Class of 1854

Zenas Randall Bliss: Born Apr. 17, 1835, Johnston, RI.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1850, to July 1, 1854, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut. of Infantry, July 1, 1854.

Served: on frontier duty in conducting recruits to Texas, 1854, — at Ft. Duncan, Tex., 1854‑55, — Ft. Davis, Tex., 1855‑56, — Scouting, 1856,

(Second Lieut., 8th Infantry, Mar. 3, 1855)

— Ft. Davis, Tex., 1856, — Scouting, 1856, — Ft. Davis, Tex., 1856‑58, — Camp Hudson, Tex., 1858, — Ft. Inge, Tex., 1858, — Ft. Mason, Tex., 1858‑59, — Ft. Clark, Tex., 859, — Camp Hudson, Tex., 1859‑60, — conducting recruits to Ft. Lancaster, Tex., 1860, — and Ft. Quitman, Tex., 1860‑61.

First Lieut., 8th Infantry, Oct. 17, 1860.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: on March from Ft. Quitman to San Antonio, Apr. to May 9, 1861, when he

(Captain, 8th Infantry, May 14, 1861)

was surrendered to Texas Insurgents under General Van Dorn, and remained a Prisoner of War until Apr. 5, 1862; in the Defenses of Washington,

(Colonel, 10th Rhode Island Volunteers, May, 1862)

 p600  D. C., May to Aug., 1862; on March from Pleasant Valley, Md.,

(Colonel, 7th Rhode Island Volunteers, Aug. 21, 1862)

to Falmouth, Va., Oct.‑Nov., 1862, being engaged in a Skirmish near White Sulphur Springs; in the Rappahannock Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Dec., 1862, to Mar., 1863, being engaged in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862; in Movement of 9th Corps to Kentucky,

(Bvt. Major, Dec. 13, 1862,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Va.)

Mar., 1863, — and to Vicksburg, Mis., June‑July, 1863; on Expedition to Jackson, Mis., resulting in its Re-occupation, July 16, 1863; on return of 9th Corps to the Department of the Ohio, Aug., 1863; in command of Lexington, Ky., Oct. to Dec., 1863, — and of the District of Middle Tennessee, Jan. to Mar., 1864; in Movement of 9th Corps from Tennessee to Virginia, Mar., 1864; in charge of depot of supplies at Alexandria, Va., Apr., 1864; in command of Brigade of 9th Army Corps in the Richmond Campaign, May, 1864, being engaged in the Battle of the Wilderness, May 5‑6, 1864, — and Battles of Spottsylvania, May 9‑12,

(Bvt. Lieut.‑Col., May 7, 1864,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services at the Battle of the Wilderness, Va.)

1864; on sick leave of absence, May 13 to July 1, 1864; in command of Brigade at the Siege of Petersburg, July‑Aug., 1864, including the Mine Assault, July 30, 1864; on sick leave of absence, Aug. to Oct., 1864; on Board of Examination, Oct., 1864, to June, 1865; on Recruiting service,

(Mustered out of Volunteer Service, June 28, 1865)

July 13, 1865, to Mar. 2, 1866; and in command of Company at Baltimore, Md., Mar.‑Apr., 1866, — Schuylkill Arsenal, Pa., Apr., 1866, — and at Ft. Porter, N. Y., Apr.‑May, 1866.

Served: in command of District of Chester, S. C., and Asst. Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, June 7 to Aug. 13, 1866; on Recruiting service, Sep., 1866, to Sep.,

(Major, 30th Infantry, Aug. 6, 1867)

1867; in command of Fts. Jackson and St. Philip, La., Feb. 4, 1868, to Feb., 1869; in garrison at Ship Island, Mis., Feb. to Apr., 1869, — Jackson

(Transferred to 25th Infantry, Mar. 15, 1869)

Barracks, La., Apr., 1869, — Ship Island, Mis., to Aug., 1869, — Jackson Barracks, La., to Dec., 1869, — Ship Island, Mis., Dec. 30, 1869, to Apr., 1870, — and Fts. Jackson and St. Philip, La., to July, 1870; on frontier duty in command of Ft. Duncan, Tex., July 5, 1870, to Apr. 5, 1872, — Ft. Stockton, Tex., May 20, 1872, to Mar. 17, 1873, — Ft. Davis, Tex., and command of regiment, Mar. 21, 1873, to Apr. 13, 1874, — and in command of Prisoners to Austin, Tex., to May 12, 1874; on leave of absence, May 12, 1874, to Mar. 24, 1875; in command of Ft. Bliss, Tex., Apr. 5, 1875, to Apr. 4, 1876, — Ft. Davis, Tex., Apr. 14 to Dec. 1, 1876, — Ft. Bliss, Tex., Dec. 13, 1876, to Jan., 1877, — and Ft. Davis, Tex., to Apr. 2, 1877; as Member of Board for examination of horses, at San Antonio, Tex., to July, 1877; on frontier duty at Ft. Clark, Tex., July 21, 1877, to Feb. 28, 1878; on leave of absence, to Oct. 1, 1878; and in command of David's Island Depot, N. Y., Oct. 2, 1878, to Oct. 6, 1880; in

(Lieut.‑Colonel, 19th Infantry, Mar. 4, 1879)

command of Ft. Hays, Kan., to Oct. 30, 1881, — and of Ringgold Barracks, Tex., to Mar. 8, 1882; on sick leave of absence, to Nov. 7, 1882; en route to and in command of Ft. Duncan, Tex., to Aug. 31, 1883; at Ft. Clark, Tex. (leave of absence, Apr. 11 to Nov. 23, 1885), to June 3,

(Colonel, 24th Infantry, Apr. 20, 1886)

 p601  1886; in command of regiment and Ft. Supply, I. T., to Sep. 16, 1887; on sick leave of absence, to Mar. 24, 1888; in command of regiment and Ft. Bayard, N. M., to –––––.