Leon Smith (naval commander)
| Leon Smith | |
|---|---|
Leon Smith in uniform
|
|
| Nickname(s) | Lion Smith |
| Born | Connecticut or Alfred, Maine |
| Died |
29 October 1869 Wrangell, Alaska |
| Buried | San Francisco or Houston, Texas |
| Allegiance |
Republic of Texas (possibly) Confederate States
|
| Service/branch |
Texas Navy (possibly) Confederate volunteer |
| Years of service | Unknown 1861–1865 |
| Rank | Unknown Variously described as naval lieutenant, captain, and commodore or army major, and colonel, but not actually commissioned |
| Commands held | Texas Marine Department |
| Battles/wars | |
Leon Smith (? – 1869) was an American steamboat captain and soldier. In the American Civil War he served the Confederate States of America as a volunteer; he was named Commander of the Texas Marine Department under General John B. Magruder. Smith was involved in most major conflicts along the Texas coast during the war, and was described by war-time governor of Texas Francis Lubbock as "undoubtedly the ablest Confederate naval commander in the Gulf waters".
Smith's birth date is unknown, and he may have been born either in Connecticut or Alfred, Maine. He was a Freemason, and according to some wartime and post-war reports, Caleb Blood Smith, a cabinet member under President Lincoln, was his half-brother.
As of the end of the civil war he was married, and had at least one son, named Leon B. Smith.
A mariner from the age of 13, by the time he was 20 Smith was in command of the United States mail steamship Pacific that sailed between San Francisco and Panama.
According to some sources he served in the Texas Navy during the Republic of Texas period.
He met John B. Magruder in the late 1840s when engaged in shipping on the West coast. In the 1850s he sailed in the Gulf of Mexico, working for the Southern Mail Steamship Company.
In February 1861 he was the captain of the steamer General Rusk and transported General John Salmon Ford and his troops to the mouth of the Rio Grande to receive the surrender of Union Major Fitz John Porter. Unattached to either side, Smith then contracted with Major Porter to transport the Union troops to New York.
In April 1861, back in the Mexican Gulf, he and his ship General Rusk volunteered for service for the Confederates. On April 18, 1861, Smith and his ship assisted Colonel Earl Van Dorn in the capture of Star of the West (notable for being the target of the first shots of the civil war on January 9, 1861 in Fort Sumter) off Matagorda Bay via trickery: pulling alongside her under the pretense of transferring "friendly" troops which were expected from the transport Fashion. Smith reportedly replying to a hail from Star of the West with "The General Rusk with troops on board. Can you take our line now ?" and explaining that the Fashion would be arriving later with the luggage and the rest of the troops. The boarding troops promptly seized the Star of the West at bayonet point.
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Wikipedia