With Tennessees Ordinance of Secession and the outbreak of the Civil War, BG Thomas Benton Smith enlisted in the Confederate army as an officer in the 20th Tennessee Infantry. He first saw combat action at the Battle of Mill Springs in January 1862, and in April of that same year participated in the Battle of Shiloh. Later in the year, after being promoted to colonel of the 20th Tennessee and assigned command of a small brigade, he was part of the Confederate forces that unsuccessfully tried to seize the Union post at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Confederate Army commander John C. Breckinridge remarked in his official report that Smith moved against the enemy in fine style. At the end of the year, he fought in the Battle of Stones River, where he suffered a serious wound that put him out of action for much of 1863. After his recuperation, Smith resumed field duties, but was again wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga in September. After another lengthy recovery period, he returned to action during the 1864 Atlanta Campaign. He was promoted to brigadier general on July 29, 1864, and commanded an infantry brigade in the Army of Tennessee comprising the 2nd, 10th, and 20th Tennessee, the 37th Georgia, the 30th, 37th, and 50th Tennessee, consolidated, and a Georgia battalion of sharpshooters. His military career ended at the Battle of Nashville on December 16. Smith surrendered during the battle. After Smith had surrendered and been disarmed, Union Colonel William L. McMillen, whose brigade had suffered heavily in an engagement with Smiths Brigade, reportedly berated and then attacked the general, now a disarmed prisoner, with Smiths own sword (one source says wantonly and repeatedly[3]). Smiths resultant brain injuries were so severe that for a time it was feared he would not live.[4] Confederate General William B. Bate in his report stated, General T. B. Smith, commanding Tylers brigade, and Finleys, bore themselves with heroic courage both through good and evil fortune, always executing orders with zeal and alacrity, and bearing themselves in the face of the enemy as became reputations which each had heretofore bravely won.[5] Held at Johnsons Island in Ohio and later at Fort Warren in Massachusetts, Smith was not released until July 24, 1865. Smith recovered enough to be able to do some railroad work after the War between the states. He ran for a seat in the U.S. Congress in 1870, but lost the election. However, lingering effects of the savage beating caused permanent damage, and Smith spent much his last 47 years in an insane asylum in Nashville, emerging occasionally for army reunions and other social events. He was buried beside many of his former comrades in the Confederate Circle of Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 19:07:37 +0000
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