William Farrar Smith William Farrar Smith ( February 17 , 1824 – February 28 , 1903 ) , known as ‘ Baldy ’ Smith , was a Union general in the American Civil War , notable for attracting the extremes of glory and blame . He was praised for his gallantry in the Seven Days Battles and Antietam , but was demoted for insubordination after the disastrous defeat at Fredericksburg . As chief engineer of the Army of the Cumberland , he acquired legendary fame by restoring a supply - line that saved that army from starvation and surrender ( the “ Cracker Line ” ) . Leading the first operation against Petersburg , Smith ’ s hesitation , possibly illness - related , cost the Union a prime opportunity for a quick end to the war , and he was relieved of command . Early life . Smith , known to his friends as " Baldy " , was born at St . Albans , Vermont , the son of Ashbel and Sarah Butler Smith , and a cousin of J . Gregory Smith ( governor of Vermont , 1863 – 1865 ) . He was educated locally in Vermont until he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1841 , and graduated four years later standing fourth of 41 cadets . Smith was appointed a brevet second lieutenant on July 1 , 1845 , and was assigned to the Topographical Engineers Corps . He was promoted to second lieutenant on July 14 , 1849 , and promoted to first lieutenant on March 3 , 1853 . During his service in the Corps , Smith conducted surveys of the Great Lakes , the states of Texas , Arizona , and Florida , as well as much of Mexico . While serving in Florida , Smith was stricken with the infectious disease malaria . Although he would recover at the time , the illness affected his physical health for the rest of his life . In 1856 Smith began his involvement in the lighthouse service , which was headquartered in Detroit , Michigan , and eventually rose to become the Engineer Secretary of the Lighthouse Board . Smith was also twice assistant professor of mathematics at West Point ( 1846 – 48 and 1855 – 56 ) . He was promoted to captain on July 1 , 1859 . Civil War . During the First Battle of Bull Run , Smith served on the staff of Brig . Gen . Irvin McDowell . On August 13 , 1861 , he was appointed a brigadier general in the Union Army after helping organize the 1st Vermont Brigade . He was appointed a brevet lieutenant colonel in the regular army for his gallantry at the Battle of White Oak Swamp in the Seven Days Battles . On July 4 , 1862 , he received promotion to the rank of major general in the Union Army . Smith led his division with conspicuous valor during the Battle of Antietam , and was again brevetted in the regular army . When his corps commander , Maj . Gen . William B . Franklin , was reassigned to a superior command , Smith was placed at the head of the VI Corps of the Army of the Potomac , which he led at the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg . The recriminations that followed Fredericksburg led to a famous general order in which army commander Maj . Gen . Ambrose Burnside proposed to dismiss several of the senior officers of the army . President Abraham Lincoln prevented this order from taking effect and relieved Burnside of his command instead . Smith was one of the affected officers , but it is to his credit that he did not leave the Army . However , his indiscretion in communicating to Lincoln directly about Burnside ' s shortcomings , compounded by the fact that Smith was a close friend of out - of - favor Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan , resulted in his losing both his corps command and his rank ; the Senate failed to confirm his nomination to major general , which expired on March 4 , 1863 . Reverting to the rank of brigadier general , he commanded a division - sized force of militia within the Department of the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania during the critical days of the Gettysburg Campaign , repelling Maj . Gen . J . E . B . Stuart at a skirmish in Carlisle . Smith ' s green troops then participated in the unsuccessful pursuit of Gen . Robert E . Lee back to the Potomac River . He followed this in division command in West Virginia . On October 3 , 1863 , Smith was assigned to duty as chief engineer of the Army of the Cumberland ( and a couple of weeks later , the Military Division of the Mississippi ) . As such he conducted the engineer operations and launched the Battle of Brown ' s Ferry , which opened the " Cracker Line " to provide supplies and reinforcements to the besieged troops in Chattanooga . Of this action the House Committee on Military Affairs reported in 1865 that " as a subordinate , General WF Smith had saved the Army of the Cumberland from capture , and afterwards directed it to victory . " Smith was now again nominated for the rank of major general of volunteers , and Ulysses S . Grant , who was much impressed with Smith ' s work , insisted strongly that the nomination should be confirmed , which was accordingly done by the Senate on March 9 , 1864 . Grant , according to his own statement " was not long in finding out that the objections to Smith ' s promotion were well grounded , " but he never stated the grounds of his complaint , and Smith , in the " Battles and Leaders " series , maintained that they were purely of a personal character . For the Overland Campaign of 1864 , Smith was assigned by Grant to command the XVIII Corps in Maj . Gen . Benjamin Butler ' s Army of the James , which he led in the Battle of Cold Harbor and the first operations against Petersburg . Smith ' s corps and a division of black troops ( under Edward W . Hinks ) were ordered to take the city . Remembering the debacle at Cold Harbor , Smith performed exhaustive reconnaissance . Determining that the section of the defensive line was manned primarily by artillery , he ordered an attack . However , the attack was delayed and in the meantime he became apprehensive about a rumor circulating that Lee was about to arrive . He lost his nerve , perhaps because of the formidable character of the Confederate works or perhaps because of a recurring bout with malaria , but his hesitation may have lost him the opportunity to shorten the war by nearly a year . On July 19 , 1864 , he was relieved from command of the XVIII Corps and he spent the remainder of the war on " special duty . " Postbellum career . Smith resigned from the volunteer service in 1865 , and from the U . S . Army in 1867 . From 1864 to 1873 he was president of the International Telegraph Company , and from 1875 to 1881 served on the board of police commissioners of New York , becoming its president in 1877 . After 1881 he was engaged in civil engineering work in Pennsylvania . He died at Philadelphia in 1903 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery . His " Autobiography of Major General William F . Smith , 1861 – 1864 " was published posthumously in 1990 .