William Sooy Smith (July 22, 1830 – March 4, 1916) was a

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 ...

graduate and career

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

who became a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in 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 (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during 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 th ...

. In civilian life, he was a renowned

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

involved in

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

construction that included the building of the first large all steel bridge in the world.Civil War Referenc
''Civil War Reference''
accessed and retrieved 2011-07-03

Early life and career

Smith was born in

Tarlton, Ohio Tarlton is a village in Fairfield and Pickaway counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 254 at the 2020 census. History Tarlton was originally called Newellstown, and under the latter name was laid out in 1801. The Cross Mound ...

, and graduated from

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

in 1849 with an engineering degree. He furthered this degree at West Point as soon as he left the university, graduating sixth in his class from the

U.S. 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 1853. Smith resigned from the Army on June 19, 1854 to accept a position with the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also c ...

. Smith established the engineering company Parkinson & Smith in 1857, and was involved in the first surveys for a bridge between the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

across the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

near

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

Civil War

In 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War, Smith joined the 13th Ohio Infantry, and by June he was commissioned as its

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. After serving in

western Virginia Western Virginia is a geographic region in Virginia comprising the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. Generally, areas in Virginia located west of, or (in many cases) within, the piedmont region are considered part of western Virginia. T ...

, he was appointed

(

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

) on April 16, 1862 to rank from April 15, 1862 Smith participated in the

Vicksburg campaign The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi Riv ...

, commanding the XVI Corps' first division. On January 27, 1864, as part of the

Meridian Campaign The Meridian campaign or Meridian expedition took place from February 3 – March 6, 1864, from Vicksburg, Mississippi to Meridian, Mississippi, by the Union Army of the Tennessee, led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman captured M ...

, Smith was given the command of General Hurlbut's force of 7,000 cavalry, to be consolidated from their positions throughout western Kentucky and Tennessee, along with the 2,500 that was already under his command. However, Smith delayed his advance waiting on one of the units,

Waring Waring is an English surname with two derivation hypotheses: from the Frankish ''Warin'', meaning 'guard,' via Norman French ''Guarin,'' or from the Anglo-Saxon ''Wæring'', meaning 'confederate' or, more literally, 'oath companion.' Both hypothe ...

's brigade, which was ice bound near Columbus, Kentucky. He did not start his advance until February 11, ten days later than planned. Smith's force did not join up with Sherman at Meridian as forces under Maj. Gen.

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

defeated him on February 22, 1864 in the

Battle of Okolona The Battle of Okolona took place on February 22, 1864, in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, between Confederate and Union forces during the American Civil War. Confederate cavalry, commanded by Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, faced over 7,000 c ...

. Smith was forced to fight an eleven-mile running battle before retreating across the state line into

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

on February 26. Consequently, he was criticized for putting Sherman's

Meridian Expedition The Meridian campaign or Meridian expedition took place from February 3 – March 6, 1864, from Vicksburg, Mississippi to Meridian, Mississippi, by the Union Army of the Tennessee, led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman captured Me ...

in danger.The American Battlefield Protection Progra
''Okolona''
retrieved July 7, 2007 Afterwards, he served as chief of

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

in both the Department of Tennessee and the

Military Division of the Mississippi The Military Division of the Mississippi was an administrative division of the United States Army during the American Civil War that controlled all military operations in the Western Theater from 1863 until the end of the war. History The Divisio ...

, under

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

and

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. He resigned from the Army in July 1864 due to

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...

Postbellum career

After leaving the army Smith returned to

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

. In 1867, he sank the first pneumatic caisson of the Waugoshanee lighthouse in the Straits of Mackinaw. At

Glasgow, Missouri Glasgow is a city on the Missouri River mostly in northwest Howard County and extending into the southeast corner of Chariton County in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 1,087 at the 2020 census. The Howard County portion of G ...

, from 1878 to 1879, Smith worked on the

Glasgow Railroad Bridge The Glasgow Railroad Bridge is four-span through truss bridge over the Missouri River belonging to the Kansas City Southern railroad between Howard County, Missouri and Saline County, Missouri. Its predecessor is considered to be the first All S ...

. This was the first all-steel bridge, which crossed the Missouri River. In 1876 Smith was awarded the American Centennial Exposition prize, and continued to work in engineering until retirement to

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the Me ...

towards the end of his life. After his death in 1916, he was buried in

Forest Home Cemetery Forest Home Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is the final resting place of many of the city's famed beer barons, politicians and social elite. Both the cemetery and ...

Forest Park, Illinois Forest Park (formerly Harlem) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, United States. The population was 14,339 at the 2020 census. The Forest Park terminal on the CTA Blue Line is the line's western terminus, located on the ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, William Sooy Union Army generals People of Ohio in the American Civil War United States Military Academy alumni Ohio University alumni American civil engineers People from Tarlton, Ohio Burials at Forest Home Cemetery, Chicago 1830 births 1916 deaths Engineers from Ohio

Early life and career

Civil War

Postbellum career

See also

References

External links