Ashbel Smith
Encyclopedia
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
, Confederate officer and first President of the Board of Regents of the University of Texas.
Early life
Smith was born on August 13, 1805 in Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, United States, and attended Hartford public schools. He graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
at the age of 19 where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor society. Smith taught briefly in a private school in Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury is a city in Rowan County in North Carolina, a state of the United States of America. The population was 33,663 in the 2010 Census . It is the county seat of Rowan County...
and then attended medical school at Yale graduating as medical doctor in 1828. He later lived in France and during the Paris cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic of 1832, Smith helped to treat the sick and wrote a pamphlet on the disease. Returning to the United States, Smith began his medical practice in Salisbury, North Carolina. He became active politically and part owner of the nullification
Nullification (U.S. Constitution)
Nullification is a legal theory that a State has the right to nullify, or invalidate, any federal law which that state has deemed unconstitutional...
newspaper the Western Carolinian. In the fall of 1836, Smith was persuaded to move to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
by J. Pinckney Henderson, whom Smith had become friends with in Salisbury and was already in Texas.
Texas settler
Upon arriving in Texas in 1837, Smith quickly became a close acquaintance of Sam HoustonSam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
and was appointed to the post of surgeon general with the Republic of Texas Army. Even though militarily the Texas Revolution
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
was over, Smith set up an efficient system of medical operations and established the first hospital in the area that would become Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. As President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston called on Smith to negotiate a treaty with the Comanches in 1838. The Texas Congress failed to ratify the treaty, which would have recognized a Comanche homeland, the Comancheria
Comancheria
The Comancheria is the name commonly given to the region of New Mexico, west Texas and nearby areas occupied by the Comanche before the 1860s.-Geography:...
, thus leading to the Council House Fight
Council House Fight
The Council House Fight was a conflict between Republic of Texas officials and a Comanche peace delegation which took place in San Antonio, Texas, on March 19, 1840. The meeting took place under a truce with the purpose of negotiating peace after two years of war. The Comanches sought to obtain...
and Great Raid of 1840
Great Raid of 1840
The Great Raid of 1840 was the largest raid ever mounted by Native Americans on white cities in what is now the United States. It followed the Council House Fight, in which Republic of Texas officials attempted to capture and take prisoner 33 Comanche chiefs who had come to negotiate a peace...
.
A supporter of public education, Smith was a charter member and first vice president of the Philosophical Society of Texas. The society immediately set about to request that the Texas Congress establish a system of public education in Texas.
In 1839, a yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
epidemic broke out in Galveston, and Smith treated the victims of the disease while writing reports about the treatment of the disease in the Galveston News. As a result of this experience, he wrote the first treatise on yellow fever in Texas. He purchased land near Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along the upper coast of Texas in the United States. It is connected to the Gulf of Mexico and is surrounded by sub-tropic marshes and prairies on the mainland. The water in the Bay is a complex mixture of sea water and fresh water which supports a wide...
and built his plantation, Evergreen, in southeast Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
in what is now Baytown, Texas.
Texas diplomat and secretary of state
In President Sam Houston's second term (1841–1844), Dr. Smith was Minister PlenipotentiaryAmbassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
from the Republic of Texas to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and France
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
, residing in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris, respectively. He also traveled to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on a diplomatic mission to Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
. In Europe, Smith secured ratification of a treaty of amity and commerce between England and Texas and improved the Republic's relations with France, which had been ruffled by the so-called Pig War. On his return from Europe in 1845, Smith was appointed Secretary of State
Secretary of State of Texas
The Secretary of State of Texas is one of six state officials designated by the Texas Constitution to form the executive department of that U.S. state...
by President Anson Jones
Anson Jones
Anson Jones was a doctor, businessman, congressman, the fourth and last President of the Republic of Texas, sometimes called the "Architect of Annexation."- Early life :...
