Giles Smith joined Company D, 8th Missouri Infantry as a captain on June 14, 1861; the regiment was commanded by his brother, Colonel Morgan L. Smith. In the summer of 1862, following the battles of Fort Donelson and Shiloh, Giles Smith was promoted to lieutenant colonel and colonel, succeeding his brother as regimental commander.

Smith fought at Vicksburg, Chattanooga (where he was severely wounded), and Atlanta. He was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers on August 4, 1863, and brevetted major general of volunteers on September 1, 1864. He commanded a division during Sherman’s “March to the Sea,” and on November 24, 1865, was advanced to the full rank of major general of volunteers, the last such appointment made on the basis of seniority in the Civil War.

Mustered out of the service in 1866, Smith returned to his home in Bloomington, Illinois. He was appointed second assistant postmaster general by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1869; he resigned in 1872 because of poor health.

Smith died on November 5, 1876.

Carte-de-Visite by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31723