Earl Van Dorn

Earl Van Dorn (September 17, 1820 – May 7, 1863) is a United States Army officer and great-nephew of Andrew Jackson, fighting with distinction during the Mexican–American War, against several tribes of Native Americans, and in the Western theater of the American Civil War as a Confederate general officer. The former military installation Camp Van Dorn is named for him.

In the American Civil War, he serves as a Confederate general, appointed commander of the Trans-Mississippi District.

At the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, in March 1862, he is defeated by a smaller Union force, partly because he had abandoned his supply-wagons for the sake of speed, leaving his men under-equipped in cold weather.

At the Second Battle of Corinth in October 1862, he is again defeated through a failure of reconnaissance and removed from high command.

He now scores two notable successes as a cavalry commander, capturing a large Union supply depot at Holly Springs and an enemy position at the Battle of Thompson's Station, Tennessee

In May 1863, he is shot dead at his headquarters at Spring Hill by a doctor who claims that Van Dorn had carried on an affair with his wife.

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