Marshall J. Smith was born in October 1824, in Warrenton, Virginia, to John and Maria Smith. His father died in 1832, and he grew up among relatives. He attended school in Baltimore, Maryland, in the late 1830s, and he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1841. According to one writer, he “made a cruise to the West Indies—then to the East Indies and around the world.” He served in the Mexican-American War and took part in the siege of Vera Cruz.

 

He married Mary M. Taylor in Norfolk, Virginia, on February 5, 1849, and they had at least six children: Robert, born around 1851; Marshall, born around 1855; William, born around 1857; Annie, born around 1859; Carrie, born around 1863; and Alice, born around 1866. He resigned from the navy around 1851 and worked as a merchant in Mobile, Alabama. He moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, around 1854, and by 1860, he owned $10,000 of real estate and $30,000 of personal property.

 

He sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War. He served as colonel of the 24^th Louisiana Infantry, and he took part in the Battle of Shiloh. He subsequently served in the Confederate artillery, and Union forces captured him during the siege of Port Hudson in 1863. He spent a year as a prisoner of war before being exchanged in 1864.

 

He returned to New Orleans after the war and resumed his work as a merchant. By 1870, he owned $1,200 of personal property. One writer described him as a “leading citizen of New Orleans” and an “active promoter of all schemes of city improvement.” His wife died in the late 1800s, and he passed away in New Orleans on June 19, 1904.

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