SMITH, RICHARD BAIRD (1818-1861) , British engineer officer, son of a surgeon in the royal navy, was born on the 31st of December 1818. He was educated at Lasswade and Addiscombe, and joined the
Engineers in 1838. Being transferred to the Bengal Engineers, he served through the second Sikh .war, and was present at the battles of llatiiwal, Aliwal and Sobraon. He was then for some years employed on canal
, and when the Mutiny broke out was in charge of Roorkee. He promptly concentrated the Europeans in the workshops, and though the native sappers deserted, his forethought pre-vented any loss of life. When Delhi was invested he was appointed
engineer in charge of the siege works. He reached Delhi on the end of July, and immediately advised General Barnard to assault the city. Barnard died while the advice was still under consideration, and his successor, General Reed, could not be induced to follow it; and when Reed in turn was succeeded by Archdale Wilson, the besiegers were so weakened by losses that the moment for a successful attack had passed. Baird
in compelling Wilson to make the assault, which proved successful, on the 14th of September. Baird Smith was ably assisted by Captain Alexander Taylor, but Nicholson was unjust to Baird Smith in assigning to Taylor the
credit for the siege operations. After the capture of Delhi he returned to Roorkee and to civil employment, and for a time the value of his military services was insufficiently recognized. After the Mutiny he was made A.D.C. to Queen Victoria, became secretary to the government of India in the public works department, and gained well-deserved credit in the
, following a wound and illness at Delhi, broke down his constitution, and he died at sea on the 13th of December 1861. He married a daughter of De Quincey, who long survived him. See Colonel H. M. Vibart, Richard Baird Smith (1897).
End of Article: SMITH, RICHARD BAIRD (1818-1861)
If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/SIV_SOU/SMITH_RICHARD_BAIRD_1818_1861_.html">
SMITH, RICHARD BAIRD (1818-1861)
</a>
JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive
relationship with
Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including
its
weekly inspirational emails
that were sent continuously for over a decade.
Jesus Christ
Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297 San Diego, CA 92169 1-888-887-0417 or
Email