The "Reminiscences" of Maj. Gen. Zenas R. Bliss are a
remarkably detailed account of his army service in Texas before
and after the Civil War. Many scholars consider Bliss's
recollections to be one of the best from a soldier of the "Old
Army." It has become a staple primary resource for Texas frontier
research for the last three decades.
Bliss's memoirs serve as a rare and important window into
Texas' military, political, cultural, and geographical history. The
memoirs cover Bliss's graduation at West Point in 1854, his
antebellum service at Fort Duncan, Camp Hudson, and Fort Davis,
as well as his return to the Texas frontier in 1870, and end with his
duties at Fort Davis in 1876. Details also describe his capture by
Texas Confederate forces in 1861, his tribulations as a prisoner of
war, and his subsequent Civil War experiences as a Union
regimental commander at Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, and
Petersburg, where he was at the battle of the Crater. For gallantry
at Fredericksburg, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
While commanding buffalo soldiers at Fort Duncan in 1870,
Bliss conceived the idea of enlisting Seminole-Negro Indians from
Mexico as army scouts. After successfully lobbying the
departmental commander and the War Department for approval,
Bliss formed the first band of Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts in
August of 1870. The unit served the army with extraordinary
devotion and distinction until 1912.
Bliss served in Texas longer than any other army officer
(twenty-three years) and rose in rank from second lieutenant to
departmental commander. Possessing a keen sense of humor, an
eye for detail, and a boisterous social nature, his lively account of
the people and places of the antebellum and post-Civil War Texas
frontier is among the very best of Texas history.
_________________________________________________________
COL. THOMAS T. SMITH, Garrison Commander, Fort Riley,
Kansas, is the author of The Old Army in Texas. JERRY D.
THOMPSON, Regents Professor at Texas A&M International
University in Laredo, is the author of numerous publications,
including Civil War and Revolution on the Rio Grande Frontier.
ROBERT WOOSTER, Joe Frantz Professor of History at Texas
A&M University–Corpus Christi, is the author of many books,
including Frontier Crossroads: Fort Davis and the West. BEN E.
PINGENOT, deceased, was the author of many books,
including Siringo.
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