Smyth attended The Citadel until 1864, when he joined the Confederate Army in the Civil War. His gallant service in the Battle of Honey Hill earned him a promotion to sergeant. After the war he became a captain in the Washington Artillery Rifle Club, and used that title for the rest of his life.[1]
He started as a junior clerk in the hardware firm his grandfather, James Adger, had established, but later decided to enter the textile industry. He joined forces with Francis J. Pelzer and served as president of the Pelzer Manufacturing Company in what is now Pelzer, South Carolina from 1880 to 1923. He was also president of Belton Mills from 1899 to 1920, and owned a controlling interest in The Greenville News from 1912 to 1923.[2]
In 1900, Smyth purchased a house in Flat Rock, North Carolina. He changed the name from "Rock Hill" to "Connemara". He owned it for the rest of his life, and in 1945 it was purchased by Carl Sandburg.
