Born in Acushnet, Massachusetts, on March 24, 1819, Thomas Church Haskell Smith graduated from Harvard in 1841, went to Marietta, Ohio, and took up the study of law.

During his service with the regiment he was mentioned in special orders by General Buell for bravery and military ability while in command of a detachment of the First Ohio in a fight at Booneville, Mississippi, in June, 1862.

[1] He was then transferred to the staff of Major General John Pope and served with him while the latter commanded the Union Army of Virginia in the summer of 1862;[4] participating in the 2nd Battle of Manassas.

[2] General Smith was instrumental in advancing a campaign, begun by a contribution of five dollars from a freed slave, Charlotte Scott, towards the erection in 1876 of the Freedmen's monument in Washington, D.C., in memory of President Lincoln.

[5][6] General Smith remained active in business, veterans' affairs and Republican politics, although he lost much of his wealth in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

He served for a year in Washington, during which time he testified at West Point before the special commission investigating the case of General Fitz John Porter.