★  Smyth, Thomas Alfred

Thomas Alfred Smyth

Smyth.jpg
Born:
December 25, 1832

Birthplace: Ballyhooly County, Cork, Ireland

Father:
David Smyth 1800 –

Mother: Margaret Kennedy 1815 – 1899

Wife: Amanda Melvina Pounder 1836 – 1918
(Buried: Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery, Wilmington, Delaware)​

Children:

Emma Virginia Smyth 1859 – 1924​

Occupation before War:

1854: Immigrated to the United States settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania​
Participated in William Walker’s expedition to Nicaragua​
Wood Carver, Coach, and Carriage Maker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania​

Civil War Career:

1861: Captain in 24th Pennsylvania Volunteers Infantry Regiment​
1861 – 1862: Major of 1st Delaware Volunteers Infantry Regiment​
1862: Served in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia​
1862 – 1863: Lt. Colonel of 1st Delaware Volunteers Infantry Regiment​
1863: Participated in the Battle of Chancellorsville Virginia​
1863 – 1864: Colonel of 1st Delaware Volunteers Infantry Regiment​
1863: Wounded on the 3rd Day at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania​
1864: Served in the Overland Campaign in Virginia​
1864 – 1865: Brigadier General of Union Army Volunteers Infantry​
1864: Served in the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia​
1864 – 1865: Served as Division Commander in the Union Army​
1865: Shot thru the mouth shattering the cervical vertebra Farmville​

Died:
April 9, 1865

Place of Death: Burke’s Tavern in Nottoway County, Virginia

Age at time of Death: 32 years old

Cause of Death: Wound to the cervical vertebra

Burial Place:
Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery, Wilmington, Delaware
 
Last edited by a moderator:
One of his commands was known as the 2nd Irish Brigade.Was there a brigade that he commanded during the Overland Campaign known by that name? And was the brigade made up of Irishmen or was it because of Smyth Himself was Irish?
 
Smyth was made Colonel of the 1st Delaware in 1863, and commanded a brigade in 2nd Corps at Gettysburg. Eventually, he was reassigned to command the Irish Brigade, leading it at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, before being transferred to command Sam Carroll's Brigade, which had been a consolidation of the Gibraltar Brigade and Smyth's old brigade. He would lead this command the rest of the conflict, occasionally rising to division command, before being mortally wounded at Farmville.
 
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