Robert Hardy Smith (March 21, 1813 – March 13, 1878) was an American politician who served as a senior officer of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

Early life and career

Smith was born in Camden County, North Carolina on March 21, 1813, and later moved to Alabama. In Alabama, Smith served in the state's House of Representatives in 1849 and the Alabama Senate in 1851. At the onset of the American Civil War, Smith was elected to represent the State of Alabama in the

Provisional Confederate Congress The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, also known as the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a congress of deputies and delegates called together from the Southern States which became the governing bo ...

from 1861 to 1862. He later served as a Colonel of the 36th Alabama Infantry Regiment. In an 1861 speech, Smith stated that Alabama declared its secession from the Union over the issue of slavery, which he referred to as "the negro quarrel". In the speech, he praised the

Confederate Constitution The Constitution of the Confederate States was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It was adopted on March 11, 1861, and was in effect from February 22, 1862, to the conclusion of the American Civil War (May 1865). The Confede ...

for its un-euphemistic protections of the right to own slaves:

Death

Smith died in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

on March 13, 1878, and was buried at the Magnolia Cemetery.

References

External links

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Robert Hardy Smith
at The Political Graveyard 1813 births 1878 deaths 19th-century American politicians Alabama state senators Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Members of the Alabama House of Representatives Signers of the Confederate States Constitution Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States {{Alabama-politician-stub