Edward Selby Smyth
Encyclopedia
General
Sir Edward Selby Smyth, (31 March 1819 – 22 September 1896) was a British General. He served as first General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada
from 1874 to 1880.
, Smyth was commissioned in to the 2nd Queen's Royal Regiment
in 1841. He went straight to India
only returning with his Regiment to England
as Adjutant
of his Battalion
in 1846. He went to South Africa
in 1851 to protect the administration of the Orange River Sovereignty
from attack by the Basotho
and Khoikhoi
people.
In 1853 he was made Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster-General of the 2nd Division in South Africa
and then Adjutant and Quartermaster-General at British Army
Headquarters in South Africa.
In 1861 he was appointed Inspector-General of the Militia in Ireland
and was involved in suppressing the early stages of the Fenian Rising
. He was appointed General Officer Commanding
British Troops in Mauritius
in 1870.
He was made General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada
in 1874: he carried out the role successfully and was thanked by the Governor-General of Canada for protecting Montreal
from rioting.
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Sir Edward Selby Smyth, (31 March 1819 – 22 September 1896) was a British General. He served as first General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada
General Officer Commanding the Forces (Canada)
The General Officer Commanding the Forces was the most senior member of the Canadian Army from 1875 until 1904. With to the withdrawal of the majority of British forces in Canada in 1906, the position was replaced by the Chief of the General Staff which title was used until 1964 when the...
from 1874 to 1880.
Military career
Educated at Putney College in SurreySurrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, Smyth was commissioned in to the 2nd Queen's Royal Regiment
Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
The Queen's Royal Regiment was a regiment of the English and later British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Army line infantry order of precedence...
in 1841. He went straight to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
only returning with his Regiment to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
as Adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
of his Battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
in 1846. He went to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1851 to protect the administration of the Orange River Sovereignty
Orange River Sovereignty
The Orange River Sovereignty was a short-lived political entity between the Orange and Vaal rivers in southern Africa. In 1854, it became the Orange Free State, and is now the Free State province of South Africa.-History:...
from attack by the Basotho
Basotho
The ancestors of the Sotho people have lived in southern Africa since around the fifth century. The Sotho nation emerged from the accomplished diplomacy of Moshoeshoe I who gathered together disparate clans of Sotho–Tswana origin that had dispersed across southern Africa in the early 19th century...
and Khoikhoi
Khoikhoi
The Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
people.
In 1853 he was made Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster-General of the 2nd Division in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and then Adjutant and Quartermaster-General at British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Headquarters in South Africa.
In 1861 he was appointed Inspector-General of the Militia in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and was involved in suppressing the early stages of the Fenian Rising
Fenian Rising
The Fenian Rising of 1867 was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland, organised by the Irish Republican Brotherhood .After the suppression of the Irish People newspaper, disaffection among Irish radical nationalists had continued to smoulder, and during the later part of 1866 IRB leader James...
. He was appointed General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
British Troops in Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
in 1870.
He was made General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada
General Officer Commanding the Forces (Canada)
The General Officer Commanding the Forces was the most senior member of the Canadian Army from 1875 until 1904. With to the withdrawal of the majority of British forces in Canada in 1906, the position was replaced by the Chief of the General Staff which title was used until 1964 when the...
in 1874: he carried out the role successfully and was thanked by the Governor-General of Canada for protecting Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
from rioting.
Family
In 1848 he married Lucy Sophia Julia Campbell, daughter of Major-General Sir Guy Campbell, 1st Baronet and Pamela FitzGerald.External links
- Sir Edward Selby Smyth at The Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...