William Algernon Sydney Smoot

William Algernon Sydney Smoot (March 12, 1845 – February 18, 1886), commonly known as William Sydney Smoot or W. S. Smoot, was an American inventor, mechanical engineer, ordnance officer, and industrial executive. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, worked for E. Remington and Sons, and designed the series of pocket handguns commonly called the Remington–Smoot revolvers.

After becoming superintendent of Remington's manufacturing department, Smoot left the firearms business to become the second president of the Western Electric Company in January 1885. He remained president until his death in February 1886.

Early life and family

Smoot was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 12, 1845. He was the son of United States Navy officer Joseph Edward Smoot and Anne Elizabeth Darne Smoot. His father, who attained the rank of captain and was sometimes styled commodore in contemporary family notices, died in 1857.

Smoot married Mary Bangs Head in 1866. Their children included William Sydney Smoot, Anne Titcomb Smoot, and mechanical engineer Charles Head Smoot.

Military career

During the Civil War, Smoot served as a lieutenant in the First Maryland Infantry of the Union Army. He subsequently performed ordnance work at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts.

While working in ordnance, Smoot participated in the examination of firearms submitted for possible military use. A report concerning a Remington carbine, reproduced in a history of Remington's military revolvers, bears his signature as "W. S. Smoot, Lt. 1st Md. Vols."

Smoot resigned from the Army in 1870 and entered private industry.

Firearms and ammunition career

E. Remington and Sons

Smoot joined E. Remington and Sons at Ilion, New York, in 1871.

The Cody Firearms Museum describes Smoot as the recipient of more than a dozen firearms-related patents. Patent No. 143,855 described a revolver in which the barrel, upper frame, and bridge strap were made as one piece. It also incorporated a separate guard strap, an ejector mechanism guided by the cylinder center pin, and a revolving recoil shield. Smoot assigned one-half of his rights in the patent to E. Remington and Sons.

The patent became the basis of the Remington–Smoot family of compact, single-action, five-shot pocket revolvers. Remington literature called the weapons the "Smoot's Patent New Model" or "Remington–Smoot New Model"; the frequently used name "New Line" was associated more closely with a competing series produced by Colt.

The Remington–Smoot No. 1 was a .30-caliber rimfire revolver manufactured from approximately 1875 to 1877. Around 3,000 were produced. Its barrel, frame, and ejector housing were forged as one piece, and the earliest examples used Smoot's revolving recoil shield.

The No. 2 was offered in .30 and .32 rimfire versions and used a stepped ejector rod. The larger No. 3 was introduced in 1878, principally in .38 rimfire and centerfire chamberings; approximately 25,000 No. 3 revolvers were produced through 1888.

An example of a Remington–Smoot New Model No. 1 is held by the National Museum of American History.

Western Electric

In January 1885, deteriorating health led Anson Stager to resign as president of Western Electric. Smoot, then associated with the Remington organization, was selected to succeed him. Western Electric had recently become the principal manufacturing company of the growing Bell System. American Bell had acquired a majority interest in the company in 1881, and the two organizations signed an exclusive manufacturing agreement in February 1882.

Smoot served as Western Electric's second president for approximately thirteen months, from January 1, 1885 until his death on February 18, 1886.

Patents

The following are among Smoot's United States patents:

Patent Date Invention Notes August 27, 1867 Breech-loading firearm extractor Covered an extraction mechanism later discussed in connection with Berdan-pattern arms. December 14, 1869 Repeating firearm Described a sliding breechblock, tubular magazine, cartridge carrier, extractor, and locking mechanism. June 20, 1871 Metallic cartridge Secured a cartridge base and reinforcing washer by riveting a projection from the shell. October 24, 1871 Metallic cartridge Strengthened the cartridge head with cold-pressed lead or another pliable metal. October 21, 1873 Revolving firearm Basis of the Remington–Smoot pocket-revolver series. December 7, 1875 Cartridge primer A center-fire primer design intended to simplify ignition and removal of the spent primer. June 13, 1876 Cartridge anvil Used a strip or bar anvil compressed into the primer pocket. April 4, 1882 Percussion primer Designed to reduce misfires and hang fires and improve communication between the primer and powder charge.

A Smithsonian study of the development of ammunition lists Smoot's patents Nos. 116,105, 120,338, 152,425, and 178,683 among nineteenth-century advances in cartridge-case and primer construction.

Death

Smoot died at Evanston, Illinois, on February 18, 1886, at the age of 40. His remains were returned to Washington, D.C., and interred in the Smoot family plot at Congressional Cemetery.

Because Smoot died while still president, Western Electric was temporarily without a permanent president. Enos M. Barton, one of the company's founders and its longtime senior executive, succeeded him later in 1886.