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Earl Van Dorn was born on September 17, 1820, near Port Gibson, Mississippi. After graduating from West Point in 1842, he served in the Mexican War, and fought against Comanches in Texas. He resigned his commission in the US Army in January of 1861, and became a colonel in the Confederate service, and was assigned to Texas. Van Dorn helped bring about the bloodless surrender, and was promoted to brigadier general on June 5, 1861. Placed in command of the Trans-Mississippi Department, he lost the Battles of Pea Ridge and Corinth, largely because of poor staff work and his own failure to attend to details. Subjected to a court of inquiry for his failure at Corinth, he was nevertheless exonerated of any misconduct, but did not command an army again. The Confederate War Department gave him command of a cavalry, and he performed well at Holly Springs. In fact, Union Maj. Gen. Grant's Vicksburg Campaign had to be rescheduled because the Confederates destroyed a great deal of Union supplies. Van Dorn was describes as a handsome, slim and elegant, and something of a lady's man. In fact, he was killed by an angry husband on May 7, 1863, at Van Dorn's headquarters in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
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