Smith, Daniel A.
Pay Director Daniel A. Smith, USN (18__-1901)
Daniel A. Smith, a native of Rhode Island, was appointed as an Acting Assistant Paymaster at the end of August 1863 and spent the rest of that year and nearly all of 1864 with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, mainly serving in the monitor Nahant. In February 1865 he went to the Far East with the steam sloop Wyoming, remaining with her until the spring of 1868. In July 1866, during this deployment, he was commissioned a Passed Assistant Paymaster and was promoted to Paymaster in July 1870, while assigned to the Pensacola Navy Yard, Florida.
Paymaster Smith served extensively at sea during the next three decades. He was assigned to the storeship Onward in the South Pacific from late 1872 to mid-1874, then served in the warships Worcester and Plymouth on the North Atlantic Station until the end of August 1877. Following more than three years with the receiving ship Franklin at Norfolk, Virginia, he went to the Pacific Station with USS Alaska in April 1881 and in 1883 returned to the Franklin for another three years. He was Paymaster of the new cruiser Boston in 1887-1889, then had a third tour with Franklin at Norfolk.
In mid-1893 Smith became Paymaster of the cruiser Baltimore, which operated on the Asiatic Station until late 1895. He was next assigned to USS Olympia, which was the U.S. Navy's flagship in the Far East from 1896 to 1899. Promoted to Pay Inspector (equivalent to Commander) in October 1896, he was present as Fleet Paymaster during the Battle of Manila Bay and subsequent Spanish-American War and post-war actions in the Philippines. In January 1900 Smith received the four stripes of a Pay Director and in May of that year returned to Asia to serve with the Navy Pay Office at Hong Kong. Placed on sick leave in May 1901, Pay Director Daniel A. Smith retired in late August and died at Washington, D.C., on 28 September 1901.
