Corsicana in Navarro County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Thomas Ingles Smith

By Mike Stroud, September 15, 2012

1. Thomas Ingles Smith Marker

Inscription. Thomas Ingles Smith was born in 1800 in Virginia and was a soldier in the War of 1812 in a company commanded by his father, General Bird B. Smith. Smith arrived in Texas late in 1836, and soon enlisted in the Republic of Texas army under Gen Felix Huston. He was wounded in the Battle of the Salado in September 1842. In December of that year President Sam Houston sent a small group of Rangers under the command of Smith and Eli Chandler to move the archives of the Republic to Washington-on-the-Brazos. The citizens of Austin, in a show of force, prevented the move in what became known as the Archive War. By 1843 Smith was living along Chambers Creek in present Ellis County, and in 1844 was a Texas Ranger and Indian Scout. He commanded the Robertson County Rangers along the frontier in 1845. As commissioner to negotiate with the Indians, he signed the last treaty made by the Republic of Texas. Fort Smith, one of a line of fortifications from the Colorado to Red River, was established in 1846 and named for Thomas I. Smith. Along with two partners, he gave land for the townsite of Corsicana, and was a member of the commission to locate the Navarro County seat in 1848. He died in Austin in March 1848. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986

Erected 1986 by Texas Historical

Thomas Ingles Smith Marker on Navarro County Courthouse northwest lawn image. Click for full size.

By Mike Stroud, September 15, 2012

2. Thomas Ingles Smith Marker on Navarro County Courthouse northwest lawn

Commission. (Marker Number 11637.)

Location. 32° 5.741′ N, 96° 28.132′ W. Marker is in Corsicana, Texas, in Navarro County. Marker is on West 2nd Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Located on Navarro County Courthouse northwest lawn between North 13th and North 12 Streets. Marker is at or near this postal address: 300 West 2nd Avenue, Corsicana TX 75110, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Navarro County Courthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Jose Antonio Navarro (within shouting distance of this marker); Corsicana in 1860-1872 (within shouting distance of this marker); The Call To Arms (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Site of The First Courthouse (about 500 feet away); Westminster Presbyterian Church (about 600 feet away); Corsicana (approx. 0.2 miles away); First Methodist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Corsicana.

Also see . . .
1. Texas State Historical Association- Thomas Ingles Smith. In April 1847 he defeated Henry E. McCulloch in the election for command of the battalion and the rank of major. Smith's Battalion, Texas Mounted Volunteers, spent the (Mexican) war defending the western frontier

By Mike Stroud, September 15, 2012

3. Thomas Ingles Smith Marker

against Indian raids. (Submitted on October 30, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)

2. Thomas Ingles Smith, Ellis County. ... He was appointed the first United States Postmaster of Chambers Creek in Ellis County by President James K. Polk .... (Submitted on October 30, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)

Categories. • Notable Persons •

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on October 28, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 269 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 30, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.