Jefferson Van Horne (December 12, 1802 – September 28, 1857) was an American infantry officer. He was a veteran of the

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

, the Military Occupation of Texas, and the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. He is best known as the "Founder of

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor, Ft. Bliss h ...

Biography

Jefferson Van Horne was born in

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

in 1802 to

Isaac Van Horne Isaac Van Horne (January 13, 1754, Solebury Township, Pennsylvania – February 2, 1834, Zanesville, Ohio) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Early life He was the eldest son of Bernard Van Horne and his first w ...

. His family moved to

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capita ...

in 1810. Jefferson Van Horne was a cadet at the

United States Military Academy at West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

from July 1, 1823 to July 1, 1827.

Early military career

Van Horne graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

with a rank of thirteen in a class of thirty-eight. Upon graduation he was promoted to second lieutenant and assigned to the Third Infantry. As a second lieutenant he was on frontier duty at

Jefferson Barracks Military Post The Jefferson Barracks Military Post is located on the Mississippi River at Lemay, Missouri, south of St. Louis. It was an important and active U.S. Army installation from 1826 through 1946. It is the oldest operating U.S. military installation ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

from 1827 to 1829; at Fort Leavenworth,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

in 1829;

from 1829 to 1930; Natchitoches,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

from 1830 to 1831,

Fort Towson Fort Towson was a frontier outpost for Frontier Army Quartermasters along the Permanent Indian Frontier located about two miles (3 km) northeast of the present community of Fort Towson, Oklahoma. Located on Gates Creek near the confluence ...

Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

from 1831 to 1832 on Commissary duty; and transferring and subsisting Indians from 1832 to 1839. During this tour Van Horne was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

on April 1, 1836. Van Horne fought in the

from 1840 to 1842, was promoted to captain on December 1, 1840, then stayed in garrison at Fort Stansbury,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

from 1842 to 1843. He returned to

in 1843. Van Horne took a sick leave of absence from 1843 to 1844. He returned to frontier duty at

Fort Jesup Fort Jesup, also known as Fort Jesup State Historic Site or Fort Jesup or Fort Jesup State Monument, was built in 1822, west of Natchitoches, Louisiana, to protect the United States border with New Spain and to return order to the Neutral Strip. ...

, from 1844 to 1845. He participated in the Military Occupation of Texas in 1845 and 1846, and served on the recruiting service from 1846 to 1847. Van Horne arrived in San Elizario Presidio on September 1, 1849, spending several days inspecting the fortifications of the

presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...

. He left

San Elizario San Elizario is a city in El Paso County, Texas, United States. Its population was 13,603 at the 2010 census. It is part of the El Paso metropolitan statistical area. It lies on the Rio Grande, which forms the border between the United States an ...

on September 4, stopping in Socorro and

Ysleta Ysleta is a community in El Paso, Texas, United States. Ysleta was settled between October 9 and October 12, 1680, when Spanish conquistadors, Franciscan clerics and Tigua Indians took refuge along the southern bank of the Rio Grande. These pe ...

on September 6, and finally arrived in

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

on September 8, 1849.

Personal life

Van Horne married Mary S. Gilbert in

on November 28, 1854.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Horne, Jefferson 1802 births 1857 deaths United States Army officers People from Zanesville, Ohio American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Sons of the American Revolution United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Ohio People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania

Biography

Early military career

Personal life

See also

References