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{{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]] |placeofburial_label= Place of burial |image=[[File:Z R Bliss.jpg|200px|Z R Bliss]] |caption=Major General Zenas R. Bliss |allegiance= [[United States|United States of America]]<br/>[[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] |branch= [[United States Army]]<br/>[[Union Army]] |serviceyears=1854–1897 |rank= [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] |commands= [[10th Rhode Island Infantry|Tenth Rhode Island Infantry]]<br/>[[7th Rhode Island Infantry|Seventh Rhode Island Infantry]] |battles=[[American Civil War]]<br/>[[Indian Wars]] |awards=[[Medal of Honor]] |laterwork=author }} '''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 [[U. S. Army Indian Scouts|Indian Scouts]], and his detailed memoirs chronicled life on the [[Texas]] [[frontier]].<ref name="bliss">{{cite book|last=Bliss|first=Zenas Randall|title=The Reminiscences of Major General Zenas R. Bliss, 1854-1876|editor=Thomas T. Smith, Jerry D. Thompson, Robert Wooster, and Ben E. Pingenot|publisher=Texas A&M University Press with Texas State Historical Association|location=College Station, TX|year=2007|isbn=0876112262|url=http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2007/smithbliss.htm|accessdate=April 11, 2009}}</ref> Bliss was a native of [[Rhode Island]] and graduated from [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] in 1854. He served most of his thirty-seven year career on the Texas frontier, and served in the Union Army during the [[American Civil War]]. During the Civil War he was captured by Confederate forces and held as a prisoner of war. Bliss received the Medal of Honor for his actions while leading his regiment at the [[Battle of Fredericksburg]].<ref name="bliss"/> ==Early life and military career== Bliss was born April 17, 1835 in [[Johnston, Rhode Island]] to an upper-middle class family. His parents were Zenas and Phebe Waterman Randall Bliss.<ref name="Bliss, p. xiv">Bliss, p. xiv.</ref> He received an appointment to the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York]], in July 1850 when he was only fifteen years old.<ref name="bliss"/> He graduated from West Point in 1854 and served the next six years in [[Texas]]. He was stationed at [[Fort Davis National Historic Site|Fort Davis]] and [[Fort Quitman]], but his first assignment was as a [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Second Lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] in the [[1st Infantry Regiment (United States)|1st U.S. Infantry]] [[regiment]]. He was promoted to the full rank of second lieutenant in the [[8th Infantry Regiment (United States)|8th U.S. Infantry]] on March 3, 1855 and subsequently promoted to [[First Lieutenant#United States|first lieutenant]] on October 17, 1860. He was promoted to [[Captain (United States)|captain]] on May 14, 1861.<ref name="bliss"/> ===Civil War service=== When the [[American Civil War]] began on April 12, 1861 Bliss immediately saw action. He was captured by [[Confederate States Army|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 where he subsequently took command of the [[10th Rhode Island Infantry|Tenth Rhode Island Infantry]]. He received a commission in the volunteer army as a [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] in May 1862.<ref name="bliss"/> Bliss assumed command of the [[7th Rhode Island Infantry|Seventh Rhode Island Infantry]] on August 21, 1862. In October 1862 the Seventh Rhode Island joined the First Brigade, Second Division, [[IX Corps (ACW)|Ninth Corps]], [[Army of the Potomac]].<ref>War of the Rebellion, I vol. 19 pt. 2, pp. 368-369.</ref> The regiment saw action in December 1862 at the [[Battle of Fredericksburg]], during which Bliss performed actions that earned him the [[Medal of Honor]] several decades later. When IX Corps was sent West, it participated in the [[Siege of Vicksburg]]. The Seventh served under Major General [[William T. Sherman]] in the capture of [[Jackson, Mississippi]].<ref name="bliss"/> 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 [[Battle of Spotsylvania Court House|Spotsylvania]], but he returned to lead his brigade in the [[Siege of Petersburg]] and the [[Battle of the Crater]]. The court of inquiry following the fiasco at the Crater censured Bliss, but he remained on duty. 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.<ref name="bliss"/> ==Postbellum career== Bliss remained in the [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]] after the Civil War and was promoted to [[Major (United States)|major]] of the 39th Infantry Regiment (a unit with black soldiers and white officers) on August 6, 1867. He was promoted to [[lieutenant colonel]] of the [[19th Infantry Regiment (United States)|19th Infantry]] on March 4, 1879, and to [[colonel]] of the [[24th Infantry Regiment (United States)|24th Infantry]] on April 20, 1886. Bliss was promoted to [[brigadier general]] in the Regular Army April 24, 1895, and to [[major general]] on May 14, 1897. He retired from the Army eight days later on May 22. Including his four years at West Point, Bliss had served 46 years, 10 months and 22 days in uniform when he retired.<ref name="bliss"/> Zenas Bliss died in [[Washington, D.C.]] January 2, 1900, at age 64.<ref name=findagrave>{{findagrave|4885}} Retrieved on January 24, 2010</ref> He is buried alongside his wife at [[Arlington National Cemetery]] at [[Arlington, Virginia]].<ref name="Bliss, p. xiv"/><ref name=findagrave/> His grave can be found in section 1, lot 8-B.<ref name=findagrave/> The Bliss family had four children, two of whom lived to adulthood.<ref>Bliss, pp. xiv - xv.</ref> ==Medal of Honor citation== Rank and organization: Colonel, Seventh Rhode Island Infantry. Place and date: At Fredericksburg, VA., 13 Dec 1862. <blockquote>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.<ref name=AMHOW>{{cite web |accessdate=July 25, 2008 |url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwaral.html |title = Medal of Honor recipients |work = American Civil War (A-L) |publisher= [[United States Army Center of Military History]] |date = July 16, 2007}}</ref></blockquote> ==See also== {{Portal box|Biography|American Civil War|United States Army}} *[[List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F]] ==Notes== {{Reflist}} ==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}} ==External links== *{{hallofvalor|3416}} Retrieved on January 24, 2010 *{{cite web |accessdate=January 24, 2010 |url = http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/zrbliss.htm |title = Arlington National Cemetery website |work = Zenas Randall Bliss: Major General, United States Army |publisher= Michael Robert Patterson |date = June 11, 2008}} *{{cite book |accessdate=April 3, 2010 |title=Zenas Randall Bliss Papers |date= 1854-1898 |publisher= Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin}} *{{cite news |accessdate=April 3, 2010 |title=Gen. Zenas R. Bliss Dead |url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9D03E1DD143DE433A25750C0A9679C946197D6CF |publisher=The New York Times |date=January 3, 1900}} *{{cite web |accessdate=April 3, 2010 |title=The First Fort Davis 1854 - 1862 |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/foda/Fort_Davis_WEB_PAGE/About_the_Fort/First_Fort.htm |publisher=National Park Service}} {{good article}} {{Persondata |NAME= Bliss, Zenas Randall |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[United States Army]] [[Medal of Honor]] recipient |DATE OF BIRTH= April 17, 1835 |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Johnston, Rhode Island]] |DATE OF DEATH= January 2, 1900 |PLACE OF DEATH= [[Washington, D.C.]] }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Zena}} [[Category:American Civil War prisoners of war]] [[Category:Army Medal of Honor recipients]] [[Category:People from Providence County, Rhode Island]] [[Category:People of Rhode Island in the American Civil War]] [[Category:Union Army officers]] [[Category:United States Army generals]] [[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]] [[Category:1835 births]] [[Category:1900 deaths]] [[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
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