Today in Florida History! 1824 – May 16: Edmund Kirby Smith, Confederate general and Commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi West, was born today in St. Augustine. Smith was a graduate of West Point (1845), fought in eight battles of the Mexican-American War, taught mathematics at West Point, was wounded in Indian fighting, and was a noted botanist. In 1861, he resigned his position with the United States Army to enter Confederate service. Smith organized the Army of the Shenandoah and was severely wounded at the Battle of First Bull Run. When Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, 1863, Smith’s command was isolated from the mainstream of the Confederacy. As an independent Department commander, he ruled the Transmississippi Department, consisting of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Indian territory so I independently that it was called "Kirby Smithdom." At Galveston on June 2, 1865 Smith surrendered the last confederate force. Following the end of the War Between the States, Smith taught mathematics at the University of the South (Suwannee). During the war, Smith signed his orders and reports as “E. Kirby Smith,” and thus arose the habit of referring to him as “Kirby Smith.” Following his death on March 28, 1893, his family adopted this as their family name and hyphenated it as “Kirby-Smith.” When he died in 1893, Kirby Smith was the last full general of the Confederacy. Florida selected him as one of two individuals (John Gorrie was the second) to represent the state in the Hall of Statues in the Capitol in Washington, D.C. The name of my Junior High School, Kirby Smith, Jacksonville, FL.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 14:29:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015