Everything about William S Smith totally explained
» For the American Civil War general, see William Sooy Smith.
William Stephens Smith (
November 8,
1755 –
June 10,
1816) was a
United States Representative from
New York. He married
Abigail "Nabby" Adams the daughter of
President John Adams, and so was a brother-in-law of President
John Quincy Adams, and an uncle of
Charles Francis Adams.
Born on
Long Island, he graduated from the
College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1774, studied law for a short time.
American Revolutionary War
He served in the
Revolutionary Army as
aide-de-camp to
General John Sullivan in 1776. Smith fought in the
Battle of Long Island, wounded at
Harlem Heights, fought at the
Battle of White Plains, promoted to
lieutenant colonel at the
Battle of Trenton as well as fighting at the
Battle of Monmouth and
Newport. He was on the staff of
General Lafayette in 1780 and 1781, became and
adjutant in the Corps of
Light Infantry then transferred to the staff of
George Washington.
After War years
He was secretary of the
Legation at London in 1784. While there, he met and courted
John Adams' daughter
Abigail ("Nabby"), whom he married in 1786. He returned to America in 1788; he was appointed by President Washington to be the first
United States Marshal for the District of New York in 1789, and later supervisor of revenue. He was one of the originators of the
Society of the Cincinnati, and served as its president from 1795 to 1797. He was appointed by President John Adams
surveyor of the
port of New York in 1800.
Colonel Smith raised private funds, procured weapons and recruited
soldiers of fortune to fight the Spanish occupation of
Venezuela after renewing his acquaintance with
Francisco de Miranda whom he'd first met when he was
John Adams' secretary in
London in 1783. On 2 February 1806, a force of
filibusters including Smith's son William Steuben set sail on a chartered merchant vessal, the
Leander. The Spanish captured the ship and the mercenaries. Steuben later escaped.
Colonel Smith was indicted in New York for violating the
Neutrality Act of 1794 and put on trial. Colonel Smith claimed his orders came from
U.S. President Thomas Jefferson and
Secretary of State James Madison who refused to appear in court. Judge
William Patterson ruled that the President "cannot authorise a person to do what the law forbids". Colonel Smith stood trial but was found not guilty.
In 1807 Smith moved to
Lebanon, New York.
Smith was elected as a
Federalist to the Thirteenth Congress, holding office from
March 4,
1813 to
March 3,
1815. He presented credentials of his election to the Fourteenth Congress, but he didn't qualify, and on
December 13,
1815,
Westel Willoughby, Jr. successfully contested his election.
Smith died in Smith Valley in the town of Lebanon in 1816. Interment was in the Lines Hill Cemetery, between
Smyrna and
Sherburne.
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