William Wallace Smith Bliss

William Wallace Smith Bliss was born on August 17, 1815, in Whitehall, New York. He was the son of Captain John Bliss of Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Olive Hall Simonds of Todd County, Kentucky. Bliss entered the United States Military Academy at West Point on September 1, 1829, at the age of 14. He excelled in mathematics and graduated on July 1, 1833, at the age of 17, receiving a commission as a second lieutenant in the 4th Infantry Regiment.

Bliss served at Fort Mitchell in Alabama from 1833 to 1834. In 1835, he participated in operations against the Cherokee during the Indian Removal policy in the southeastern United States. On October 2, 1834, Bliss began serving as an assistant professor of mathematics at West Point, a position he held until January 4, 1840. He was promoted to the rank of captain and served as chief of staff to Brigadier General Walker Keith Armistead during the Seminole Wars from 1840 to 1841.

Between 1841 and 1845, Bliss was stationed as a staff officer at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Fort Jesup, Louisiana. During this period, he also participated in the military occupation of the Republic of Texas prior to its annexation by the United States in late 1845. Throughout the Mexican-American War (April 1846 to November 1847), Bliss served as a staff officer and fought in battles including Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Buena Vista. He was brevetted as a major in May 1846 and then as a lieutenant colonel in February 1847 for distinguished service. During this conflict, he served as chief of staff to Major General Zachary Taylor.

In December 1848, Bliss married Mary Elizabeth Taylor, the youngest daughter of President-elect Zachary Taylor. He took leave from the Army to serve as Taylor's presidential secretary until Taylor's death in July 1850. After Taylor's presidency, Bliss returned to military duties, including serving as the Adjutant-General of the Western Division of the Army. He contracted yellow fever in New Orleans in 1853 and died in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on August 5, 1853, at the age of 37.

Throughout his life, Bliss was recognized for his linguistic abilities, reportedly fluently speaking at least thirteen languages and reading many more. His linguistic skills drew commendation from scholars such as George Perkins Marsh, who regarded him as the best linguist in America. He was elected an honorary member of the American Ethnological Society and was a member of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Bliss received the honorary Master of Arts degree from Dartmouth College in 1849. He was also awarded a gold medal by the State of New York in 1849 for his bravery during the Mexican-American War, notably at the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterrey, and Buena Vista.

In 1854, the U.S. Army post at El Paso, Texas, was renamed Fort Bliss in his honor. A marble memorial, erected in the Girod Street Cemetery in New Orleans, commemorated his accomplishments as a scholar and soldier. When the cemetery was condemned in 1955, his remains were transferred to Fort Bliss National Cemetery in Texas, and the monument was moved to serve as a central feature within the Fort Bliss complex.