The Reminiscences of Major General Zenas R. Bliss, 1854–1876 ed. by Thomas T. Smith, et al. (review)

This book spotlights a glaring void still waiting to be filled in South Texas history : a comparable, scholarly biography of Henrietta King is sorely needed. In 1986 Mary Virginia Fox wrote A Queen Named King: Henrietta of the King Ranch, a seventy-six-page work published by Eakin Press, aimed at the juvenile book market . In 2005 Judy Alter authored a second juvenile history, Henrietta King: Rancher and Philanthropist, a seventy-two-page paperback issued by State House Press. One hopes that Petra’s Legacy will now inspire a similar, well-researched, full-length adult study of this important South Texas matriarch. Jane Clements Monday and Frances Brannen Vick’s book exemplifies women’s studies (and Texas history for that matter) at its finest. For those considering research or a career in women’s history, Petra’s Legacy provides an excellent signpost on how to proceed. Texas Christian University Glen Sample Ely The Reminiscences of Major General Zenas R. Bliss, 1854–1876. Edited by Thomas T. Smith, Jerry D. Thompson, Robert Wooster, and Ben E. Pingenot. (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 2007. Pp. 750. Map, black-and-white plates, notes, bibliography, index. ISBN 978-0-87611-226-7. $39.95, cloth.) Before and after the Civil War, Rhode Island native Zenas R. Bliss served in the United States Army in West Texas, a land where everything was “peculiar” (p. 86). His detailed reminiscences include lively descriptions of military posts, Mexican settlements, various Indian groups, soldier life, topography, and wildlife. Bliss participated in the surrender of Federal troops and military installations to Confederates in Texas in 1861. He spent most of the Civil War’s first year as a prisoner of war in San Antonio, including what he deemed a leisurely summer. Confederate Texans proved less tolerant of the Federals in their midst as the fighting elsewhere intensified, and Bliss eventually grew disgusted with the United States government for what he considered a lack of effort to secure the prisoners’ exchange. After a brief imprisonment in Richmond, Virginia, Bliss was exchanged and eventually fought in the Battle of Fredericksburg, for which service he was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. In 1863 he took part in the capture of Vicksburg before returning to Virginia to serve in the Overland Campaign of 1864. During that campaign Bliss participated in the infamous Battle of the Crater and was one of several officers censured by an investigative board for their actions during that incident. Bliss’s account of his postwar service includes a brief yet exceptionally interesting description of his stint with the Freedman’s Bureau in South Carolina, before shifting to his eventual return to West Texas. The book’s final five chapters chronicle Bliss’s experiences commanding Fort Duncan, Fort Stockton, Camp Concordia, Fort Bliss, and Fort Davis in West Texas at various times from 1870 to 1876. While at Fort Duncan he initiated the enlistment of SeminoleNegro Indians as army scouts, though his commentary on the subject is limited. Although the reminiscences end in 1876, Bliss served in Texas again during the 1880s and commanded a black unit at Fort Elliott. He retired as a major general in 1897, died in 1900, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. 324 Southwestern Historical Quarterly January *jan 09 11/26/08 12:00 PM Page 324 The editors have rendered a significant service to students of Texas history by making more readily available a valuable resource for the study of the antebellum and postwar Texas frontier. A brief introduction provides a biographical sketch of Bliss and offers insights into the editorial process. The original manuscript included more than twelve hundred pages that the editors skillfully trimmed for publication. Their final product boasts ample detail regarding daily life in West Texas without drifting too far from the primary narrative, while the introduction and careful notations impart additional insight into Bliss’s personality . For example, the soldier claimed several times throughout the manuscript that he did not use notes and worked strictly from memory. The editors make clear, however, that Bliss was a careful note-taker during his career and that many stories were simply too detailed to have been reproduced from memory alone...