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((short description|American army officer and mathematician))
((refimprove|date=February 2013))
((Use mdy dates|date=February 2012))

((Infobox officeholder
|name                = William Wallace Smith Bliss
|image               = William W S Bliss (US Army officer).jpg
|caption             = Daguerreotype by unknown photographer, circa 1848
|birth_date          = ((Birth date|1815|8|17))
|death_date          = ((Death date and age|1853|8|5|1815|8|17))
|birth_place         = [[Whitehall (town), New York|Whitehall]], New York
|death_place         = [[Pascagoula, Mississippi]]
|office              = [[Secretary to the President of the United States|Private Secretary to the President]]
|term_start          = March 4, 1849
|term_end            = July 9, 1850
|president           = [[Zachary Taylor]]
|predecessor         = [[Joseph Knox Walker]]
|successor           = [[Millard Powers Fillmore]]
))

'''William Wallace Smith Bliss''' (August 17, 1815 &ndash; August 5, 1853) was a [[United States Army]] [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] and mathematics professor. A gifted mathematician, he taught at West Point and also served as a line officer.

In December 1848 Bliss married [[Mary Elizabeth Bliss|Mary Elizabeth Taylor]], youngest daughter of [[president-elect of the United States|President-elect]] [[Zachary Taylor]], whom he would serve as [[Secretary to the President of the United States|presidential secretary]]. Five years later Bliss contracted [[yellow fever]] in New Orleans and died at the age of 37.

Having become interested in the various Native American tribes, Bliss learned a number of their languages and studied their cultures. He was a member of the [[Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries]] of [[Copenhagen]], [[Denmark]], and an Honorary Member of the [[Ethnology|American Ethnological Society]]. Gifted at languages, he was able to read thirteen and could speak a number of those fluently.

==Early life and education==
Born in [[Whitehall (town), New York|Whitehall]], New York, he was the son of Captain John Bliss (of [[Lebanon, New Hampshire|Lebanon]], New Hampshire) and Olive Hall Simonds (of [[Todd County, Kentucky]]). 

==Military career==
At the age of 14, Bliss entered the [[United States Military Academy]] on September 1, 1829. He showed very great skills in mathematics while a student. He graduated July 1, 1833 (age 17) and commissioned as a [[second lieutenant]] in the [[4th Infantry Regiment (United States)|4th Infantry Regiment]]. It was his choice to serve in the infantry.

He served in the [[Fort Mitchell, Alabama|Fort Mitchell]] army garrison in [[Alabama]] from 1833 to 1834. During 1835 he was involved in operations against the [[Cherokee]] during [[Indian Removal]], which moved most of them to [[Indian Territory]] west of the Mississippi River.

From October 2, 1834 (age 19) until January 4, 1840 (age 24), Bliss served as assistant professor of mathematics at West Point. As a [[Captain (United States)|captain]], he served as chief of staff from 1840 until 1841 to [[Brigadier General]] [[Walker Keith Armistead]], the commanding general in the [[Seminole Wars]]. He served at [[Fort Smith, Arkansas]], and at [[Fort Jesup]], [[Louisiana]], as a staff officer.

In 1845, Bliss took part in the United States military occupation of the [[Republic of Texas]], prior to its annexation. Between April 1846 and November 1847, he took part in the [[Mexican–American War|Mexican War]], including fighting in the battles of [[Battle of Palo Alto|Palo Alto]], [[Battle of Resaca de la Palma|Resaca de la Palma]] and [[Battle of Buena Vista|Buena Vista]]. He was brevetted to [[Major (rank)|major]] in May 1846, and brevetted to [[lieutenant colonel]] in February 1847 for gallant and meritorious service.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Army/USMA/Cullums_Register/715*.html Service profile]</ref>

During his entire service in [[Texas]] and [[Mexico]], he served as chief of staff to [[Major General]] [[Zachary Taylor]]. Bliss was noted for his efficiency and skills as a high-level aide. His writing was simple, elegant, vigorous, and picturesque. He was cheerful and popular with the public.

