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William Stephens Smith
William Stephens Smith (November 8, 1755 – June 10, 1816) was a United States representative from New York. He married Abigail "Nabby" Adams, a daughter of President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams. He was also a brother-in-law of President John Quincy Adams.
Born in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island, he graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1774 and studied law for a short time.
Smith served in the Continental Army as aide-de-camp to General John Sullivan in 1776. He fought in the Battle of Long Island, was wounded at Harlem Heights, fought at the Battle of White Plains, was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the Battle of Trenton and fought at the Battle of Monmouth and Newport. He was on the staff of General Lafayette in 1780 and 1781, became an adjutant in the Corps of Light Infantry, then transferred to the staff of George Washington.
Smith was secretary of the Legation at London in 1784. While there, he met and courted John Adams's daughter, Abigail, whom he married in 1786. He returned to America in 1788.
He was appointed by President George Washington to be the first US Marshal for the District of New York in 1789 and later supervisor of revenue. He was one of the originators of the Society of the Cincinnati and served as its president from 1795 to 1797. He was appointed Surveyor of the Port of New York by President John Adams in 1800. The Smiths bought land in what was then the countryside outside New York City and planned to build an estate, which they called Mount Vernon, in honor of President Washington. They never lived there, but a carriage house on the property was later converted to a hotel and is now operated as the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum.
Along with General Francisco de Miranda, Colonel Smith raised private funds, procured weapons, and recruited soldiers of fortune to liberate Venezuela from Spanish colonial rule. That action was inspired by Smith's renewal of acquaintance with Miranda, whom Smith had first met when he was John Adams's secretary in London. On February 2, 1806, a force of 200 filibusters, including Smith's son William Steuben, set sail to Venezuela on a chartered merchant vessel, the Leander, armored by Samuel G. Ogden.
In Jacmel, Haiti, Miranda acquired two other ships, the Bacchus and the Bee. On April 28, a failed attempt to land in Ocumare de la Costa resulted in two Spanish vessels capturing the Bacchus and Bee. Sixty men, including Smith's son, were taken prisoner and put on trial in Puerto Cabello for piracy, and ten were sentenced to death by hanging. Their bodies were beheaded and quartered, with pieces sent to nearby towns as a warning. Smith survived and later escaped his captors and made his way home. Miranda, aboard the Leander and escorted by the packet ship HMS Lilly, escaped to the British islands of Grenada, Barbados, and Trinidad, where the governor Sir Thomas Hislop, 1st Baronet agreed to provide some support for a second attempt to invade Venezuela. The Leander left Port of Spain on July 24, together with HMS Express, HMS Attentive, HMS Prevost, and HMS Lilly, carrying some 220 officers and men.
General Miranda decided to land in La Vela de Coro and the squadron anchored there on August 1, carrying a flag that Miranda had designed, which later became the flag of modern Venezuela. Nevertheless, the local support that he had hoped for failed to materialize when the fighting started. Much of the local population joined the Spanish against the mercenaries and August 13, Miranda hastily retreated to Aruba and Trinidad, where he left the Leander to avoid the prosecution of Spanish fleet.
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William Stephens Smith
William Stephens Smith (November 8, 1755 – June 10, 1816) was a United States representative from New York. He married Abigail "Nabby" Adams, a daughter of President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams. He was also a brother-in-law of President John Quincy Adams.
Born in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island, he graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1774 and studied law for a short time.
Smith served in the Continental Army as aide-de-camp to General John Sullivan in 1776. He fought in the Battle of Long Island, was wounded at Harlem Heights, fought at the Battle of White Plains, was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the Battle of Trenton and fought at the Battle of Monmouth and Newport. He was on the staff of General Lafayette in 1780 and 1781, became an adjutant in the Corps of Light Infantry, then transferred to the staff of George Washington.
Smith was secretary of the Legation at London in 1784. While there, he met and courted John Adams's daughter, Abigail, whom he married in 1786. He returned to America in 1788.
He was appointed by President George Washington to be the first US Marshal for the District of New York in 1789 and later supervisor of revenue. He was one of the originators of the Society of the Cincinnati and served as its president from 1795 to 1797. He was appointed Surveyor of the Port of New York by President John Adams in 1800. The Smiths bought land in what was then the countryside outside New York City and planned to build an estate, which they called Mount Vernon, in honor of President Washington. They never lived there, but a carriage house on the property was later converted to a hotel and is now operated as the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum.
Along with General Francisco de Miranda, Colonel Smith raised private funds, procured weapons, and recruited soldiers of fortune to liberate Venezuela from Spanish colonial rule. That action was inspired by Smith's renewal of acquaintance with Miranda, whom Smith had first met when he was John Adams's secretary in London. On February 2, 1806, a force of 200 filibusters, including Smith's son William Steuben, set sail to Venezuela on a chartered merchant vessel, the Leander, armored by Samuel G. Ogden.
In Jacmel, Haiti, Miranda acquired two other ships, the Bacchus and the Bee. On April 28, a failed attempt to land in Ocumare de la Costa resulted in two Spanish vessels capturing the Bacchus and Bee. Sixty men, including Smith's son, were taken prisoner and put on trial in Puerto Cabello for piracy, and ten were sentenced to death by hanging. Their bodies were beheaded and quartered, with pieces sent to nearby towns as a warning. Smith survived and later escaped his captors and made his way home. Miranda, aboard the Leander and escorted by the packet ship HMS Lilly, escaped to the British islands of Grenada, Barbados, and Trinidad, where the governor Sir Thomas Hislop, 1st Baronet agreed to provide some support for a second attempt to invade Venezuela. The Leander left Port of Spain on July 24, together with HMS Express, HMS Attentive, HMS Prevost, and HMS Lilly, carrying some 220 officers and men.
General Miranda decided to land in La Vela de Coro and the squadron anchored there on August 1, carrying a flag that Miranda had designed, which later became the flag of modern Venezuela. Nevertheless, the local support that he had hoped for failed to materialize when the fighting started. Much of the local population joined the Spanish against the mercenaries and August 13, Miranda hastily retreated to Aruba and Trinidad, where he left the Leander to avoid the prosecution of Spanish fleet.
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