Van Dorn, Earl

Van Dorn, Earl væn ˈdôrn (1820–1863) U.S. and Confederate army officer. Born near Port Gibson, Mississippi, in 1820, Earl Van Dorn was graduated from West Point in 1842. He served in the Mexican War (1846–48) and with the 2nd U.S. Cavalry along the Mexican border fighting the Comanches. In 1861, Van Dorn resigned his U.S. commission and accepted appointment as a colonel in the Confederate army. In September 1861, he was promoted to major general and named to command the Trans-Mississippi Department. After defeats at Pea Ridge (1862) and Corinth (1862), Van Dorn was relieved of his command and reassigned to command a troop of cavalry. Although ill-suited to higher command, he was an energetic and successful small unit commander and achieved great success in an attack on the Union supply depot at Holly Springs, Mississippi (December 20, 1862), forcing Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to retreat to Memphis, Tennessee. While meeting with his staff on May 8, 1863, Van Dorn was shot and killed by a jealous husband.