Alexander Smyth

Alexander Smyth (1765 – April 17, 1830) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician from Virginia who served in the Virginia House of Delegates, the Virginia Senate, and the United States House of Representatives, and who held the rank of general during the War of 1812. Smyth County, Virginia, is named in his honor. A member of the Jackson Party in his later congressional career, he served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives during a formative period in the early republic, participating in the national legislative process and representing the interests of his Virginia constituents.

Smyth was born in 1765 on Rathlin Island in County Antrim, then part of the Kingdom of Ireland. He immigrated to the United States in 1775 at about ten years of age with his father, the Reverend Alfred Smythe, and settled in Botetourt County, Virginia. There he completed his preparatory studies before turning to the law. After reading law in Virginia, he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Abingdon, Virginia, establishing himself as a lawyer on the southwestern frontier of the state.

By the early 1790s, Smyth had moved to Wythe County, Virginia, where he entered public life. He was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1792, 1796, 1801, 1802, and again from 1804 to 1808, representing his region in the state legislature over multiple, nonconsecutive terms. His legislative service continued in the upper chamber of the General Assembly when he was elected to the Virginia Senate, in which he served in 1808 and 1809. Through these roles he became a prominent figure in Virginia politics, combining his legal practice with an active career in public office.

Smyth also pursued a military career. He entered the United States Army in 1808 and served until 1813. Commissioned as a colonel that year, he was appointed Inspector General to William Eustis, the acting Secretary of War, and was involved in the organization and oversight of the Army on the eve of the War of 1812. Shortly after the outbreak of that conflict, Smyth was promoted to brigadier general on July 6, 1812. His wartime service, however, was marked by controversy. During the Battle of Queenston Heights in October 1812, he refused to support his immediate commander, General Stephen Van Rensselaer, a militia officer with little military experience. After Van Rensselaer’s resignation in the wake of the defeat, Smyth was given command on the Niagara frontier but soon gained a reputation for ineffective leadership. His plan for an invasion of Canada began with the Battle of Frenchman’s Creek in November 1812 but was abandoned amid confusion and poor organization. In the aftermath, Brigadier General Peter B. Porter publicly accused Smyth of cowardice, leading Smyth to challenge Porter to a duel; both men emerged unscathed, prompting historian John R. Elting to remark that “unfortunately, both missed.” Smyth’s military standing never recovered, and his name was eventually removed from the rolls of the U.S. Army.

After leaving the Army, Smyth resumed the practice of law in Virginia and returned to state politics. He again served in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1816 and 1817, and later in 1826 and 1827, continuing his long association with the state legislature. At the national level, he was elected as a representative from Virginia to the Fifteenth Congress and was reelected to the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1825. In the 1817 election he won his seat with 66.99 percent of the vote, defeating Federalist candidate Benjamin Estill, and he was reelected without opposition in both 1819 and 1821. Aligning himself with the emerging Jacksonian movement, Smyth became identified with the Jackson Party, under which banner he continued his congressional career. After a brief interval out of federal office, he was elected again to the Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses, serving from March 4, 1827, until his death in 1830. Over the course of these six terms, he participated in debates and legislation during a period that encompassed the “Era of Good Feelings,” the decline of the Federalist Party, and the rise of Jacksonian democracy.

Alexander Smyth died in office on April 17, 1830, in Washington, D.C., while serving in the Twenty-first Congress. He was interred in the United States Congressional Cemetery in Washington. In recognition of his long service to the Commonwealth and the nation, Smyth County, Virginia, was named in his honor, ensuring that his role as a lawyer, soldier, and legislator in the early history of the United States would be remembered.