Martin Luther Smith

Martin Luther Smith

Martin Luther Smith

Mr. Smith was born on September 9, 1819. He graduated from West Point, 16th in his class.

Zachary Blanton

1819 - 1866

When I visited the cemetery in search of someone to research for this project, I ran across the grave sites of many prominent figures. Some I recognized from school and others I had heard of through the local community. I decided to choose someone who was not quite so prominent in the area; I chose Martin Luther Smith. Mr. Smith was born on September 9, 1819. He graduated from West Point, 16th in his class. He married a native Athens, Georgia woman in 1846. At the start of his military career, Mr. Smith served in the Mexican American War as an engineer and eventually rose to the rank of Captain. He also became a major general in the Confederate States Army and although he was born in New York, Mr. Smith was one of only a few soldiers who fought for the Confederacy that was born in the North. He also was one of the men who planned and constructed the defenses of Vicksburg. Toward the end of the Civil War, Mr. Smith returned home to Athens and surrendered in May of 1865. Later, Mr. Smith established a civil engineering company in Savannah, Georgia. At the time of his death in 1866, he was chief engineer of a railroad system. General Smith has a statue at Vicksburg National Military Park. Although he was considered the most accomplished engineer in the Confederate Army and was involved in many significant events during the Civil War, Smith is only remembered by a bust and a uniform housed in a small case in the Museum of the Confederacy. Even today, he remains a mystery with a lost legacy.