Confederates States Army General. Edmund Kirby Smith was born on May 16, 1824, in St. Augustine, Florida. Son of Joseph Lee and Frances Kirby Smith, His father Joseph Lee Smith was a lawyer and a judge. Enrolled in the United States Military Academy in 1841, graduating in 1845, and was commissioned a Brevet Second Lieutenant in 5th U.S. Infantry. He served in the Mexican War under General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott and was brevetted for gallantry. After the war he taught mathematics at the Military Academy and served in the 2nd U.S. cavalry in Texas. When Texas seceded, Smith, now a major, refused to surrender his command to the Texas State forces and expressed his willingness to fight to hold it. In 1861 he resigned from the army to join the Confederate forces. He served as chief of staff to General Joseph E. Johnston at Harper's Ferry and helped organize the Army of the Shenandoah. He was commissioned colonel of the cavalry and rose to the rank of general. While commanding a brigade in the army, he was severely wounded at Manassas (Bull Run). In January 1863, Smith was transferred to command the Trans-Mississippi Department (primarily Arkansas, Western Louisiana, and Texas) and he would remain west of the Mississippi River for the rest of the war. He surrendered the last military force of the Confederacy on May 26, 1865. After the war he went to Mexico and Cuba to avoid prosecution for treason, but returned in November to take the Oath of Amnesty. He was president of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company, co-chancellor of the University of Nashville from 1870 to 1875. In 1875 he left to become a professor of mathematics at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He died on March 28, 1893, at Sewanee, the last surviving full general of either army. He is buried University of the South Cemetery, Sewanee, Franklin Co., Tennessee.

Confederates States Army General. Edmund Kirby Smith was born on May 16, 1824, in St. Augustine, Florida. Son of Joseph Lee and Frances Kirby Smith, His father Joseph Lee Smith was a lawyer and a judge. Enrolled in the United States Military Academy in 1841, graduating in 1845, and was commissioned a Brevet Second Lieutenant in 5th U.S. Infantry. He served in the Mexican War under General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott and was brevetted for gallantry. After the war he taught mathematics at the Military Academy and served in the 2nd U.S. cavalry in Texas. When Texas seceded, Smith, now a major, refused to surrender his command to the Texas State forces and expressed his willingness to fight to hold it. In 1861 he resigned from the army to join the Confederate forces. He served as chief of staff to General Joseph E. Johnston at Harper's Ferry and helped organize the Army of the Shenandoah. He was commissioned colonel of the cavalry and rose to the rank of general. While commanding a brigade in the army, he was severely wounded at Manassas (Bull Run). In January 1863, Smith was transferred to command the Trans-Mississippi Department (primarily Arkansas, Western Louisiana, and Texas) and he would remain west of the Mississippi River for the rest of the war. He surrendered the last military force of the Confederacy on May 26, 1865. After the war he went to Mexico and Cuba to avoid prosecution for treason, but returned in November to take the Oath of Amnesty. He was president of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company, co-chancellor of the University of Nashville from 1870 to 1875. In 1875 he left to become a professor of mathematics at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He died on March 28, 1893, at Sewanee, the last surviving full general of either army. He is buried University of the South Cemetery, Sewanee, Franklin Co., Tennessee.

Bio by: Mark Genson