William Smith was an American lawyer and politician. He was the 30th and 35th Governor of Virginia. He also served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
Background
William Smith was born on September 6, 1797, at "Marengo" in King George County, Virginia, United States. He was the son of Colonel Caleb and Mary Waugh Smith Smith. His parents, who were first cousins, claimed descent from Sir Sidney Smith, who emigrated from England in the reign of George I.
Education
William attended school in King George County and at fourteen, after the death of his mother, was sent to an academy at Plainfield, Connecticut.
He was sent after the death of his father in 1814 to Nelson's Classical School in Hanover County. He subsequently studied law in Fredericksburg and Warrenton and spent a few months in the office of General William H. Winder in Baltimore.
Career
William Smith studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in 1818 in Culpeper, Culpeper County, Virginia.
He organized a mail-coach service from Fairfax Court House to Culpeper Court House, and by 1834 had established a daily post service from Washington to Milledgeville. From the rapid extension of his mail service and the frequent extra payments he received from the Post Office Department, came the sobriquet, "Extra Billy Smith," bestowed on him by Senator Benjamin Watkins Leigh of Virginia.
From 1836 to 1841 Smith served in the Virginia Senate and from 1841 to 1843, in Congress, being unsuccessful in his campaign for reelection. In 1842 he moved to Fauquier County. He was elected governor of Virginia for the term 1846-1849. In April 1849 he took up his residence in California, where two of his sons were living.
He was sent as a delegate from San Francisco to the State Democratic Convention, was unanimously elected its chairman, and was nominated for the United States Senate, but, unwilling to forfeit his Virginia citizenship, declined the nomination. Returning to Virginia in 1852, he was again elected to Congress and served from 1853 to 1861.
At the beginning of the Civil War, Smith was offered by Governor Letcher a commission as brigadier-general, but declined it, saying that he was "wholly ignorant of drill and tactics" and became colonel of the 49th Virginia Infantry instead. He fought at Manassas and while with his troops was elected a member of the Confederate Congress. He attended its sessions during intervals between campaigns, rejoining his command on adjournment.
When the regiment was reorganized as a part of the Confederate States Army in May 1862, Smith was reelected colonel and resigned his seat in Congress. He subsequently took part in the operations on the Peninsula, about Yorktown, and around Richmond, was severely wounded at Sharpsburg, and promoted brigadier-general in command of the 4th Brigade near Fredericksburg. In May 1863 he was again elected governor of Virginia, serving from January 1, 1864, until after the fall of the Confederacy. In August 1863 he had received the brevet rank of major-general.
In the fall of Richmond, Smith led his government first to Lynchburg and then to Danville, but after Lee's surrender returned to Richmond, he was paroled and spent the remainder of his life in farming at his estate, "Monterosa," near Warrenton, Fauquier County. When he was eighty years old, still erect and active, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and served from 1877 to 1879.
A secessionist, Smith supported the Davis administration.
Personality
Smith was one of the most charismatic characters of the Civil War and the antebellum Old South. His extra-long speeches and wry sense of humor were legendary among his peers.
Connections
In 1821 William married Elizabeth Hansbrough Bell. Of his eleven children, one daughter and two sons survived him. His wife had died in 1879.