. With the possibility of annexation by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Smith worked to give the people of Texas a choice between remaining an independent republic and being annexed. To facilitate this, he negotiated a treaty, in which Mexico recognized the independence of Texas, won in 1836, and in return Texas would not be annexed by another country. This treaty, known as the Smith-Cuevas Treaty, angered many Texans who were strong supporters of annexation, and Smith was burned in effigy by citizens of Galveston and San Felipe
San Felipe, Texas
San Felipe, also known as San Felipe de Austin, is a town in Austin County, Texas, United States. The town was the social, economic, and political center of the early Stephen F. Austin colony. The population was 868 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. This treaty was rejected by the Texan Congress which preferred the annexation resolutions, and thus, Texas was annexed by the United States on December 29, 1845 and became the 28th state of the Union in early 1846.
Citizen, soldier and physician
"The Mexican War is part of the mission of the destiny allotted to the Anglo-Saxon race on this continent. It is our destiny, our mission to Americanize this continent.... The sword is the great civilizer"—Ashbel Smith
Smith served as a surgeon in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War (1846–48) on active duty with Gen. Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
in the field. He also served as president of the board of visitors to the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point in 1848. After the Mexican-American War, Smith returned to Texas and, in 1851, he served as a commissioner from the United States to the London Industrial Exposition. The following year he accepted the role as manager of the first Lone Star Fair in Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, lending a measure of credibility to that event. In the early 1850s, Dr. Smith worked with Gail Borden
Gail Borden
Gail Borden, Jr. was a 19th century U.S. inventor, surveyor, and publisher, and was the inventor of condensed milk in 1853.- Early years :...
to develop and promote a dried beef biscuit. When the Texas Medical Association came into being in 1853, Smith was one of the founders. In 1855, Smith was elected to the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
from Harris County. In his first term, Smith supported measures to aid railroad construction, validate land titles, improve the common schools. He also served as Headmaster of Houston Academy before the Civil War.
Civil War
Smith supported Texas' secession from the Union in 1861. When it was clear that war was inevitable, he organized the Bayland Guards, also known as Company C of the Second Texas Infantry to fight for the ConfederacyConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. He outfitted and drilled the company, and the men elected Smith as their captain. While commanding Company C at the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
in 1863, Smith received a severe arm injury and was cited for gallantry, along with the rest of his company. For his bravery, Smith was brevetted
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
a Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and was given command of the Second Texas Infantry. He then led the unit in engagements in Corinth
Battle of Corinth
The Battle of Corinth may refer to a Roman battle, or to one of two American Civil War Battles:* The Battle of Corinth * The Siege of Corinth, Mississippi , also known as the First Battle of Corinth, during the American Civil War* The Second Battle of Corinth...
and at the Tallahatchie River
Tallahatchie River
The Tallahatchie River flows from Tippah County, Mississippi to Leflore County, Mississippi, where it joins the Yalobusha River to form the Yazoo River.-History:Tallahatchie is a Choctaw name meaning "rock of waters"....
. At the Battle of Vicksburg
Battle of Vicksburg
The Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John C...
, the regiment was distinguished for its defense of a crescent-shaped fortification, which came to be known as the Second Texas Lunette. The fortification was located in the center of the Vicksburg line of defense. Under the command of Col. Smith, the Second Texas Infantry withstood two Union assaults of brigade strength directed against the lunette on May 22, 1863. After the surrender of the Confederates at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, Smith was in charge of defenses in the vicinity of the Matagorda Peninsula on the Texas Gulf Coast and finally at the end of the war, the remnants of Second Texas was charged with defending the port of Galveston from Union control.
After the war: focus on public education
At the conclusion of the Civil War, Smith and William P. Ballinger were sent by Texas Confederate Governor Pendleton MurrahPendleton Murrah
Pendleton Murrah was the tenth Governor of Texas. His term in office coincided with the American Civil War.A native of South Carolina, Murrah graduated from Brown University in 1848. He moved to Texas and opened a law practice in Marshall. He ran and was defeated for the U.S...
as commissioners to negotiate peace terms for Texas with Union officials in New Orleans.
In 1866, Smith and his cousin Henry Gillette founded the Bayland Orphanage to care for the children of deceased Confederate veterans. Smith was also elected again as a Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
state representative from Houston to the Eleventh Texas Legislature
Eleventh Texas Legislature
The Eleventh Texas Legislature met from 6 August 1866 to 13 November 1866 in its regular session. All members of the House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Senate were elected in 1865.-Senate:Lieutenant Governor: George Washington Jones...
, serving for one term in 1866.
