He was born in Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia. In 1846, he was admitted to the Georgia bar, which required a special act of the Georgia legislature due to his youth. He worked as a planter and practiced law in Albany, Dougherty County, Georgia, for most of the period 1846–1858. In 1853, he was an ordinary of Dougherty County. In 1858, Smith became the solicitor general of Georgia's southwest circuit, a post he held until 1860. The following year, the American Civil War broke out. Although opposed to secession, Smith enlisted in the Fourth Georgia Volunteer Infantry of the Confederate States Army as a lieutenant. He became a captain in April 1862 and in June lost his right leg at the Battle of Oak Grove. In 1863, he was elected as a representative to the Second Confederate Congress. His term as representative was cut short by the defeat of the Confederacy.