Smith, George Washington

George Washington Smith, was born about 1796 in Tennessee. Reports and family tradition stated that he was with his neighbor Benjamin R. Milam at the Siege of Bexar on December 7, 1835, and that the fatally wounded Milam died in Smith’s arms. He served with Sam Houston for the fight at San Jacinto. As one of Capt. John G. W. Pierson’s men in 1842, Smith was captured with others of the Mier expedition, but he escaped at the Rio Grande and returned home. After annexation he again left home, this time to join the First Regiment, Texas Mounted Riflemen, for the campaign to Mexico City in 1847. Smith served as a sergeant with Capt. Preston Witt in Company K. He died at his home in Collin County about 1876. A Texas historical marker placed in the Blue Ridge Cemetery in 1979 marks the place of his original burial, though his remains were moved to nearby Grounds Graveyard.

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