General Edmund Kirby Smith
Born: May 16, 1824
St. Augustine, Florida
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Died: March 28, 1893
Sewanee, Tennessee
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General Edmund Kirby Smith
West Point Graduate: 1845
1845: Brevet 2nd Lieutenant
August 22, 1846: 2nd Lieutenant
April 18, 1847: 1st Lieutenant
August 20, 1847: Brevet Captain
January 31, 1861: Major
April 6, 1861: Resigned US Army
March 26, 1861: Major CSA
Lieutenant Colonel
June 17, 1861: Brigadier General
October 11, 1861: Major General
October 8, 1861: Lieutenant General
February 19, 1864: General
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1845: Graduated West Point - 25th our of 41 cadets Commissioned Brevet 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Infantry
August 22, 1846: Promoted to 2nd Lieutenant while serving in the 7th U.S. Infantry
1846 - 1848: Mexican-American War
May 8, 1846: Battle of Palo Alto
May 9, 1846: Battle of Resaca de la Palma
April 18, 1847: Battle of Cerro Gordo - Brevet promotion to 1st Lieutenant
August 19-20, 1847: Battle of Conteras
August 20, 1847: Battle of Churubusco - Received brevet promotion to Captain
After the war, served as a Captain in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry, mostly in Texas
Taught at West Point - Collected and studied materials as a botanist. Donated to the Smithsonian Institution some of his collection and reports. Was assigned to teach mathematics from 1849 till 1852.
Served in the Southeast and was wounded while fighting Comanche in Kansas.
January 31, 1861: Promoted to Major
Refused to surrender his command at Camp Colorado to the Texas State Troops under Colonel Benjamin McCulloch
March 16, 1861: Joined the Confederacy as a major in the regular artillery
April 6, 1861: Resigned his commission to join the Confederacy
Was transferred to the cavalry as a lieutenant colonel
Served briefly as assistant adjutant general for Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston
June 17, 1861: Promoted to Brigadier General and given command of a brigade in the Army of the Shenandoah
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July 21, 1861: 1st Battle of Bull Run - severely wounded in the neck and shoulder - recoved while commanding the Department of Middle and East Florida
October 11, 1861: Returned to duty as Major General and division commander in the Army of Northern Virginia
February 1862: Sent west to command the Eastern Division of the Army of the Mississippi
August 29-30, 1862: Battle of Richmond
October 9, 1862: Promoted to the newly created Lieutenant General, commanding the III Corps, Army of the Tennessee
January 14, 1863: Transferred to command the Trans-Mississippi Department
Attempted to send reinforcements east of the Mississippi, but the U.S. Navy controlled the river.
Conducted the war west of the river with small raids and guerrilla warfare
February 19, 1864: Promoted to General (one of seven in the Confederate Army)
May 26, 1865: Negotiated the surrender of his department. Was the last full general to surrender and signed the terms in Galveston, Texas
Left the country for Mexico and finally Cuba to escape potential prosecution for treason
Smith returned to the United States later in the year and took and oath of amnesty on November 14, 1865.
1866-1868: President of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company
1870-1875: Chancellor of the University of Nashville
1875: Lift the university to become a professor of mathematics and botany at the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee
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Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay, 1967. p 769-771
Edmund Kirby Smith. 18 April 2025. web. 22 April 2025.
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, 1992 p 279-280
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