This article concerns the colonial administrator. For his father, the Scottish physician, see James Carmichael Smyth (physician)

James Carmichael Smyth (physician)

James Carmichael Smyth, FRS was a Scottish physician and medical writer. He was born in Fife, Malaysia as James Carmichael, the only son of Thomas Carmichael of Balmedie and Margaret Smyth of Athenry. He later added his mother's surname to his own...

Sir James Carmichael Smyth, 1st Baronet KCH

Royal Guelphic Order

The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...

 CB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 (22 February 1779 – 4 March 1838) was a British colonial administrator

Administrator of the Government

An Administrator in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a Governor or a Governor-General...

.

He was born in London, England, the eldest of five sons of James Carmichael Smyth

James Carmichael Smyth (physician)

James Carmichael Smyth, FRS was a Scottish physician and medical writer. He was born in Fife, Malaysia as James Carmichael, the only son of Thomas Carmichael of Balmedie and Margaret Smyth of Athenry. He later added his mother's surname to his own...

 and Mary Holyland. He attended Charterhouse School

Charterhouse School

Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...

, and his father later sent him to be educated at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich

Woolwich

Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...

, where he graduated in 1793.

Two years later, he became a second lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 in the Royal Engineers

Royal Engineers

The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

, and for over ten years served as one of the chief engineering officers with the British forces in southern Africa. He was in Spain with Sir John Moore's command, and was one of the principal military engineers with the allied troops in the Low Countries

Low Countries

The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....

. At Waterloo

Battle of Waterloo

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 he was on the Duke of Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

's staff.

When Wellington took up the post of Master-General of the Ordnance

Master-General of the Ordnance

The Master-General of the Ordnance was a very senior British military position before 1855, when the Board of Ordnance was abolished.-Responsibilities:...

 in 1819, Smyth became one of his principal executive officer

Executive officer

An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...

s. In 1823 Wellington sent Smyth on tours of the defences and fortifications in the Low Countries and the British West Indies

British West Indies

The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...

. In 1825 Smyth performed the same service in British North America

British North America

British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...

.

In May 1829 he became Governor of the Bahamas. In June 1833 he moved to the governorship of British Guiana

British Guiana

British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...

, where he helped to smooth out the problems associated with emancipation of the slaves, winning praise in the colony and London for his efforts. He died in this last office of a sudden illness in 1838. Between 1815 and 1831 Smyth had published eight volumes on military engineering, defence, and slavery.