Francis Henney Smith was born October 18, 1812, the son of Francis Smith and Ann Marsden Smith, of Norfolk, Va. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1833. He served as professor of mathematics at Hampden-Sydney College. In 1839, he became principal professor and after 1840, superintendant of Virginia Military Institute, a position he held until 1889. Smith died in 1890.
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Francis Henney Smith Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
See Bradford Alexander Wineman, "Francis H. Smith: Architect of antebellum Southern military schools and educational reform," PhD Dissertation, Texas A&M University, 2006.
Two letters written by Francis H. Smith. The first letter, September 6, 1860, to James T. Ames, concerns Armory, "model musket," and swords. The second letter, March 7, 1888, concerns his resignation as superintendent of Virginia Military Institute in 1886 which was withdrawn and an investigation into his period of service by the Virginia General Assembly. Both letters include a typescript copy.