Governor Benjai
I I
In Smith
Many infercstiiij* anti dramatic events oc¬
curred during his lit'e-liinc. and even after
his death his body was not permitted to rpsl
in peace.
BENJAMIN Smith one of North
Carolina’s outstanding citizens
in the early history of the
state, had a most interesting ca¬
reer.
1. He was a soldier in the Revo¬
lutionary War.
2. He was elected Governor of
the State.
3, He was Grand Master of the
Masons.
4. He gave 20.000 acres of land
to the then-struggling University
of North Carolina.
5, He was a man of wealth but
lost his riches as the result of sure¬
tyship for a false friend.
6. He died in poverty.
7. He was buried at midnight,
five hours after his death.
8, Fifteen years later the body
was exhumed and buried in an¬
other spot.
These were some of the inter¬
esting and dramatic events in con¬
nection with the life (and death)
of the man.
Smith was a native of Bruns¬
wick County. There he became a
man of great influence and con¬
siderable wealth.
In the early days of its existence,
the University of North Carolina
was having a hard struggle. Smith
was one of the earliest benefac¬
tors of the institution. He made
an outright gift of land, in excess
of 20,000 acres, which property
was located within the boundaries
of Tennessee.
Revolutionary Soldier
He fought valiantly in the Revo¬
lutionary War. Later, in 1810, he
was elected Governor of his native
state. His administration was out¬
standing. It was featured by con¬
structive ideas relative to the ad¬
vancement of schools, the improve¬
ment of penal institutions and sug¬
gestions for extensive industrial
development.
Governor Smith died on Janu¬
ary 10, 1826, the anniversary of
his birth. Fortune had dealt un¬
kindly with him in his declining
years. He guaranteed the bond of
a friend, a collector of customs at
the port of Wilmington. The latter
defaulted. When Smith had paid
THE STATE. AMU. 17. 1948
By 1,011s t. hooici:
the obligation in full, he found
himself reduced to abject poverty.
He died at Smithville ( now the
line town of Southport) which had
been named in his honor. At that
time the state law accorded credi¬
tors the rather gruesome right to
seize the corpse of a deceased
debtor and retain same until all
obligations that had been incurred
were satisfied. The same law also
provided that when burial had ac¬
tually taken place, the rights of the
creditors to seize a body were can¬
celled.
Testimony of a Witness
Facts concerning the interment
of Governor Smith later were nar¬
rated by an aged lady of Southport.
She said that the Masons and other
prominent citizens of the town re¬
solved that no such indignity
should be paid the body of a man
who had done so much for his
state and, through no fault of his
own, had become an unfortunate
victim of fate. Therefore, when
Governor Smith lay dying, they
resolved to take immediate action.
Within five hours after death had
come, and at midnight, the body of
Governor Smith was hastily re¬
moved to a short distance from
town and was buried. The lady
said that she herself held a torch
while the corpse was being rever¬
ently lowered into the grave.
Governor Smith’s will later was
filed in the courthouse at South-
CDrt, or Smithville as it was then
nown. It is now on record there.
A clause in it says: "When I die,
my body is to be deposited in the
family vault at St. Phillips Church,
near Orton Plantation, close to the
remains of my venerated parents
and much-loved brothers and sis¬
ters.”
Fifteen years passed, and during
all that time the body of Governor
Smith rested in an unmarked
grave.
In 1840, Lieutenant Joseph Gard¬
ner Swift was sent by the Army to
supervise the improvement of the
Cape Fear River. Later he became
a General and Chief of Engineers
of the U. S. Army. Despite the
years that had elapsed. Swift re¬
membered the wishes of his dead
friend, Governor Smith. He made
inquiries as to the spot where
Smith had been buried. The grave
was found and it was opened. The
coffin was practically intact. With¬
in was a quantity of ashes and
dust.
Then arose some argument about
whether the particular grave held
the body of the deceased Governor
or that of someone else. The good
lady aforementioned again was
present. She recalled that Gover¬
nor Smith had often complained
of a bullet in his body. He had
been wounded in a duel with Gen¬
eral Robert Howe, a distinguished
Revolutionary War leader. After
the dual Governor Smith had re¬
fused to have the bullet extracted.
The lady said that she definitely
could settle any doubts in connec¬
tion with the identity of the grave.
With a display of determination
which would have tested the nerve
of most men, she sifted the dust
contained in the coffin. Within a
moment or two she had discovered
the bullet as it slipped through her
fingers. This convinced everyone
beyond a shadow of a doubt that
the grave contained the coffin of
the former great Governor. The
bullet served as a silent, long-
buried but convincing witness
which could neither be disputed
nor denied.
Re-buried at St. Phillips
The remains of Governor Smith
were carried to St. Phillips Church
and there reinterred. General
Swift had a marble slab placed
over the grave. It had the follow¬
ing inscription: "Benjamin Smith.
Once Governor of North Carolina.”
But dramatic events were still
to follow.
During the great assault on Fort
Fisher by the northern fleet in
January, 1865, Fort Anderson, a
few yards south of St. Phillips
( Continued on page 20)
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