Smith was born in Elkton, Maryland, on 11 September 1885, and graduated from the University of Delaware. He received his appointment as a second lieutenant in January 1909, and underwent his basic training as a Marine officer at the Marine Barracks, Port Royal, South Carolina. Following his promotion to first lieutenant in September 1912, he was ordered to the Marine barracks at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and in December of the following year, he was transferred to Panama, remaining there until January 1914. As a member of an expeditionary force, he departed from Panama to take part in the occupation of Vera Cruz, Mexico, from April to December 1914.