William Wallace Smith Bliss (17 August 1815–5 August 1853) was a United States Army officer. He was born in Whitehall, New York. He was the son of Captain John Bliss (of Lebanon, New Hampshire) and Olive Hall Simonds (of Todd County, Kentucky). John Bliss was a graduate of West Point in 1811.
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Military career
Bliss entered the United States Military Academy on 1 September, 1829. He showed very great mathematical gifts while a student. He graduated 1 July, 1833 (not yet 18 years old) as a Second Lieutenant in the 4th Infantry Regiment. It was his choice to serve in the infantry. He served in the Fort Mitchell army garrison in Alabama from 1833 to 1834. During 1845 he was involved in operations against the Cherokee. From 2 October 1834 until 4 January 1840 he served as Assistant Professor of Mathematics at West Point. As a Captain, he served as Chief of Staff to the Commanding General in the Florida War from 1840 until 1841. He served at Fort Smith, Arkansas and at Fort Jesup, Louisiana. In 1845 he took part in the military occupation of Texas. Between April 1846 and November 1847 he took part in the Mexican War, including fighting in the Battle of Palo Alto on 8 May 1846. His conduct warranted promotion to Major on 9 May 1846. He fought in the Battle of Buena Vista and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in February 1847 for gallant and meritorious service. During his service in Texas and in Mexico he served under Major-General Zachary Taylor. Bliss was noted for his efficiency. His writing was simple, elegant, vigorous, and picturesque. He was cheerful and popular with the public.
Intellectual pursuits
He received an A.M. from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire in 1848. He was a member of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries of Copenhagen, Denmark and an Honorary Member of the American Ethnological Society. He was gifted at languages, and was fluent in at least thirteen[1]. George Perkins Marsh, the philologist, said that Bliss was the best linguist in America.
Political life
On December 5, 1848, at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he married the general's youngest daughter, Mary Elizabeth Taylor ("Miss Betty"). When General Taylor became President of the United States, on 4 March 1849 he became Private Secretary to the President. The President's wife took no part in formal social events and delegated this to her daughter. Bliss's wife was, in effect, the First Lady at the White House at the age of 22. The popular young couple seemed destined to become powerful figures in Washington. On 22 March 1849 the State of New York presented him with a Gold Medal for his bravery in Mexico, at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterrey and Buena Vista.
Last years
The President died suddenly in July 1850. Bliss accompanied the widow to Pascagoula, Mississippi, where she too died in 1852. Bliss then took up the post of Adjutant-General of the Western Division of the Army. Following a visit to plague-ridden New Orleans on behalf of Tulane University then named the University of Louisiana, Colonel Bliss died of Yellow Fever at Pascagoula 5 August 1853, aged 38. Thus Miss Betty lost her father, mother, and husband in a little over three years. On March 8 1854, the Post of El Paso officially became Fort Bliss. Bliss had never visited El Paso. A twenty-foot memorial of Italian marble was raised to the memory of Colonel Bliss, "a finished scholar, an accomplished gentleman and a gallant soldier", in the Girod Street Cemetery, New Orleans. In 1955, the cemetery being condemned for the building of a highway, Colonel Bliss’ remains and monument were moved to Fort Bliss.
References
- Carl Sferrazza. America's First Families: An Inside View of 200 Years of Private Life in the White House, Lisa Drew Books
