Samuel Smith was born on 27 July 1752 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. As a child, Smith and his family moved to Baltimore, where he would reside for the rest of his life. A merchant by trade, he was an officer in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, receiving a ceremonial sword from Congress for his valiant defense of Fort Mifflin. He thereafter embarked on a political career, serving as a Maryland state legislator (1790–92), U.S.