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Charles Hamilton Smith
Charles Hamilton Smith

Charles Hamilton Smith

English, 1776-1859
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Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Hamilton Smith, KH, KW, FRS, FLS, was an English artist, naturalist, antiquary, illustrator, soldier, and spy.

His military career began in 1787, when he studied at the Austrian academy for artillery and engineers at Mechelen and Leuven in Belgium. Although his military service, which ended in 1820 and included the Napoleonic Wars, had him travel extensively (including the West Indies, Canada, and United States), much of his time was spent at a desk job in Britain. One of his noteworthy achievements was an 1800 experiment to determine which colour should be used for military uniforms. The increasing accuracy of firearms, especially rifles, brought advantages to shades which offer a less distinctive target – by testing the accuracy of a rifle company against grey, green, and red targets, he showed scientifically the advantages of grey (and to a lesser extent, green) uniforms over red ones common at the time, and recommended that grey be adopted for riflemen and light infantry. The British Army did not heed his advice, with green becoming the colour associated with light infantry. Initially commissioned into the 60th Foot, Smith later transferred to the 6th Foot.

As a prolific self-taught illustrator, he is also known in military history circles for Costume of the Army of the British Empire, produced towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and an accurate depiction of contemporary British uniform. As an antiquarian, he also produced, in collaboration with Samuel Rush Meyrick, Costume of the Original Inhabitants of the British Islands, 1815, and The Ancient Costume of England, with historical illustrations of medieval knights, ladies, ships, and battles. The majority of his vast body of work (he estimated it was over 38,000 drawings) was not military in character, but largely passed into obscurity. Notebooks of his observations as a naturalist have survived, as well as antiquarian illustrations of civilian life. He also wrote on the history of the Seven Years' War and the natural history of dogs. Smith was of Flemish origin; he wrote the military part of Cox's Marlborough and many military and natural history books.

Smith published The Natural History of the Human Species in 1848. In this book, he maintained that three fundamentally distinct human types had always existed: the Caucasian, the Mongolian, and the Negro. Smith was nominally a monogenist, maintaining that the creation of humans was a single event, rather than multiple, but he was less convinced by the standard theories of the time coming from Count Buffon and Georges Cuvier on interfertility and species; the book also referred to the polygenist views held by Samuel George Morton.

Smith's book was reprinted in America, where Samuel Kneeland wrote an 84-page introduction to it. Kneeland laid out evidence that he maintained supported polygenist creationism, and argued that the Bible is compatible with multiple Adams.

On retirement, Smith settled in Plymouth, joining the Plymouth Institution (now the Plymouth Athenaeum). He delivered lectures and many of his 20 volumes of MSS notes, letters, and papers were deposited in the institution. His collection was destroyed when the Plymouth Athenaeum was bombed during the Blitz in 1941.

254 items

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Punta del Gada from the Anchorage; Azores

Punta del Gada from the Anchorage; Azores

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Landscape
Punta Delgada

Punta Delgada

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Landscape
Aardwolf

Aardwolf (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
African Wild Dog

African Wild Dog (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Aguara Dog of the Woods

Aguara Dog of the Woods (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
American Cross-Fox

American Cross-Fox (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Asian Palm Civet

Asian Palm Civet (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Asinus Hippagrus The Yo-To-Tze

Asinus Hippagrus The Yo-To-Tze (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Asinus Onager Horse

Asinus Onager Horse (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Banded Mongoose.

Banded Mongoose. (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Banded Mongoose

Banded Mongoose (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Banded Palm Civet

Banded Palm Civet (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Bedouin Grayhound of Akkaba

Bedouin Grayhound of Akkaba (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Black Wolf

Black Wolf (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Black-backed Jackal

Black-backed Jackal (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Brood Mare and Third Foal, with Marks of Quagga

Brood Mare and Third Foal, with Marks of Quagga (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Cape Lion

Cape Lion (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Chili Skunk.

Chili Skunk. (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Chili Skunk

Chili Skunk (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Colt Third Issue of Brood Mare and Second by the Black Arab

Colt Third Issue of Brood Mare and Second by the Black Arab (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Corsac Dog-Fox

Corsac Dog-Fox (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Coyote of Mexico

Coyote of Mexico (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Crab-eating Fox

Crab-eating Fox (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Crabodago Aguara Fox

Crabodago Aguara Fox (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Crisp-Haired Horse, Primeval Black Stock

Crisp-Haired Horse, Primeval Black Stock (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Dhole of Ceylon

Dhole of Ceylon (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Dhole of Sumatra

Dhole of Sumatra (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Dog of the North American Indians

Dog of the North American Indians (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Dongola Horse

Dongola Horse (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
Dun-Footed Aguara-Dog

Dun-Footed Aguara-Dog (1837)

Charles Hamilton Smith (English, 1776-1859)
Animals
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