Henry Augustus Smyth
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry Augustus Smyth (1825 – 1906), FSA, FRGS, Governor of Malta, general and colonel commandant Royal Artillery
, born at St James's Street, London
, on 25 November 1825, was third son in the family of three sons and six daughters of Admiral William Henry Smyth
(1788–1865) by his wife Annarella, only daughter of Thomas Warington, British consul at Naples
. His elder brothers were Sir Warington Wilkinson Smyth
(1817–1890) and Charles Piazzi Smyth
(1819–1900). Of his six sisters, Henrietta married Prof. Baden-Powell, and Rosetta married Sir William Henry Flower
.
Educated at Bedford school
from 1834 to 1840, Smyth entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich on 1 Feb. 1841. Receiving a commission as second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on 20 Dec. 1843, and being promoted lieutenant on 5 April 1845, he was on foreign service in Bermuda
from 1847 to 1851. Promoted second captain on 11 Aug. 1851, he was quartered at Halifax, Nova Scotia
, till 1854, and at Corfu
from February 1855. On becoming first captain on 1 April, he was sent in May to the Crimea
to command a field battery of the second division of the army which supported the right attack on Sevastopol. Smyth and his battery did arduous work with the siege train in the trenches. He took part in the third bombardment, was present at the fall of Sevastopol, and remained in the Crimea until July 1856. For his services he received the British war medal with clasp for Sevastopol and the Turkish medal.
After he had spent over five years at home stations, principally at Shorncliffe, hostilities threatened with the United States
over the Trent affair, and Smyth took his field battery of the Crimea out to New Brunswick
in December 1861, landing his horses fit for service after an exceptionally tempestuous voyage. While still in Canada Smyth obtained a brevet majority on 12 Feb. 1863, and on promotion to a regimental lieutenant-colonelcy on 31 Aug. 1865 he returned home. While on ordinary leave of absence in Canada he visited the scenes of the American civil war
, saw the capture of Richmond, and was the only foreigner present in the subsequent pursuit of the southern army. At a later period he attended, while on leave from India, some of the operations of the Franco-German war. His observations in both cases were commended by the authorities and partly published in the Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution.
From 1867 to 1874 Smyth served in India
. He became a brevet colonel on 31 Aug. 1870. In 1872 he presided over a committee at Calcutta which condemned the bronze rifled guns then proposed for adoption for field service and conducted valuable researches into the explosive force of Indian gunpowders. His services were eulogised by the governor-general in council in May 1874. On 16 Jan. 1875 Smyth succeeded to a regimental colonelcy and was deputed to attend the German army manœuvres in the autumn. He commanded the artillery at Sheerness
in 1876, and from 1877 to 1880 the artillery in the southern district. He served on various professional inquiries, such as the revision of siege operations in view of the adoption of more powerful rifled guns and howitzers. In 1876 and 1887 he was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Artillery Institution for essays respectively on Field Artillery Tactics and Training of Field Artillery.
From 1881 to 1883 Smyth served on the ordnance committee at Woolwich. During that time steel was introduced into the service on the recommendation of the committee as the material for rifled guns. Promoted major-general on 1 Nov. 1882, Smyth was commandant of the Woolwich garrison and military district from 1882 to 1886. He became lieutenant-general on 1 Nov. 1886, and went out the next year to command the troops in South Africa
.
Soon after his arrival at the Cape he rapidly crushed a rising in Zululand
, which had been formally annexed in May 1887. The Zulus fled into the territories of the South African republic
, where they dispersed. Dinizulu and his chiefs ultimately surrendered to the British, and were banished to St. Helena. For some eight months in 1889–90 Smyth acted as governor of Cape Colony
between the departure of Sir Hercules Robinson, afterwards Lord Rosmead, and the arrival of Sir Henry Brougham Loch, afterwards Lord Loch. Smyth was created C.M.G. in January 1889, and K.C.M.G. in 1890, when he was appointed governor of Malta. He was promoted general on 19 May 1891, and on 20 Dec. 1893 his jubilee in the Royal Artillery service was celebrated at Malta. He left the island at the end of the year on retirement, and settled at his father's house, which he had inherited, St. John's Lodge, Stone
, Aylesbury
, Buckinghamshire
.
Smyth became a colonel commandant of the royal artillery on 17 Oct. 1894. He was honorary colonel of the royal Malta militia, a J.P.
for Buckinghamshire, and fellow both of the Society of Antiquaries
and of the Royal Geographical Society
. He died on 18 Sept. 1906 at his own house, and was buried in Stone churchyard. He married at Lillington, near Leamington in Warwickshire, on 14 April 1874, Helen Constance, daughter of John Whitehead Greaves, of Berecote, near Leamington. His widow survived him without issue. A portrait painted by Lowes Dickinson is in Lady Smyth's possession. Memorial tablets have been erected in the garrison church at Woolwich and in the church at Stone.
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
, born at St James's Street, 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...
, on 25 November 1825, was third son in the family of three sons and six daughters of Admiral William Henry Smyth
William Henry Smyth
William Henry Smyth was an English sailor, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist.-Private Life:...
