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Smith (Thomas Kilby) Papers
mssKS  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents
  • Processing Information
  • Arrangement
  • General
  • General

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: Thomas Kilby Smith papers
    Creator: Smith, Thomas Kilby, 1820-1887
    Identifier/Call Number: mssKS
    Physical Description: 6 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
    Date (inclusive): 1848-1887
    Date (bulk): 1861-1869
    Abstract: Personal correspondence of lawyer and American Civil War general Thomas Kilby Smith.
    Language of Material: Materials are in English.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

    Conditions Governing Use

    The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. Thomas Kilby Smith papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Purchased from Peter Decker, 1959.

    Biographical / Historical

    Thomas Kilby Smith (1820-1887) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. From 1843 to 1853, he practiced law in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1853 he became special agent in the Post Office Department at Washington, and later served as U.S. marshal for the Southern District of Ohio and deputy clerk of Hamilton County. In October 1861, Smith was commissioned Colonel of the 54th Regiment of Ohio Infantry, which he commanded at Shiloh and the advance on Corinth. From 1863 to 1864 he fought under William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant in Mississippi and Tennessee, commanding brigades in the Army of the Tennessee (15th Army Corps, Sherman's Yazoo Expedition, and in 17th Army Corps), and serving on a court of inquiry and on Grant's staff. Smith served as United States Consul at Panama from 1866 to 1869. In the early 1870s, he settled in Torresdale, Pennsylvania and later was a member of the business staff of the New York Star. He died suddenly in 1887. Smith was married to Elizabeth Budd McCullough and they had six children.

    Scope and Contents

    Personal correspondence of Thomas Kilby Smith, chiefly his letters to his mother Eliza Bicker Walter Smith, wife Elizabeth Budd McCullough Smith, and son George Walter Smith. The letters document Smith's life and career from the late 1840's to the 1890s, including his pre-war law practice, his work in Washington, D.C. Civil War service, tenure as the U.S. consul in Panama, and his travels, including the voyage from Panama by way of San Francisco in 1867, and a trip to London in 1881. Also included is a typescript copy of Smith's autobiographical notes dated November 30, 1864, and a draft of his letter to William Tecumseh Sherman, December 1887.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Huntington Library staff. In 2020, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.

    Arrangement

    Arranged chronologically.

    General

    Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssKS 1-434.

    General

    Published in part in: Smith, George Walter. Life and letters of Thomas Kilby Smith, Brevet Major General United States volunteers 1820-1887 (New York and London, 1898).

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Consuls -- United States -- Correspondence
    Diplomats -- United States -- Correspondence
    Generals -- United States -- Archives
    Red River Expedition, 1864 -- Personal narratives
    Shiloh, Battle of, Tenn., 1862 -- Personal narratives
    Corinth (Miss.) -- History -- Siege, 1862 -- Personal narratives
    London (England) -- Description and travel
    Mississippi -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
    Ohio -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories
    Panama -- Description and travel
    San Francisco (Calif.) -- Description and travel
    Tennessee -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
    United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
    United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- Ohio -- Sources
    United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans -- Archives
    Vicksburg (Miss.) -- History -- Siege, 1863 -- Personal narratives
    Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865
    Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
    Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891
    Smith, Eliza Bicker Walter
    Smith, Elizabeth Budd McCullough
    Smith, Walter George, 1854-1924
    United States. Army. Department of the Tennessee -- Officers -- Correspondence
    United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 54th (1861-1865)
    United States. Consulate (Panama City, Panama) -- Officials and employees -- Correspondence
    United States. Post Office Department -- Officials and employees -- Correspondence