able officers.  Both rose to distinction afterwards, but having been left without instructions they were at a loss as to their proper course till Smith arrived with the latest news from Washington.  His clear and determined counsel gave them heart and encouragement, under which they made good their hold upon the fort and the island.  They were reinforced in due time, which enabled the government to hold this important strategic position at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico till the termination of the war put an end to all danger.  Before returning to the north, Smith visited Havana, where he obtained valuable information for future use.

So far his work had been preparatory, and one of the most useful features of it was his tour of duty at West Point.  His services in the south, and especially at Corpus Christi, had brought on a severe attack of malarial poisoning, ending in congestive chills and shattered health, followed by sick-leave and a return to the north.  Before he had entirely recovered he was ordered to West Point, as principal Assistant Professor of Mathematics.  This was in 1855, but his illness had so seriously affected his head as to make it impossible for him to discharge the duties of his position in a manner satisfactory to himself.  As one of his pupils, I failed to discover any lack of knowledge or perspicacity on his part.  To the contrary, he impressed the sections of which he had charge as a very clear-headed man with remarkable powers of mind and great aptitude as a disciplinarian and teacher.  It is now known, however, that the close attention and mental exertion which his duties required of him gave him such pain as to make it imperative that he should be relieved, and this was done at his own request after a year’s hard work and suffering.  The injury he had received was unfortunately never entirely overcome.  Throughout the whole of his subsequent life he was subject to recurrent attacks of malaria, accompanied by pain in the head with a tendency to mental depression, which disabled him entirely at times, and upon one most important occasion compelled him to leave the field, when his interests and his inclinations demanded that he should remain.  I refer now especially to the time when he was assigned by General Grant to the command of the Army of the James, to succeed Major General Butler, who was at the same time ordered to return to Fortress Monroe.  It will be remembered that this order was never carried into effect, but that General Smith, who was suffering from one of his attacks, took leave of absence, much to the concern of his friends, and went by the way of Fortress Monroe to New York.  There was no great movement under way at the time, but before his leave of absence had expired he was notified that the order in question had been countermanded.  Various explanations were given for this action, and I shall recur to it again.  But it is believed by those who were interested in General Smith, and had confidence in his unusual capacity for high command, that his relief was largely, if not altogether, due to intrigue, on the part of General Butler, aided perhaps by an exaggerated estimate on the part of General Grant of that officer’s political importance, which General Smith could easily have defeated had he been on the ground in actual command of the army to which he had been assigned.