Francis Henney Smith (October 18, 1812 – March 21, 1890) was an American military officer, mathematician and educator. After graduating from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

and a brief service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, he became the first Superintendent of the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

on its establishment in 1839, and held that post until shortly before his death. His superintendency included the four years of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, during which he served as a major general in the Virginia militia and a colonel in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

Early life

Smith was born in Norfolk, Virginia. He married Miss Sarah Henderson on June 9, 1835 at

, New York. They had seven children.Eicher and Eicher, p. 494. Smith graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1833 and served as a second lieutenant in the

until he resigned his commission on May 1, 1836. Thereafter, he was a professor of mathematics at Hampden–Sydney College from 1836 to 1839. When the

was established in Lexington, board of trustees member John Thomas Lewis Preston successfully recruited Smith to be the school's first superintendent. By the time classes had begun on November 11, 1839, Preston had been appointed to the faculty, and he worked with Smith at VMI until retiring in 1882. Some time before the Civil War, he was appointed colonel in the Virginia Militia. Smith was the author of ''An Elementary Treatise on Algebra'' (1858) and co-author of ''The American Statistical Arithmetic, Designed for Academies and Schools'' (1845), ''Best Methods of Conducting Common Schools'' (1849), ''College Reform'' (1850), and translator of ''An Elementary Treatise on Analytical Geometry'' (1860). Smith is also known as Sigma Nu International Fraternity's spiritual founder.

American Civil War

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Smith was appointed a Brevet Brigadier General in the Virginia Militia on April 24, 1861, then a colonel in the 9th Virginia Infantry Regiment on July 7, 1861. He was often absent and returned to VMI when it reopened in late 1861. He was dropped as colonel from the 9th Virginia Infantry Regiment in the reorganization of May 8, 1862 and then was Colonel of the VMI Infantry battalion between April 30, 1862 and May 18, 1862, May 11, 1864 and June 27, 1864 and March 1865 and April 1865. At some date not shown in the references, possibly coincident with his appointment as "major general of cadets," he was appointed a major general in the Virginia Militia. He was appointed "Major General of Cadets" on December 18, 1861 according to the inscription below his statue shown in the accompanying image. Regardless whether the date of that appointment coincided with the date of his appointment as major general in the Virginia Militia, his appointments in the Confederate Army were only to positions with the rank of colonel.

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

was commanding Confederate forces in the Department of Southwest Virginia during a critical time in the 1864 campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. Although he did not want to use the VMI cadets in battle, Breckinridge requested that Smith send them to reinforce his outnumbered army when Union forces began to move into the valley. On May 12, 1864, Smith sent almost the entire Corps of Cadets of VMI, leaving behind only 27 cadets to guard the Institute, to help hold off the advance of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

under

Franz Sigel Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German American military officer, revolutionary and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil ...

from the northern end of the valley. Smith, who was ill, also stayed behind. The cadets were led by 24-year-old Commandant of Cadets and VMI teacher Scott Ship. On May 15, 1864, the VMI Cadets earned distinction and fame at the

Battle of New Market The Battle of New Market was fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. A makeshift Confederate army of 4,100 men defeated the larger Army of the Shenandoah under Major General Franz S ...

as the only Corps of Cadets in United States history to fight as a unit in battle. Ten cadets were killed and forty-seven were wounded in their defense of the center of the Confederate line at a critical point in the battle. The Union forces were defeated and Sigel withdrew them to Mount Jackson and then to his headquarters at Cedar Creek, Virginia. On June 11, 1864, Major General

David Hunter David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was an American military officer. He served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He achieved notability for his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves ...

, who had replaced Sigel after New Market, ordered a retaliatory attack, his troops burning and shelling VMI's campus, forcing the relocation of classes to Richmond, where they remained until the city fell in April 1865. Classes returned to the Lexington campus in October, after the conclusion of the war.

Later life

Smith oversaw the reconstruction of VMI after its destruction, and remained as superintendent until December 31, 1889. He died in Lexington on March 21, 1890, at the age of 77, and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery. His correspondence is retained by VMI.Allardice, 2008, p. 347

Notes

References

* Allardice, Bruce S., ''Confederate Colonels, A Biographical Register''. University of Missouri Press, Columbia, 2008. (alk. paper). * Davis, William C. ''The Battle of New Market''. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 1975. (pbk.) * Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume III. VII—Prominent Persons. * Warner, Ezra J., ''Generals in Gray''. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 1959. .

External links