The Texas Historical Society was organized in Houston in 1870 with Ashbel Smith as its president.
According to the Handbook of Texas Online in the 1870s, "[Smith] championed public education for blacks and women and was one of three commissioners appointed by Governor Richard Coke
Richard Coke
Richard Coke was an American lawyer, farmer, and statesman from Waco, Texas. He was the 15th governor of Texas from 1874 to 1876 and represented Texas in the U.S. Senate from 1877 to 1895. His uncle was Congressman Richard Coke, Jr..Coke was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, to John and Eliza Coke...
to establish an 'Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, for the benefit of the Colored Youths.' This school, located five miles east of Hempstead, is now Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools...
.
Smith was appointed by the United States Centennial Commission in 1876 to act as a judge on the Jury of Awards at the Great International Exhibition in Philadelphia. In 1878 President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
appointed him one of the two honorary commissioners from Texas to the Paris International Exposition.
Elected to a final two-year term in the Texas House of Representatives in 1878, Smith again represented his home county in the Sixteenth Texas Legislature
Sixteenth Texas Legislature
The Sixteenth Texas Legislature met from 14 January to 9 July 1879 in its regular session and one called session. All members of the House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Senate were elected in 1878 General Election.-Sessions:...
. His primary focus was the establishment of a liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
public university with a first-class medical department. Smith was made President of the newly-established University of Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
Board of Regents in 1881. Smith's goals were to recruit the best professors available for the faculty and to establish a curriculum that would make the university, which in the 1880s was still on the western frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
, a distinctive national institution of higher learning. He also saw to it that the medical branch was established in Galveston, near his home.
Smith never married. He died on January 21, 1886, at his plantation home Evergreen.
In 1886, in a special meeting of the regents immediately after Ashbel's death, the regents passed resolutions affirming the school was the "living monument to the high and noble aims of Ashbel Smith," adding: "It may be said of him that he was insofar as the practical inauguration of the University is concerned the "Father of the University of Texas."
He is buried in the State Cemetery in Austin.
Memorials
A number of memorials exist for Dr. Ashbel Smith, including:- Ashbel Smith Professorships throughout the University of Texas system, held by notable scholars including Clarence Paul OliverClarence Paul OliverClarence Paul Oliver , known to his friends as "Pete", was an American geneticist. Born in Dexter, Missouri, he attended college at University of Texas receiving a BA in 1925. He continued his studies at University of Texas completing a PhD in the laboratory of Hermann Joseph Muller in 1931...
, Ilya PrigogineIlya PrigogineIlya, Viscount Prigogine was a Russian-born naturalized Belgian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility.-Biography :...
, Emmette RedfordEmmette RedfordEmmette Redford was born in San Antonio, Texas. He attended Midland College, Midland, Texas and to Southwest Texas State Teachers College, finally graduating from The University of Texas at Austin. He received a Ph.D...
, David M. Young, Jr.David M. Young, Jr.David M. Young, Jr. was an American mathematician and computer scientist who was one of the pioneers in the field of modern numerical analysis/scientific computing....
, and Morris ZiffMorris ZiffMorris Ziff November 19, 1913-August 22, 2005) was a physician, educator and researcher specializing in arthritic and rheumatic disorders, possibly best known for helping discover the rheumatoid factor.... - The Ashbel Smith Building at the University of Texas Medical BranchUniversity of Texas Medical BranchThe University of Texas Medical Branch is a component of the University of Texas System located in Galveston, Texas, United States, about 50 miles southeast of Downtown Houston...
in Galveston, affectionately known as "Old Red" - The Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus Award is the highest alumni honor bestowed by UTMB's School of Medicine Alumni Association.
- Ashbel Smith Hall of the University of Texas System Administration
- Smith Street in downtown Houston
- Ashbel Street and Ashbel Smith Elementary SchoolGoose Creek Consolidated Independent School DistrictGoose Creek Consolidated Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Baytown, Texas, United States.The district has 14 elementary schools , 5 junior high schools , 3 high schools , a career center, and two alternative centers for education...
in Baytown, TexasBaytown, TexasBaytown is a city within Harris County and partially in Chambers County in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. state of Texas. Located within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, it lies along both State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. As of 2010, Baytown had an population of 71,802...