imported>Timrollpickering: Moving from Category:Confederate military personnel killed in action to Category:Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War revert undiscussed manual category renaming (CatAlot)

2025-05-25T10:49:59Z

Moving from Category:Confederate military personnel killed in action to Category:Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War revert undiscussed manual category renaming (CatAlot)

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{{short description|American lawyer}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Preston Smith
|birth_date= {{birth date|1823|12|25}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1863|9|19|1823|12|25}}
|image=Preston Smith.jpg
|caption=
|birth_place= [[Giles County, Tennessee|Giles County]], [[Tennessee]]
|death_place= [[Catoosa County, Georgia|Catoosa County]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|placeofburial=[[Elmwood Cemetery (Memphis, Tennessee)|Elmwood Cemetery]], [[Memphis, Tennessee]]
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|allegiance= {{flag|Confederate States of America|1863}}
|branch={{army|CSA}}
|serviceyears= 1861–1863
|rank= [[File:Confederate States of America General-collar.svg|35px]] [[Brigadier General (CSA)|Brigadier General]]
|commands= Brigade in the [[Army of Tennessee]]
|battles= [[American Civil War]]
*[[Battle of Shiloh]]
*[[Battle of Richmond]]
*[[Battle of Perryville]]
*[[Battle of Chickamauga]]{{KIA}}
|relations=
}}
'''Preston Smith''' (December 25, 1823 – September 19, 1863) was a Confederate military officer in the [[Confederate States Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. He was killed in action during a night attack during the [[Battle of Chickamauga]] in northern [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].<ref name=Welsh201>Welsh, p. 201.</ref>

==Biography==
Preston Smith was born in [[Giles County, Tennessee]]. After being educated in a country school, he attended Jackson College in [[Columbia, Tennessee]]. Smith studied law, passed his [[bar exam]], and established a practice in Columbia. He later moved to [[Waynesboro, Tennessee]], and finally to [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], where his practice flourished.<ref name=Evans331>Evans, pp. 331–32.</ref>

In May 1861, Smith was elected as the [[colonel]] of a state [[militia]] [[regiment]], the 154th Tennessee, which was soon mustered into the Confederate army. In April 1862, he led his regiment during the [[Battle of Shiloh]] in [[western Tennessee]], where he was disabled from a severe wound to his right shoulder, rendering it useless and forcing Smith to turn over command to a subordinate and leave the field. He was unable to resume his command duties until the following month.<ref name=Welsh201/>

He returned in time to participate in [[Braxton Bragg]]'s [[Kentucky Campaign]]. He commanded a [[brigade]] in the [[division (military)|division]] of [[Patrick Cleburne]] and temporarily succeeded him in command when Cleburne was wounded during the [[Battle of Richmond]].<ref name=Evans331/>

On October 27, 1862, Smith received a promotion to brigadier general and was given command of a brigade in the [[Army of Tennessee]].

===Death at Chickamauga===
During a night attack at Chickamauga, Smith and his staff inadvertently rode into [[Union Army|Union]] lines, where he and two aides were struck down. Smith was shot by a sergeant (Bryson) of the [[77th Pennsylvania Infantry]], as the general chastised the [[Non-commissioned officer|NCO]], mistaking him for one of his own troops<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.77thpennsylvania.com/id1.html
|title=77th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Original History
|publisher=77th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
|accessdate=2011-09-09
}}</ref>
His gold watch diverted a bullet that would have entered his heart, but Smith's injury was mortal. He was carried to the rear, where he died within the hour. His body was transported to [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] for burial. It was exhumed later and re-interred in [[Elmwood Cemetery (Memphis, Tennessee)|Elmwood Cemetery]] in Memphis.<ref name=Welsh201/>

His divisional commander, Maj. Gen. [[Benjamin F. Cheatham]], reported,

<blockquote>It was in this night attack that Brig.-Gen. Preston Smith of Tennessee received his mortal wound, from which he died in 50 minutes. At the head of his noble brigade, of which he had been the commander as colonel and brigadier-general for two years and a half, he fell in the performance of what he himself, with his expiring breath, simply said was his duty. Active, energetic and brave, with a rare fitness to command, full of honorable ambition in perfect harmony with the most elevated patriotism, the whole country will mourn his fall and do honor to his memory.<ref name=Evans331/></blockquote>

==See also==
*[[List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-3641-1}}.
* [[Clement A. Evans|Evans, Clement A.]], ed. [https://archive.org/search.php?query=publisher%3A%22Confederate%20Pub.%20Co.%22 ''Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History'']. 12 vols. Volume 8. Porter, J. D. ''Tennessee''. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing Company, 1899. {{OCLC|833588}}. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
* Heidler, David S., and Heidler, Jeanne T., eds., ''Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History'', W. W. Norton & Company, 2000, {{ISBN|0-393-04758-X}}.
* Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. {{ISBN|978-0-8160-1055-4}}.
* U.S. War Department, [http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/records/list.cfm ''The War of the Rebellion'']: ''a Compilation of the [[Official Records of the American Civil War|Official Records]] of the Union and Confederate Armies'', U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.
* [[Ezra J. Warner (historian)|Warner, Ezra J.]] ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. {{ISBN|978-0-8071-0823-9}}.
* Welsh, Jack D., ''Medical Histories of Confederate Generals'', Kent State University Press, 1999, {{ISBN|978-0-87338-853-5}}.

==External links==
*{{Find a Grave}}

{{Portal bar|American Civil War|Biography|Tennessee}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Preston}}
[[Category:Confederate States Army brigadier generals]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:People of Tennessee in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:People from Giles County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Memphis, Tennessee]]
[[Category:1823 births]]
[[Category:1863 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Waynesboro, Tennessee]]
[[Category:19th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Memphis, Tennessee]]

Preston Smith (general) - Revision history

imported>Timrollpickering: Moving from Category:Confederate military personnel killed in action to Category:Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War revert undiscussed manual category renaming (CatAlot)