(1788–1865) by his wife Annarella, only daughter of Thomas Warington, British consul at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. His elder brothers were Sir Warington Wilkinson Smyth
Warington Wilkinson Smyth
Sir Warington Wilkinson Smyth was a British geologist.-Biography:Smyth was born at Naples, the son of Admiral W. H. Smyth and his wife Annarella Warington. His father was engaged in the Admiralty Survey of the Mediterranean at the time of his birth. Smyth was educated at Westminster and...
(1817–1890) and Charles Piazzi Smyth
Charles Piazzi Smyth
Charles Piazzi Smyth , was Astronomer Royal for Scotland from 1846 to 1888, well-known for many innovations in astronomy and his pyramidological and metrological studies of the Great Pyramid of Giza....
(1819–1900). Of his six sisters, Henrietta married Prof. Baden-Powell, and Rosetta married Sir William Henry Flower
William Henry Flower
Sir William Henry Flower KCB FRCS FRS was an English comparative anatomist and surgeon. Flower became a leading authority on mammals, and especially on the primate brain...
.
Educated at Bedford school
Bedford School
Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Modern School or Bedford High School or Old Bedford School in Bedford, TexasBedford School is an HMC independent school for boys located in the town of Bedford, England, United Kingdom...
from 1834 to 1840, Smyth entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich on 1 Feb. 1841. Receiving a commission as second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on 20 Dec. 1843, and being promoted lieutenant on 5 April 1845, he was on foreign service in Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
from 1847 to 1851. Promoted second captain on 11 Aug. 1851, he was quartered at Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, till 1854, and at Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
from February 1855. On becoming first captain on 1 April, he was sent in May to the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
to command a field battery of the second division of the army which supported the right attack on Sevastopol. Smyth and his battery did arduous work with the siege train in the trenches. He took part in the third bombardment, was present at the fall of Sevastopol, and remained in the Crimea until July 1856. For his services he received the British war medal with clasp for Sevastopol and the Turkish medal.
After he had spent over five years at home stations, principally at Shorncliffe, hostilities threatened with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
over the Trent affair, and Smyth took his field battery of the Crimea out to New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
in December 1861, landing his horses fit for service after an exceptionally tempestuous voyage. While still in Canada Smyth obtained a brevet majority on 12 Feb. 1863, and on promotion to a regimental lieutenant-colonelcy on 31 Aug. 1865 he returned home. While on ordinary leave of absence in Canada he visited the scenes of the American civil war
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, saw the capture of Richmond, and was the only foreigner present in the subsequent pursuit of the southern army. At a later period he attended, while on leave from India, some of the operations of the Franco-German war. His observations in both cases were commended by the authorities and partly published in the Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution.
From 1867 to 1874 Smyth served in 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...
. He became a brevet colonel on 31 Aug. 1870. In 1872 he presided over a committee at Calcutta which condemned the bronze rifled guns then proposed for adoption for field service and conducted valuable researches into the explosive force of Indian gunpowders. His services were eulogised by the governor-general in council in May 1874. On 16 Jan. 1875 Smyth succeeded to a regimental colonelcy and was deputed to attend the German army manœuvres in the autumn. He commanded the artillery at Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
in 1876, and from 1877 to 1880 the artillery in the southern district. He served on various professional inquiries, such as the revision of siege operations in view of the adoption of more powerful rifled guns and howitzers. In 1876 and 1887 he was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Artillery Institution for essays respectively on Field Artillery Tactics and Training of Field Artillery.
From 1881 to 1883 Smyth served on the ordnance committee at Woolwich. During that time steel was introduced into the service on the recommendation of the committee as the material for rifled guns. Promoted major-general on 1 Nov. 1882, Smyth was commandant of the Woolwich garrison and military district from 1882 to 1886. He became lieutenant-general on 1 Nov. 1886, and went out the next year to command the troops 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...
.
Soon after his arrival at the Cape he rapidly crushed a rising in Zululand
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
, which had been formally annexed in May 1887. The Zulus fled into the territories of the South African republic
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
, where they dispersed. Dinizulu and his chiefs ultimately surrendered to the British, and were banished to St. Helena. For some eight months in 1889–90 Smyth acted as governor of Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
between the departure of Sir Hercules Robinson, afterwards Lord Rosmead, and the arrival of Sir Henry Brougham Loch, afterwards Lord Loch. Smyth was created C.M.G. in January 1889, and K.C.M.G. in 1890, when he was appointed governor of Malta. He was promoted general on 19 May 1891, and on 20 Dec. 1893 his jubilee in the Royal Artillery service was celebrated at Malta. He left the island at the end of the year on retirement, and settled at his father's house, which he had inherited, St. John's Lodge, Stone
Stone, Buckinghamshire
Stone is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located southwest of the town of Aylesbury, on the A418 road that links Aylesbury to Thame...
, Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
.
Smyth became a colonel commandant of the royal artillery on 17 Oct. 1894. He was honorary colonel of the royal Malta militia, a J.P.
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Buckinghamshire, and fellow both of the Society of Antiquaries
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
and of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
. He died on 18 Sept. 1906 at his own house, and was buried in Stone churchyard. He married at Lillington, near Leamington in Warwickshire, on 14 April 1874, Helen Constance, daughter of John Whitehead Greaves, of Berecote, near Leamington. His widow survived him without issue. A portrait painted by Lowes Dickinson is in Lady Smyth's possession. Memorial tablets have been erected in the garrison church at Woolwich and in the church at Stone.