Colonel Orland Smith Presentation Silver Service 

American, ca 1872. A five piece sterling presentation service by Gorham for Colonel Orland Smith (1825-1903) including a hot water urn on stand, tea pot, coffee pot, two-handled sugar bowl and creamer, together with a silverplated and monogrammed tray by Meridan Brittania Co, urn engraved Col. Orland Smith/From his Columbus Friends/1883, each sterling piece monogrammed S and stamped with Gorham marks and date letter E; urn ht. 18.75 in., silver wt. 204ozt (6353g).

Accompanied by a framed certificate presented to Smith by a committee of his friends and neighbors in Columbus, Ohio, on March 17, 1883. Smith and his wife were presented with the silver set because they were moving away from the Columbus area. Smith, a railroad official, served the Union Army during the Civil War as colonel of the 73rd Ohio Infantry. Notable battles in which Smith and his regiment saw action include the Second Battle of Bull Run and Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg. In the later years of the war Smith led troops in the Western theater. After the war, Smith returned to the railroad industry, serving as President of the Cincinnati, Washington, and Baltimore Railroad, Vice-President of the Baltimore and Washington Railroad, and President of the Columbus and Cincinnati Midland Railroad.