Brief guide to manuscripts collections| William L. Clements Library The University of Michigan Adm. Thomas Smith Papers |
Thomas Smith was the illegitimate son of Sir Thomas Lyttelton, and through him, was connected to the politically powerful Grenville-Pitt-Temple 'cousinhood.' As a young first lieutenant aboard the Gosport in 1729, he nearly ended his naval career prematurely. In the absence of the ship's captain, he compelled a French frigate in Plymouth Sound to lower her topsails in salute. Smith was immediately court-martialled and dismissed from the service for insulting France, but was reinstated the following day, made a post-captain, and given the nickname 'Tom o'Ten Thousand' by his admiring fellow seamen.
After this flamboyant beginning, Smith settled into a creditable, but undistinguished career in the Navy. From 1732-1740 he was captain of the Dursley on the home and Mediterranean stations; 1740-42 was captain of the Romney, protecting the Newfoundland fisheries; 1742-44 was captain of the Princess Mary; 1744-45, commanded the Royal Sovereign; and in 1745 commanded at Leith with the special duty of preventing communication between the Jacobites in Scotland and their French sympathizers. He was commander-in-chief at the Downs in 1755, and in that capacity was ordered to preside at the notorious trial of Admiral John Byng. He became a full admiral two years later. Among his contemporaries, Smith had a reputation for kindness and generosity.
Letters of Thomas Smith, British Admiral.
This collection contains 180 letters, most written to Smith between 1748 and 1755. All relate to naval patronage and Smith's career interests. The most important letters are 21 written by Samuel Hood (1724-1816). There is no material relating to the Byng trial.
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