Jacob H. Smith

55

Jacob H. Smith : biography

January 29, 1840 – March 1, 1918

Later life

Smith retired to Portsmouth, Ohio, doing some world traveling. He volunteered his military services by letter to the Adjutant General’s Office on April 5, 1917 to fight in World War I, but was refused due to old age and because his atrocities in the Philippines had severely tarnished the image and reputation of the U.S. Military. He died the next year in San Diego on March 1, 1918 and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C..

Battle wounds

By his 1902 court-martial, Smith had been wounded in battle three times:

  • Smith had a scar from a saber cut on the head that he had received in July 1861 in Barboursville, Virginia.
  • Since April 7, 1862 he had been carrying a Minié ball from the Civil War Battle of Shiloh in his hip.
  • Smith also had a bullet in his body from a wound at El Caney, Cuba during the Spanish–American War.

Notes

Civil War and postbellum

Smith enlisted early in the Civil War, but was disabled in the Battle of Shiloh. He tried to return to duty that summer, but the wound would not heal properly, so he became a member of the Invalid Corps, serving out the remainder of the Civil War as a mustering officer/recruiter in Louisville for three years. His service record states that he was good at recruiting "colored" troops.

While working in Louisville, he met and later married Emma L. Havrety in November 1864.

In 1869, Smith’s father-in-law, Daniel Havrety claimed bankruptcy. The lawyers for the bankruptcy court noticed a tremendous enlargement of Jacob Smith’s assets while in Louisville, from $4,000 in 1862 to $40,000 in 1865. Smith admitted that he was involved in a brokerage scheme using bounty money for army recruits to finance a side business and speculations in whisky, gold, and diamonds. Smith said he receipted for a package sent via Express from New Orleans to Cleveland. The package came from his father-in-law and was addressed to Smith’s mother-in-law. Smith later learned the package contained $13,000.Fritz, p. 187

Legal problems

During the 1870s, Smith was called away from duty for several lawsuits for debt. One case dragged on in a Chicago court from 1869 to 1883.

Another creditor, named Henry, continued a claim against Smith for $7 for payment of a harness. The case dragged on from 1871 to 1901. Henry even sent a letter to President McKinley about Smith and his $7 debt.

On July 31, 1884, Smith was sued again in Chicago by the legal firm Pedrick and Dawson.

Smith was court martialed in 1885 in San Antonio for "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman", for deeds in the "Mint Saloon" in Brackett, Texas. The opposing party claimed Smith had been playing a game of draw poker with M. S. Moore and C. H. Holzy A.K.A. Jiggerty, lost $135 to Moore, and refused to pay the debt. Smith was found guilty and was confined to Fort Clark for a year and forfeited half his pay for the same time period. The Reviewing Authority thought the court was too lenient on Smith. It also felt that Smith’s courtroom tactics made a mockery of the legal procedure:

  • demanding witnesses from distant and impractical locations especially since he never actually used the witnesses in court,
  • local civilian witnesses for some reason were intimidated so they refused to testify against Smith,
  • local civilian witnesses for the defense selectively decided which questions they would answer and which they would not.

While the draw poker case was pending in 1885, Smith wrote a letter to the Adjutant General of the Army. The letter was regarding the case and the Adjunct found out that many of the statements were lies. Because of this, Smith was tried again in 1886 and was found guilty, and would have been thrown out of the military. Smith was only saved by President Grover Cleveland, who allowed Smith to return to the military with only a reprimand.

In 1891, Smith was charged with using enlisted men as his servants in his home.Fritz, p. 188-189

Smith’s future gaffes

In 1877, Smith responded to a written reprimand from his colonel with a disrespectful longhand response. Technically, the Colonel could not censure Smith because he had been released from his command because of the incident that was being investigated. When Smith’s company was marching away, the Colonel indicated his displeasure. Smith’s reply made fun of the colonel, saying he was like Prussian general von Moltke. Smith said the colonel’s rebuke was like an "Irishman who was remonstrated for letting his wife whip him, and answered, ‘It is fun for her, and don’t hurt me.’" The colonel notified Smith there would be a court-martial, and so Smith wrote the colonel a nasty letter. Smith was not court-martialed, and instead Major John Pope lectured Smith and recommended the whole affair be dropped since Smith had apologized.Fritz, p. 188