author
Gustavus Woodson Smith
1822–1896
A West Point-trained engineer and soldier, he moved from the U.S. Army and the Mexican-American War into railroad and city engineering before becoming a Confederate general during the Civil War. His career touched both battlefield command and the fast-changing world of 19th-century American infrastructure.
1 Audiobook
Company 'A', corps of engineers, U.S.A., 1846-'48, in the Mexican war
by Gustavus Woodson Smith
About the author
Born in Georgetown, Kentucky, Gustavus Woodson Smith was educated at the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1842. He served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and saw action in the Mexican-American War, where his early military reputation began to take shape.
After leaving the army in the 1850s, he worked as a civil engineer and became involved in railroad and municipal projects in New York City. When the Civil War began, he entered Confederate service and rose to major general. He is especially remembered for briefly commanding the Army of Northern Virginia after Joseph E. Johnston was wounded during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862.
Smith's life did not fit neatly into a single role. He was a professional soldier, an engineer, and a public works official, moving between military service and the practical work of building and managing American cities. He died in New York in 1896.