Charles Hamilton Smith

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles Hamilton Smith (born December 26, 1776 in Vrommen-hofen, East Flanders , Austrian Netherlands , † September 21, 1859 in Plymouth ) was an English officer , draftsman and naturalist .

Illustration from Costumes of the Army of the British Empire : Foreign Corps in the British Service, Privates of the Greek Light Infantry Regiment
Original drawing by Charles Hamilton Smith United States Corps of Marines

Live and act

He came from a Protestant Flemish family named Smet. As a boy he was sent to a school in Richmond, Surrey , but returned to his homeland when the Revolution broke out in 1787 .

His military career began in 1787 when he studied at the Austrian Academy for Artillery and Engineers in Mechelen and Leuven . He joined the British Army as a volunteer in the 8th Light Dragoon Regiment , became a cornet with the Hussars and then served in the 60th Regiment in the West Indies , where he was employed as an engineer in Jamaica from 1797 to 1807 with the rank of brigade major. He then served as a recruiting officer in Coventry . From 1809 he took part in the Napoleonic Wars and served in Belgium, Holland and Brabant before returning to Coventry in January 1811 as captain of the 6th regiment. Back in action, he went to the Netherlands. In 1816 he went on an official mission to Canada and the United States . In 1820 he retired with half pay and in 1830 received the rank of lieutenant colonel . In 1834 he became a Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order .

One of his notable accomplishments was an experiment to determine the ideal color for military uniforms , which he conducted in 1800. The increasing accuracy of firearms , especially rifles , meant a tactical advantage of color swatches that would make a less conspicuous target. By examining the accuracy of shooting for gray, green and red targets, he scientifically demonstrated the advantages of gray (and to a lesser extent green ) uniforms over the red ones commonly used at the time, and recommended this gray for shooters and light infantry. The British Army ignored his advice and made a shade of green the uniform color of the light infantry.

In retirement he settled in Plymouth with his wife Mary Anne, whom he married in 1808, and after his wife's death before 1841 his eldest daughter took care of him.

Since his youth, Smith was a diligent observer and draftsman, interested in numerous things, especially historical, natural, and topographical things. From an early age he occupied himself with uniform and costume studies . His work Costumes of the Army of the British Empire gives accurate representations of contemporary British uniforms. In the field of costume studies he worked partly with Samuel Rush Meyrick .

However, his main interest was natural history. He was friends with the French anatomist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) and worked on the four volumes on mammals of the work General and Particular Descriptions of the Vertebrated Animals (1827), which was based on a translation of Cuvier's Le règne animal . He also wrote several volumes in the series The Naturalist's Library, edited by William Jardine .

In 1824 he was elected a member of the Royal Society , in 1826 a member of the Linnean Society of London .

He brought together thousands of books, manuscripts, sketchbooks, and drawings that were sold after his death. His collection of approximately 15,000 drawings was auctioned at Puttick & Simpson in London in 1860. Twenty volumes of his manuscripts, letters and other papers came to the Plymouth Institution, but were destroyed there in a bombing raid in 1941.

Publications (selection)

Militaria
  • History of the Seven Years' War in Germany by Generals Lloyd and Tempelhoff . With Observations, Maxims, & c., Of General Jomini . Translated from the German and French. Volume 1 [1809].
  • Secret Strategical Instructions of Frederic the Second for his Inspectors General. Translated from the German. Coventry 1811.
  • Sketch of the Science and Art of War. In: Aide Memoire to the Military Sciences. Second edition. Volume 1, London 1853, pp. 1-30 ( digitized version ).
Costume studies
  • Costumes of the Army of the British Empire, according to the last regulations 1812 . Engraved by JC Stadler , published by Colnaghi and Co., London 1812-15.
    • Reprint of Wellington's army. The uniforms of the British soldier, 1812-1815 . Plates by Charles Hamilton Smith. Text by Philip Haythornthwaite. Greenhill, London 2002, ISBN 1-85367-501-6 .
  • Selections of the Ancient Costume of Great Britain and Ireland, from the Seventh to the Sixteenth Century, out of the collection in the possession of the author . Printed for William Bulmer, Shakespeare Press, for Messrs. Colnaghi and Co., London 1814.
  • with Samuel Rush Meyrick: The Costume of the original inhabitants of the British Islands, from the earliest periods to the sixth century . Howlett & Brimmer, London 1815.
  • with Samul Rush Meyric: The Costume of the Original Inhabitants of The British Isles, from the Earliest Periods to the Sixteenth Century; to which is added, that of the Gothic Nations on the Western Coasts of the Baltic, the Ancestors of the Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Danes . Printed by William Bulmer, Shakespeare Press, Published by R. Havell, London 1815.
    • Reprint Ancient costumes of Great Britain and Ireland from the Druids to the Tudors . Arch Cape Press, New York 1989, ISBN 0-517-67882-9 .
Natural history
  • Animals of America allied to the Antelope. In: Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Volume 13, 1822, pp. 28-40 ( digitized version ).
  • The Class Mammalia, arranged by Baron Cuvier, with Specific Descriptions by Edward Griffith , Charles Hamilton Smith, and Edward Pidgeon. 4 volumes. London 1827 ( digitized ).
  • Model of a proposed Statistical Survey of Devon and Cornwall, arranged in Tables . 1840 (printed in Report and Transactions. Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and Art 14, 1882, pp. 105-116, digitized ).
  • The Natural History of Dogs (= The Naturalist's Library Mammalia Volume 9-10). 2 volumes, Edinburgh 1839–40.
  • The Natural History of Horses (= The Naturalist's Library Mammalia Volume 12). Edinburgh 1841.
  • An Introduction to the Mammalia (= The Naturalist's Library Mammalia Volume 13). Edinburgh 1842.
  • On the Original Population of America. In: Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal. 38, 1844/45, pp. 1-20.
  • The Natural History of the Human Species . Edinburgh 1848.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Keith Raynor: C. Hamilton Smith's Experiment with the Color of Uniforms .

literature

Web links

Commons : Charles Hamilton Smith  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Smith, Charles Hamilton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English officer, draftsman and naturalist
DATE OF BIRTH December 26, 1776
PLACE OF BIRTH East Flanders , Austrian Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH September 21, 1859
Place of death Plymouth