General William Jay Smith Quarter Plate Tintype / SOLD

Deeply discounted, was $2750,00 now $2,000! / SOLD

Rare tintype of a union general!

Full standing view of General William Jay Smith.  Smith is posed standing with one gauntlet covered hand resting on the hilt of his Cavalry Officer's saber and the other in a Napoleonic fashion.  The General wears a dark double-breasted frock coat with shoulder bars and matching trousers.  At his waist he wears a sash which the photographer has tinted gold and a two piece belt plate.   This quarter plate, tintype is housed in a Richmond gutta-percha case.  The case is in excellent condition.  It is free of chips and cracks and has both brass hinges.  The interior of the case has an embossed yellow panel.   The brass mat and frame are in good condition. 

During the Mexican-American War, in 1847, Smith served in a regiment from Tennessee. He moved to Hardeman County, Tennessee, and engaged in horticulture.

In the American Civil War, Smith served as a Brevet Brigadier General in the Union Army from 1861 to 1865. He was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1865. He was a member of the State house of representatives from 1865 to 1867. He also served in the State senate from 1867 to 1869, and again from 1885 to 1887. He was a surveyor of the port of Memphis, Tennessee from 1871 to 1883.

Elected as a Republican to the Forty-first Congress, Smith served from March 4, 1869 to March 3, 1871.   An unsuccessful candidate for reelection, he engaged in the real estate and banking businesses.  He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1876.

Inventory Number: HAR 021 / SOLD