George N. Bliss

George Newman Bliss was born on July 22, 1837, in Tiverton, Rhode Island, the son of James Leonard Bliss and Sarah A. Stafford Bliss. During much of his youth he lived in Fall River, Massachusetts, before moving to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in 1854. He pursued a strong academic education, entering Brown University in 1856 before continuing his studies at Union College in Schenectady, New York, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1860. He then studied law at Albany Law School, graduating in May 1861 and gaining admission to the New York bar just as the United States was descending into civil war.

Rather than immediately establishing himself in the legal profession, Bliss chose military service. In September 1861, at the age of twenty-four, he enlisted as a private in Company B of the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry, United States Army. His ability and leadership brought rapid advancement. He was promoted to Quartermaster Sergeant, later became a Lieutenant, and in August 1862 was promoted to Captain. He eventually commanded Company C of the regiment, and Captain remained his highest verified rank during his federal Civil War service.

The 1st Rhode Island Cavalry performed demanding reconnaissance, screening, guard, and combat duties with Union forces in the eastern theater. Bliss experienced several major campaigns and engagements during the war, including the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862, operations connected with the Gettysburg Campaign, including the Battle of Middleburg in June 1863, and the First Battle of Deep Bottom in Virginia in July 1864. His wartime career therefore extended far beyond a single celebrated action and placed him in repeated contact with some of the hardest campaigning of the Civil War.

During part of 1863 and early 1864, Bliss was assigned to conscription and recruiting duties following the heavy losses suffered by Union forces. His work included helping to obtain new soldiers, assisting with the recruitment of Black troops into the Union Army, and encouraging experienced veterans to reenlist. By the spring of 1864 he returned to active field service with the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry and continued campaigning as the war entered its final and increasingly destructive phase.

The action for which Bliss would eventually receive the Medal of Honor occurred at Waynesboro, Virginia, on September 28, 1864. Bliss was serving as a captain and was in command of the provost guard in the village when he saw Union troops falling back before an attack by a substantially stronger Confederate force. Without waiting for orders, he assembled the men under his command and joined the defense. He then charged the enemy without supporting troops, exposing himself directly to Confederate attack in an effort to resist their advance.

The fighting became extremely violent. Bliss received three saber wounds, his horse was shot, and he was ultimately captured by Confederate forces. His decision to enter the fight without orders and charge despite the overwhelming opposition demonstrated exceptional personal courage and became the defining combat action of his military career.

Following his capture, Bliss was imprisoned at Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, one of the best-known Confederate prisons for captured Union officers. He remained a prisoner for approximately four months. On February 5, 1865, he and other Union prisoners being held as hostages were exchanged for Confederate prisoners and released. After his return to Union control, his physical condition and recent imprisonment kept him from immediately returning to normal combat duty, and he was assigned lighter responsibilities, including serving as president of a court-martial at Annapolis, Maryland.

With the Civil War effectively ending in the spring of 1865, Bliss's military service also came to a close. He was mustered out of federal service on May 15, 1865, as a Captain. He had entered the Army as a private in 1861 and departed after nearly four years of wartime service having risen through the enlisted and officer ranks to command cavalry troops in combat.

More than three decades after his courageous stand at Waynesboro, Bliss's actions received the nation's highest military recognition. On August 3, 1897, George Newman Bliss was presented the Medal of Honor for his conduct on September 28, 1864. The award recognized his decision to rally his guard, join the defense without orders, and charge a superior enemy force without support, despite suffering multiple saber wounds, losing his horse, and being captured. In the medal database, the award corresponds to the Medal of Honor 1896–1903 Army period, reflecting the Army Medal of Honor form associated with the era in which his award was presented.

The Medal of Honor is the only individual military medal currently verified for inclusion in Bliss's final medal record. Although his long Union Army service took place during the Civil War, participation in qualifying campaigns by itself does not establish documented individual entitlement to an additional campaign medal. Therefore, no unsupported Civil War campaign medal is included in his verified award record.

After leaving the Army, Bliss returned to civilian life and resumed the legal career that the war had interrupted. He settled in East Providence, Rhode Island, where he practiced law and became involved in community and educational affairs. He later served as Superintendent of East Providence Schools, demonstrating that his public service continued well beyond his military years.

Bliss also maintained a strong connection with military life and his fellow Civil War veterans. In October 1879 he received a commission as Major of the First Battalion of Cavalry of the Rhode Island Militia. This was a post-war state militia appointment and was separate from his federal Civil War service, during which his highest verified rank had been Captain.

His wartime experiences remained an important part of his later life. Bliss wrote extensively about the Civil War, the operations of the 1st Rhode Island Cavalry, and his experiences as a prisoner at Libby Prison. His writings and personal recollections helped preserve firsthand accounts of cavalry service and the experiences of Union officers during the conflict. He also participated in organizations devoted to preserving the history and memory of the soldiers and sailors who had fought in the war.

In 1913, nearly half a century after the Battle of Gettysburg, Bliss attended the Great Reunion at Gettysburg, where tens of thousands of surviving Union and Confederate veterans gathered on the old battlefield. His attendance reflected his lifelong connection to the generation that had fought through the Civil War and his continuing interest in preserving its history.

George Newman Bliss lived for more than six decades after the war in which he had served. From a young lawyer who enlisted as a private in 1861, he rose to command cavalrymen as a captain, endured major campaigns, suffered wounds and capture, survived imprisonment at Libby Prison, and eventually received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary courage in battle. He later built a respected civilian career in law, education, historical writing, and veterans' affairs.

Bliss died on August 29, 1928, in East Providence, Rhode Island, at the age of ninety-one. His life bridged the Civil War era and the modern twentieth century, but his enduring military legacy rests on the courage he displayed at Waynesboro on September 28, 1864. His Medal of Honor commemorated an act in which, facing a superior enemy and with no supporting force, he chose to enter the fight, lead his men forward, and accept extraordinary personal risk in defense of the Union.