CIII.
CIII. WILLIAM SMITH.
CIII. Governor.
CIII. January 1, 1846, to January 1, 1849.
William Smith, son of William and Mary Waugh Smith,
descended from some of the earliest settlers of Virginia, was
born September 6, 1797, in King George County. Here he
received his first instruction in the "old field" schools,
around which primitive cradles of learning so much romantic
interest now settles. Later, young Smith enjoyed tuition in
Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Plainfield, Connecticut, and
subsequently was sent to a classical school at "Wingfield,"
Hanover County, Virginia. Adopting the profession of law,
William Smith obtained his license and qualified in the
Court of Culpeper County, August, 1819. His ardor and
ability soon gained for him success, and his taste for politics
opened a wide field for his ambitious spirit. In 1836 he was
elected to the Virginia State Senate, and served through the
term of four years; was re-elected, but resigned after serving
one session.
Early in Mr. Smith's public career he had been convinced
of the necessity for improved mail facilities in Virginia and
the South. In 1827 he obtained from the United States
government a contract for carrying the mails once a week
from Fairfax Court House to Warrenton, and thence to Culpeper
Court House. This contract was renewed in 1831, and
led to the establishment, in four years, of a daily four-horse
post-coach line from Washington City to Milledgeville,
Georgia.
In 1841 Mr. Smith was elected to Congress, and served in
that body until 1843, and in December, 1845, he was elected
Governor of Virginia for the term of three years, succeeding
James McDowell, January 1, 1846.
Among the interesting Acts passed during Govern
Smith's administration is that of March 13, 1847, viz.:
"Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
Virginia, That the territory comprising the County of Alexandria, in the
District of Columbia, heretofore ceded by this Commonwealth to the
United States, and by an Act of Congress, approved on the ninth day of
July, eighteen hundred and forty-six, retroceded to this Commonwealth,
and by it accepted, is hereby declared to be an integral portion of this
Commonwealth, and the citizens thereof are hereby declared to be subject
to all the provisions and entitled to all the benefits, rights, and privileges
of the Bill of Rights and Constitution of this Commonwealth."
Governor Smith's term is also to be remembered as the
period of the war with Mexico and the excited discussion of
the admission of California as a state into the Union. This
new country of the golden fleece was drawing men from every
quarter of the globe, and thither Governor Smith now (1850)
turned his steps. He engaged at once in the practice of his
profession in San Francisco, was returned by that city as its
delegate to the Constitutional Convention which met at Benicia
in the fall of 1850, and was unanimously elected the
permanent President of that body. In the State Assembly
which convened soon after, Governor Smith was nominated
for United States Senator, but was not elected. In 1852 he
determined to return to Virginia, bringing a handsome addition
to his means and increased reputation as the result of a
two years' residence upon the Pacific slope. In May, 1853,
Governor Smith was elected to Congress from Virginia, and
served in this body by successive re-election until March 4,
1861.
At this period, the late war between the sections was
approaching, and Governor Smith, though in his sixty-fourth
year, entered the army in the Southern cause. Offering
his services to the Governor of Virginia he was commissioned
Colonel and assigned to the command of the 49th
Regiment of Virginia Infantry. In the autumn of 1861
Colonel Smith was elected to the Confederate States Congress.
He attended this body when it convened at Richmond in
February, 1862, leaving his Regiment in the command of the
Lieutenant-Colonel. Upon the adjournment of Congress,
April 16, he rejoined his command. At the reorganization
of the Regiment, May 1st, he was re-elected its Colonel, upon
which he resigned his seat in Congress, participating thereafter,
with his command, in the historic operations on the
Peninsula, about Yorktown, and later in those near Richmond.
In the battle of Sharpsburg, Maryland, September 17,
1862, Colonel Smith was severely wounded, but before the
wounds were healed he returned to the field and took command
of the 4th Brigade, having been promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General.
General Smith now announced himself as a
candidate for Governor of Virginia, was elected by a large
majority, and entered upon his duties as chief executive, January
1, 1864. Early in August, 1863, he had been promoted
to the rank of Major-General.
In a later chapter in this work will be recorded some of
Governor Smith's valuable services in this desperate period
of Virginia's history.
