Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff William Henry Smith died from an accidental gunshot wound he suffered when his unholstered revolver fell out of his coat pocket.
The firearm struck the floor, discharged and fatally wounded Sheriff Smith. He was taken to a private residence on Irish Street in Greenville and passed away later that day.
Sheriff Smith had taken office in Sept. 1908, a little more than one month before the incident.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife Molly Harrison Smith and eight children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-D60A1BB1- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Sheriff Smith served with the Greene County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Greeneville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sheriff Smith.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff William Henry Smith is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TN, 191 of 769 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.8% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Greene County Sheriff's Office, 3 of 8 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 37.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Henry Smith's cause is highlighted.
How William Henry Smith Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Henry Smith is highlighted in Oct.
Others Who Wore This Badge
7 officers from Greene County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
