John M. Bloss

John McKnight Bloss (January 21, 1839 – April 26, 1905)[1] was an American Civil War soldier who had an influence on the Battle of Antietam and was later President of Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) from 1892 until 1896.

Early life and education

He was born in New Philadelphia, Indiana in 1839.[2]

Bloss attended Hanover College in Indiana from 1854 and earned an A.B. degree with honors in 1860.[2] After his military service in the Civil War, he studied medicine at Ohio Medical College in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1865 and 1865.[2]

American Civil War

Bloss fought on the Union side with the 27th Indiana Infantry Regiment. He was one of the soldiers who helped recover Special Order 191, "Lee's Lost Dispatch", which provided invaluable military intelligence about General Robert E. Lee's plans, resulting in the Battle of Antietam. This helped lead the Union to victory in the battle.[3] Bloss fought and was wounded in several battles, including Antietam, before he resigned in 1864.[2]

Career in education

He was a teacher; a principal; superintendent of the Indiana city schools of Evansville (1875–80) and Muncie (1883–86) and of Topeka, Kansas (1886–92); and the State Superintendent for Public Instruction for Indiana (1880–82).[2] In April 1892, Bloss was selected as the third president of Oregon Agricultural College,[2] but retired in 1896 due to his failing health.

Personal life

Bloss married Emma L. McPheeters in 1865. They had two children, Nannie and William (Will). After Emma died of typhoid in Topeka, Kansas. He remarried in 1893, after meeting Mary A. Woods while serving as OAC president.

Bloss died in 1905 and is buried in Muncie, Indiana.[2]

Notes
  1. The Maryland Campaign of September 1862
  2. "Presidents of Oregon State University: John McKnight Bloss (1892-1896)". Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries.
  3. Sears, p. 112; McPherson, p. 108.

References
  • McPherson, James M. Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam, The Battle That Changed the Course of the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-19-513521-0.
  • Sears, Stephen W. Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983. ISBN 0-89919-172-X.
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