Francis Smith (British Army officer)

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Francis Smith (British Army officer) bigraphy, stories - British Army general

Francis Smith (British Army officer) : biography

1723 – 1791

Francis Smith (1723–1791) was a British army officer who rose to the rank of Major General. Although Smith had a lengthy and varied career, he is best known as the British commander during most of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts on 19 April 1775. The fighting ignited the American War of Independence that would see Thirteen of Britain’s American Colonies become a separate nation.

New York and Rhode Island

When General William Howe and the British Army sailed to New York in August, Smith commanded a brigade during the British victory at the Battle of Long Island. In August 1778, he led the brigade at Quaker Hill in Newport, Rhode Island during the Battle of Rhode Island. The 10th Regiment served in America until 1778 and then returned to England after 19 years service overseas. Smith returned to America in 1779 and was promoted to Major General. His son Robert Smith became Minister of War under King George.

Lexington and Concord

Smith was Lieutenant Colonel of the 10th Regiment of Foot. He was given overall command of the expedition to Concord, which consisted of twenty one companies of Light infantry and grenadiers totalling around 700 men, whose orders were to search the town for contraband supplies and weapons, particularly artillery. General Thomas Gage believed that the mission required a force larger than a regiment but smaller than a brigade and so assembled it by taking individual companies from the various units in Boston. This left Smith’s force lacking a proper command structure or staff.

As the crisis in Massachusetts had intensified during late 1774 and early 1775, a number of British expeditions had marched into the countryside to search towns where it was believed weapons and supplies were being stored while other units took part in a series of rapid route marches through the countryside to keep the troops physically active. Several minor confrontations and stand-offs occurred during these months, such as the Salem Incident, but had ended without bloodshed. Gage anticipated that Smith’s march to Concord would be similar to these earlier expeditions and was unlikely to come under attack. The vast majority of the colony’s inhabitants considered themselves loyal Britons and apart from a handful of hard-liners on both sides there was a strong desire to avoid the upheaval of civil war.

Lexington

Smith’s departure was widely observed by Boston Whigs, and several messages were slipped out of the city to alarm the countryside. After being alerted to the possibility that there was opposition on the road, Smith ordered some light infantry to move forward while he stayed with the main body of the expedition, thus he was not present at the skirmish in Lexington. Major John Pitcairn of the Royal Marines was in charge of the advance guard. Pitcairn’s men encountered a company of militiamen under John Parker on Lexington Green. Despite orders on both sides not to open fire, shooting broke out and a number of men were killed and wounded. By the time Smith arrived his troops had scattered to pursue fleeing militiamen and it took some time for him to restore order and reform his companies. Several of his officers suggested that they should now return to Boston, but Smith decided to push on to Concord to complete the mission. He had sent messages back to Gage informing him that the countryside was on alert and requesting reinforcements.

Concord

As he marched towards Concord, Smith remained unaware how quickly the militia could assemble. Already within a five mile radius of his force seventy five companies of militiamen, many of them minutemen, were either mustering of marchingGalvin p.131 with many others also on the move from further away. Once Smith reached Concord, he sent various troops to secure strategic points around the town. He also sent a detachment north of the Concord River to search a farm where weapons were stored, in the process of which further firing broke out at the Old North Bridge. As his troops finished searching the town, Smith managed to extricate his troops without further fighting and began the march back to Boston.