==Intellectual pursuits==
He received the [[honorary degree]] of [[Master of Arts]] from [[Dartmouth College]], [[New Hampshire]], in 1849. He was a member of the [[Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries]] of [[Copenhagen]], Denmark, and an Honorary Member of the [[Ethnology|American Ethnological Society]]. 

He had a talent for languages, and was fluent in at least thirteen.<ref>[http://www.cclibraries.com/MexicanWar/blisswws.htm W. S. Bliss<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[George Perkins Marsh]], the [[philologist]], said that Bliss was the best linguist in America.

==Marriage and family==
On December 5, 1848, at [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], Bliss married President-elect Zachary Taylor's youngest daughter, [[Mary Elizabeth Bliss|Mary Elizabeth]] (1824–1909).

==Political career==
Taylor appointed Bliss as [[Secretary to the President of the United States|Private Secretary to the President]] (he was able to take leave from the Army for this assignment).

As the President's wife took no part in formal social events, she delegated the social role to their daughter Mary Elizabeth Bliss, who effectively became the [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] of the [[White House]] at the age of 22. The popular young couple seemed destined to become powerful figures in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]].

The president died suddenly in July 1850. Bliss and his wife Mary accompanied her widowed mother to [[Pascagoula, Mississippi]]. She died there in 1852, at the home of another daughter.

Bliss was assigned as Adjutant-General of the Western Division of the Army. Following a summer visit to [[New Orleans]] on behalf of [[Tulane University|University of Louisiana]], Bliss contracted [[yellow fever]].  He died at Pascagoula on August 5, 1853, aged 37. He was buried at [[Girod Street Cemetery]] (defunct), New Orleans. A century later, his remains were moved to Fort Bliss National Cemetery in Texas. 

[[Image:Wm W S Bliss,FtBlissNatlCemetery.jpg|thumb|right|Gravestone of William Bliss, [[Fort Bliss]] National Cemetery]]

==Legacy and honors==
* 1849 the [[State of New York]] presented him with a Gold Medal for his bravery in the Mexican–American War, at [[Battle of Palo Alto|Palo Alto]], [[Battle of Resaca de la Palma|Resaca de la Palma]], [[Battle of Monterrey|Monterrey]], and [[Battle of Buena Vista|Buena Vista]].
* March 8, 1854, the Post of [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]] was renamed in his honor as [[Fort Bliss]].
* A twenty-foot memorial, made of Italian marble, was erected in his honor in the Girod Street Cemetery, New Orleans. It noted he was "a finished scholar, an accomplished gentleman and a gallant soldier." In 1955, the cemetery was condemned for new construction in the Central Business District. When his remains were removed to the Fort Bliss National Cemetery, the monument was also moved and became the center piece of LTC William W. S. Bliss Parade Field, near Hinman Hall in Fort Bliss.<ref>((cite web|title=William Wallace Smith Bliss Monument|url=http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=94270|website=The Historical Marker database|accessdate=28 April 2016))</ref>

==References==
*Carl Sferrazza, ''America's First Families: An Inside View of 200 Years of Private Life in the White House'', Lisa Drew Books
((reflist))

==External links==
*[http://www.blissfhs.co.uk/eminent.htm The Bliss Family History Society]
*[http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/ftbliss.asp Fort Bliss National Cemetery]
*((cite news|last1=Hamilton|first1=John|title=The first Fort Bliss: The post opposite El Paso|url=http://fortblissbugle.com/?p=23730|work=Fort Bliss Bugle|date=August 21, 2013))
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mysouthernfamily/myff/d0077/g0000043.html My Southern Family], Rootsweb
*[http://www.library.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us/MexicanWar/blisswws.htm Military biography of William Bliss], [[West Point#Cullum number|from the Cullum biographies]]

((Authority control))

((DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, William))
[[Category:1815 births]]
[[Category:1853 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from yellow fever]]
[[Category:Personal secretaries to the President of the United States]]
[[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Mexican–American War]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:American people of the Seminole Wars]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Zachary Taylor family]]
[[Category:People from Whitehall, New York]]
[[Category:Burials at Girod Street Cemetery]]

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