Zenas Bliss

Infobox Military Person
name=Zenas R. Bliss
born= birth date|1835|4|17
died= death date and age|1900|1|2|1835|4|17
placeofbirth= Johnston, Rhode Island
placeofdeath= Washington, D.C.
placeofburial= Arlington National Cemetery


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America Union
branch= United States Army Union Army
serviceyears=1854–1897
rank= Major General
commands= Tenth Rhode Island Infantry Seventh Rhode Island Infantry
unit=
battles=American Civil War Indian Wars
awards=Medal of Honor
laterwork=

Zenas Randall Bliss (April 17 1835 – January 2 1900) was an officer and general in the United States Army and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. He formed the first unit of Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts, and his detailed memoirs chronicled life on the Texas frontier.

Bliss was a native of Rhode Island. He graduated from West Point. He served most of his thirty-seven year career on the Texas frontier, and served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Bliss received the Medal of Honor for his actions while leading his regiment at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Early life

Bliss was raised in an upper-middle class family from Rhode Island. His parents were Zenas and Phebe Waterman Randall Bliss. [Bliss, p. xiv.] Bliss received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in July 1850. He was only fifteen years old at the time.

Bliss graduated from West Point in 1854 and served the next six years in Texas. He served at Fort Davis and Fort Quitman. His first assignment was as a brevet second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Infantry regiment but was promoted to the full rank of second lieutenant in the 8th U.S. Infantry on March 3, 1855. He was subsequently promoted to first lieutenant on October 17, 1860, and to captain on May 14, 1861.

Civil War

By May 1861 the Civil War had begun. Bliss was captured by Confederate forces and spent eleven months as a prisoner of war, first in San Antonio, Texas, and later in Richmond, Virginia. He was finally exchanged and sent back to Union lines. He subsequently took command of the Tenth Rhode Island Infantry in May 1862 and received a commission in the volunteer army as a colonel.

Bliss assumed command of the Seventh Rhode Island Infantry on August 21, 1862. In October 1862 the Seventh Rhode Island joined the First Brigade, Second Division, Ninth Corps, Army of the Potomac. December 1862 saw the battle of Fredericksburg, during which Bliss performed actions that would earn him the Medal of Honor several decades later. The Seventh served under Major General William T. Sherman in the capture of Jackson, Mississippi.

In April 1864 the Seventh rejoined the Army of the Potomac. Bliss became commander of the First Brigade, Second Division, Ninth Corps. His Brigade fought in the Battle of the Wilderness. Bliss was badly injured by a horse at Spotsylvania. He returned to lead his brigade in the Siege of Petersburg and the Battle of the Crater.

During the Civil War, Bliss received a brevet (honorary promotion) to major dated December 13, 1862, for "gallantry and meritorious service" in the Battle of Fredericksburg. He was later breveted to lieutenant colonel on May 7, 1864, for "gallantry and meritorious service" in the Battle of the Wilderness. He was awarded the Medal of Honor on December 3, 1898, for valor during the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Postbellum career

Bliss remained in the Regular Army after the Civil War. He was promoted to major of the 39th Infantry Regiment (a unit with black soldiers and white officers) on August 6, 1867, and was transferred to the 25th Infantry Regiment on March 15, 1869, when the 39th Infantry was redesignated the 25th Infantry Regiment.

He was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 19th Infantry on March 4, 1879, and to colonel of the 24th Infantry on April 20, 1866.

On April 24, 1895, he was promoted to brigadier general in the Regular Army and was promoted to major general on May 14, 1897. He retired from the Army eight days later on May 22. Including his four years a West Point, Bliss had served 46 years, 10 months and 22 days in uniform when he retired.

Zenas Randall Bliss died on January 2, 1900, at age 64.

The Bliss family had four children, two of whom lived to adulthood. [Bliss, pp. xiv - xv.] Zenas is buried alongside his wife at Arlington National Cemetery. [Bliss, p. xiv.]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Colonel, Seventh Rhode Island Infantry. Place and date: At Fredericksburg, VA., 13 Dec 1862.

"This officer, to encourage his regiment; which had never before been in action, and which had been ordered to lie down to protect itself from the enemy's fire), arose to his feet, advanced in front of the line, and himself fired several shots at the enemy at short range, being fully exposed to their fire at the time."

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*

ee also

References

*cite book | last = Bliss | first = Zenas Randall | coauthors = edited by Thomas T. Smith, et. al | title = The Reminiscences of Major General Zenas R. Bliss, 1854-1876: from the Texas frontier to the Civil War and back again | publisher = Texas State Historical Association | year = 2007 | isbn = 9780876112267

Notes