Major General Albert Cowper Smith came to the Army and the Cavalry naturally—after growing up in the horse country of Virginia. He acquired a burning desire at age twelve to go to West Point and be a cavalry officer when a cavalry troop, commanded by Captain Edwin Cassatt, came down from Fort Myer and bivouaced on the family place near Warrenton. The fact that Captain Cassatt was courting his cousin at the time was purely coincidental!)
Cowper never waivered in his desire to attend West Point, but appointments were hard to come by, so he entered Virginia Polytechnic Institute instead, After attending VPI for almost three years, he finally received and accepted an appointment to the Military Academy, from whence he graduated in April 1917. After serving overseas in France during World War I, he returned to duty with the Cavalry in Texas, where he met, courted and married the former Mary Josephine Gorman of Waco.
There followed many rewarding years in the peacetime Army at posts in Texas, Iowa, Kansas and back at West Point for instructor duty (twice). At the outset of World War II, he was assigned to the fledgling Armor Corps at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Subsequently, he saw service with several armored divisions that culminated in his promotion to command of the 14th Armored Division, which he took overseas, and fought in France and Germany.
After World War II, he served in a variety of important posts—Commanding General of the 24th Infantry Division on occupation duty in japan; Commanding General of the 2d Armored Division training replacements during the Korean War; Deputy and later Acting Commander of Fifth Army for over a year; and, finally, duty in Washington as Chief of Military History, just prior to his retirement.
Over the span of his distinguished career, General Smith was awarded numerous United States and foreign decorations, among them the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal and was twice awarded the French Legion of Honor.
Cowper Smith was a perfect gentleman and complete soldier, who exemplified the ideals of West Point in his every action. He was a man of true humility, deeply attuned to the feelings of others; a man of complete integrity, to whom hypocrisy and sham were totally alien; and, finally, a man of subtle humor, who always kept things in their proper perspective. He would be embarrassed to read this heartfelt tribute from those who knew him best, his beloved wife Mary, and devoted sons, Albert Cowper Jr., and Robert A. (USMA ’44).
He will be sorely missed by all his many friends and family. No more fitting tribute could be paid to the memory of Cowper Smith than to say that he always faced his duty squarely, and acquitted himself with unsullied honor in the service of his country.
"Let it be said, ‘Well done!’ Be Thou at peace.”