1866 |
Rank | Major General |
Commands held | 8th Missouri Volunteer Infantry |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Giles Alexander Smith (September 29, 1829 – November 8, 1876), was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Smith was born in Jefferson County, New York. When he was 18, he moved to southwestern Ohio, and for a decade engaged in business in Cincinnati. In the late 1850s, he moved to Bloomington, Illinois, where he was proprietor of a hotel.
At the beginning of the Civil War, he joined the 8th Missouri Volunteer Infantry, in which he became a captain. He took part in the capture of Fort Donelson, the Battle of Shiloh, and the operations against Corinth, becoming, later in 1862, colonel of a regiment which he led at Chickasaw Bayou. After the final campaign against Vicksburg, on August 4, 1863 he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers to rank from August 4, 1863. [1] [2] He was wounded at the Third Battle of Chattanooga. He took part in the Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign. [3] 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. [4]
His brother Morgan Lewis Smith was a Union Army brigadier general of volunteers. [5]
After the war, Smith declined the offer of a colonelcy in the Regular Army. [3] He was mustered out of the volunteers on February 1, 1866. [6] He was subsequently engaged in Illinois politics, retiring from public life in 1872. [3] Smith was an Illinois delegate to the Republican National Convention. 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. [7]