In 1996, at the request of South Carolina Congressman John Spratt, President Bill Clinton approved the posthumous commission of James Webster Smith, to the rank of 2nd lieutenant of the U.S. Army.

[3] Smith, however, only attended Howard University briefly before representative Solomon L. Hoge of South Carolina recommended him for entry into the United States Military Academy—better known as West Point.

Reluctantly, Clark agreed to send Smith to West Point for his preliminary exams, knowing he would most likely have to endure racial bigotry if he was accepted.

[6] Smith's enrollment at West Point came to a sudden conclusion in June 1874 when he was deemed deficient in his philosophical studies by his professor and recommended for a formal discharge.

[1] Embittered by the turn of events, he published a series of his memoirs detailing his experiences at the Academy in the New National Era and Citizen, a black newspaper.

[4] In 1875, Smith arrived in Orangeburg, South Carolina to accept a teaching position at State Agricultural College & Mechanics Institute, instructing courses on mathematics and military tactics.

[1] At the request of South Carolina Congressmen John Spratt and Jim Clyburn, and Senator Strom Thurmond, Smith was posthumously commissioned as a second lieutenant on September 22, 1997.