Civil War Union Navy Officer. The son of Rear Admiral Joseph Smith, he was an 1847 graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. He rose from Passed Midshipman to Lieutenant, receiving that rank in 1855. During the 1850s he served on land duty stationed at the Washington, D. C. Naval Yard, and on board the "USS Mississippi" and the "USS Merrimack". He was assigned in 1860 to serve on board the “USS Congress”. It was stationed at Hampton Roads, Virginia in 1862, and was the second Union warship to be destroyed on March 8, 1862 by the Confederate ironclad "CSS Virginia" (formerly the "Merrimack", the ship Lieutenant Smith served on in the 1850s). After the "Virginia" steamed out to attack the Union Navy ships that were blockading the James River, it destroyed the “USS Cumberland” before setting its sights on the “Congress”. Lieutenant Smith was acting commander of the vessel that day, and directed the ships defense in the battle, which was a one-sided affair, as the cannon fire from the “Congress” bounced off the “Virginia’s” iron plated hull, while the Confederate ship’s fire tore the wooden warship apart. After the Union ship took great casualties, Lieutenant Smith continued to direct the fight until a piece of Confederate artillery decapitated him. After the subsequent commander surrendered the “Congress”, Lieutenant Smith’s body was smuggled off the ship while Confederates were taking prisoners. When informed of the “Congress’” surrender, his father, Admiral Smith, reportedly said “Then Joe is Dead”, alluding to the fact that his son would not have surrendered if he had remained alive. Two United States Navy Destroyers were named in his honor - the DD-17 "USS Smith" launched in 1909, and the DD-378 "USS Smith", which was launched in 1936 and earned six battlestars during World War II.
Civil War Union Navy Officer. The son of Rear Admiral Joseph Smith, he was an 1847 graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. He rose from Passed Midshipman to Lieutenant, receiving that rank in 1855. During the 1850s he served on land duty stationed at the Washington, D. C. Naval Yard, and on board the "USS Mississippi" and the "USS Merrimack". He was assigned in 1860 to serve on board the “USS Congress”. It was stationed at Hampton Roads, Virginia in 1862, and was the second Union warship to be destroyed on March 8, 1862 by the Confederate ironclad "CSS Virginia" (formerly the "Merrimack", the ship Lieutenant Smith served on in the 1850s). After the "Virginia" steamed out to attack the Union Navy ships that were blockading the James River, it destroyed the “USS Cumberland” before setting its sights on the “Congress”. Lieutenant Smith was acting commander of the vessel that day, and directed the ships defense in the battle, which was a one-sided affair, as the cannon fire from the “Congress” bounced off the “Virginia’s” iron plated hull, while the Confederate ship’s fire tore the wooden warship apart. After the Union ship took great casualties, Lieutenant Smith continued to direct the fight until a piece of Confederate artillery decapitated him. After the subsequent commander surrendered the “Congress”, Lieutenant Smith’s body was smuggled off the ship while Confederates were taking prisoners. When informed of the “Congress’” surrender, his father, Admiral Smith, reportedly said “Then Joe is Dead”, alluding to the fact that his son would not have surrendered if he had remained alive. Two United States Navy Destroyers were named in his honor - the DD-17 "USS Smith" launched in 1909, and the DD-378 "USS Smith", which was launched in 1936 and earned six battlestars during World War II.
Bio by: RPD2
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