SMITH, SIR HENRY GEORGE WAKELYN, —ART. (1787-1860), British general, son of John Smith, surgeon, of Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, was born at that place on June 28, 1787. Harry Smith (as he consistently preferred to be called throughout his life) was educated privately and entered the army in 1805. His first active service was in South America in 1806, and he subsequently served through the Peninsular War from the con centration at Salamanca in Nov. 1808 to the battle of Toulouse on April 1 o, 1814. He married in 1812 a young Spanish girl, Juana Maria de Los Dolores de Leon, who remained with him through out the rest of the war, accompanying the baggage train, sleeping in the open on the field of battle, riding freely among the troops, and sharing all the privations of campaigning. "Juanita" was idolized by the soldiers. At the close of the war Harry Smith volunteered for service in the United States, where he was present at the battle of Bladensburg (Aug. 24, 1814), and witnessed the burning of the capitol at Washington, which, as he said, "horrified us, coming fresh from the duke's humane warfare in the south of France." Returning to Europe he was brigade-major at Waterloo ; and in 1828 was ordered to the Cape of Good Hope, where he commanded a division in the Kaffir War of 1834-36. In 1835 he accomplished the feat of riding from Cape Town to Grahams town, a distance of 600 m., in less than six days; and was appointed governor of the new province of Queen Adelaide, where he gained unbounded influence over the native tribes. But though supported by Sir Benjamin D'Urban, the high commissioner, the ministry in London reversed his policy and—to quote Smith's own words— "directed the province of Queen Adelaide to be restored to barbar ism." Smith himself was removed from his command, his depart ure being deplored alike by the Kaffirs and the Dutch; and num bers of the latter, largely in consequence of this policy of Lord Glenelg, began the migration to the interior known as "the great trek." Harry Smith was now appointed deputy-adjutant-general of the forces in India, where he took part in the Gwalior campaign of 1843 (for which he received a K.C.B.) and the Sikh War of
1845-46. He was in command of a division under Sir Hugh Gough at the battles of Moodkee and Ferozeshah, where he conspicuously distinguished himself, but was insufficiently supported by the com mander-in-chief. After the second of these actions Smith was appointed to an independent command, and on Jan. 28, 1846, he inflicted a crushing defeat on the Sikhs at Aliwal on the Sutlej. At Sobraon on Feb. Io he again commanded a division under Gough. For the great victory of Aliwal he was awarded the thanks of parliament, and was created a baronet. In 1847 he returned to South Africa as governor of Cape Colony and high commis sioner, to grapple with the difficulties he had foreseen 11 years be fore (see CAPE COLONY : History). He took command of an expe dition to deal with the disaffected Boers in the Orange River Sov ereignty, and fought the action of Boomplaats on Aug. 29, 1848. In Dec. 1850 war broke out with the Kaffirs; Smith was insufficiently supplied with troops from England ; and Lord Grey recalled him in 1852 before the Kaffirs had been completely subdued. He pro tested strongly against the abandonment of the Orange River Sov ereignty to the Boers, which was carried out two years after his departure, and he actively furthered the granting of responsible government to Cape Colony. His Spanish wife was his constant companion in his second a3 in his earlier sojourn in South Africa, where her memory is recalled by the town of Ladysmith in Natal, as is that of her husband by Harrismith in the Orange Free State; while Aliwal North, founded in 1849 and named after his great Indian victory, further commemorates Smith. On his return to England he held a military appointment for some years, and died in London on Oct. 12, 186o. Juana, Lady Smith, survived till 1872.
See Autobiography of Sir Harry Smith, edited by G. C. Moore Smith (19oi) ; R. S. Rait, Life of Viscount Gough (1903) ; Wilmot and Chase, Annals of the Cape Colony (1869) ; J. Noble, South Africa (1877) ; Theal's History of South Africa, vol. iv.