John Kemp Mizner

John Kemp Mizner (2 March 1834 – 8 September 1898) was a career officer in the United States Army. A Union Army veteran of the American Civil War and a participant in the American Indian Wars, Mizner served from 1856 to 1897 and attained the rank of brigadier general.

Mizner was a native of Geneva, New York and was raised and educated in Detroit. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1852 to 1856, then was assigned to the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons. He attended the Carlisle Barracks Cavalry School until 1857, then served at posts including Fort Leavenworth during the federal response to the Bleeding Kansas controversy. During 1860 and 1861, he served in Utah, Wyoming, and Dakota Territory, where he performed American Indian Wars frontier duty and took part in scouring expeditions.

During the American Civil War, Mizner commanded the 3rd Michigan Cavalry Regiment and later commanded Cavalry brigades, as well as the Cavalry units of several divisions and departments. Battles in which he participated included the Siege of Corinth, Battle of Iuka, and Second Battle of Corinth. After the war, he served on Reconstruction duty in Louisiana and Texas. He went on to serve at posts throughout the western states during the American Indian Wars, including Nebraska, New Mexico, and Texas. In May 1897, Mizner was promoted to brigadier general. He then requested retirement under a law that permitted officers with 40 years of service to request retirement before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64. His request was approved, and he left the army in June 1897. During his brief retirement, Mizner resided in Washington, DC. He died in Washington on 8 September 1898 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Early life John Kemp Mizner (frequently J. Kemp Mizner or J. K. Mizner) was born in Geneva, New York on 2 March 1834, a son of Lansing B. Misner (1794–1866) and Mary Gouverneur (Rutgers) Mizner (1799–1857). Mizner's siblings included Henry Rutgers Mizner (1897–1915), who also served as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army. Architect Addison Mizner and playwright Wilson Mizner were first cousins once removed of John Kemp Mizner. He graduated in 1856 ranked 33rd of 49. Among his classmates who achieved prominence during the American Civil War and the 40 years afterward were Miles D. McAlester, Orlando Metcalfe Poe, Francis Laurens Vinton, George Dashiell Bayard, Thomas Crook Sullivan, Guilford Dudley Bailey, Hylan B. Lyon, Lunsford L. Lomax, James Patrick Major, James W. Forsyth, William Hicks Jackson, William P. Sanders, Samuel S. Carroll, and Fitzhugh Lee.

Early career

In July 1856, Mizner was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Cavalry and assigned to the Cavalry School at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. They were the parents of a son, John Stephens Mizner. Emily Stephens Mizner died in March 1896 and later that year Mizner married Julia Rowland Richards. In retirement, Mizner resided in Washington, D.C. He died in Washington on 8 September 1898 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Dates of rank Mizner's dates of rank were:

Second Lieutenant, 1 July 1856 First Lieutenant, 9 May 1861 Captain, 12 November 1861 Colonel (United States Volunteers), 7 March 1862 Major (Brevet), 4 October 1862 Lieutenant Colonel (Brevet), 12 June 1863 Brigadier General (Brevet) (United States Volunteers), 13 March 1865 Captain, 12 February 1866 Major, 26 January 1869 Lieutenant Colonel, 9 January 1866 Colonel, 15 April 1890 Brigadier General, 26 May 1897 Brigadier General (Retired), 7 June 1897