Coastal Georgia Historical Society Newsletter, Volume 28 Number 3, Fall 2001:

     “On October 21 at the Coastal Georgia Historical Society’s fall meeting, Gordon B. Smith will enlighten us about the early days of Georgia litigation…

     Born in Paris, Texas, Smith graduated from the University of Georgia (A.B., 1966); Cumberland Law School (Birmingham, Alabama, 1969); and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 1982). Admitted to practice law in Alabama in 1969 and in Georgia in 1970, he has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Military Appeals. Today, he is in private practice in Savannah.

      During a long and distinguished military career, Smith was a graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne and Ranger Schools at Fort Benning. He was a captain in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam and subsequently served as field artillery battery commander and brigade staff judge advocate. He was acting chief of administrative law for the United Nations Command/U.S. Forces-Korea/Eighth U.S. Army in 1990 and staff judge advocate for the 48th Infantry Brigade during Operation Desert Shield. Smith retired as a colonel from the Georgia Army National Guard. Among his decorations are the Bronze Star and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Badge with Palm for Vietnam and the Ranger Tab and Parachutist Badge.

      Smith is active in many community organizations including Society of the Cincinnati; Sons of the Revolution; Sons of Confederate Veterans; and Society of Colonial Wars… In Savannah, Mr. Smith is a member of the St. Andrew’s Society of Savannah; the Hibernian Society of Savannah; and the Georgia Salzburger Society.

      The author of numerous publications, Mr. Smith’s books include: History of The Chatham Artillery, 1786–1986; History of The Savannah Bar Association; and The History of the Georgia Militia, 1783–1861, a four-volume set. His soon to be released publications are Ghost Dances and Shadow Pantomimes and Four Thousand Early Georgia Lawyers; Their Biographies and Their Trials…”

      Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, Anna Habersham Wright Smith graduated from Ashley Hall, Charleston SC (1967), the University of Pennsylvania College for Women, Philadelphia PA, (Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, 1971); and the University of Pennsylvania School of Fine Arts (Master of Architecture, 1974). In Philadelphia, Anna attended the classes of architect Louis Kahn.

      After graduation from college, Anna spent fifteen years in Ireland. Admitted to the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1981, and the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland in 1991, Anna had a distinguished career as an architect in Ireland, particularly designing “infill” buildings in ancient, conservation-sensitive, locations such as Dublin, and preparing harbor development plans for villages on the Shannon Estuary in Western Ireland. Anna was also a partner in the technology transfer firm of Kirk and Wright International, specializing in tilt-up construction. Anna now resides in Savannah, Georgia, where she has continued her architectural interests both there and in Charleston SC.

      Anna spent much of her childhood abroad, as her father, Dr. David McCord Wright, taught economics and political science at the University of Virginia; Christ Church, Oxford University, England; and McGill University, Montreal, Canada; before returning home to the University of Georgia. As both of her parents were natives of Savannah — Anna being the ninth generation in this city—she returned home often during her sojourn in Ireland. Her exposure to the rich heritage of Ireland and England helped her to see through the political controversies of the Southern states to the human drama expressed so forcefully in the remarkable collection of letters and papers that form her book A Savannah Family, 1830–1901. Her long exposure to the “Celtic Twilight” of Ireland also gave her a respect for, and interest in, the folk history of her true home and people here in Georgia, culminating in the collaborative effort with her husband Gordon to produce Ghost Dances and Shadow Pantomimes.

      Anna is active in numerous community organizations, particularly the National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Georgia and their beautiful Savannah museum, the Andrew Low House, and extensive manuscript collection maintained at the Georgia Historical Society, Savannah. She has appeared in four television documentaries: Sophisticated Ladies, Charleston and Savannah (GPTV); Andrew Low, A Savannah Story (a collaborative effort between GPTV and NSCDA in GA, which won an Emmy for Best Documentary in the Southeast Region for 1997); America’s Castles: Savannah; and Georgia’s Civil War (GPTV).

      In addition to working on the completion of Volumes Two and Three of Ghost Dances and Shadow Pantomimes, Anna is assembling a fascinating collection of letters to be published under the title West Point Brothers, John Mackay and Robert E. Lee.