Zenas Bliss

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. He was the father of Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Zenas Work Bliss.

Bliss was a native of Rhode Island and graduated from 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. 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. 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. He was promoted to major general on May 14, 1897 and retired 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. One of his sons was Zenas Work Bliss (1867–1957) who served as lieutenant governor of Rhode Island from 1910 to 1913.

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.