Edmund Kirby Smith Quotes

United States, Officer
May 16, 1824 – March, 28, 1893.

Edmund Kirby Smith was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Mexican–American War. He later joined the Confederate States Army in the Civil War, and was promoted to general in the first months of the war. He was notable for his command of the Trans-Mississippi Department after the fall of Vicksburg to the U.S.

I have broken all ties that bind me to the U.S. Army, not suddenly, impulsively, but conscientiously and after due deliberation. I sacrifice more to my principles than any other officer in the Army can do. I would rather carry a musket in the cause of the South than be commander-in-chief under Mr. Lincoln.

Edmund Kirby Smith