[2] Van Dorn scored two additional notable successes as a cavalry commander, in which role he never lost, capturing a large U.S. supply depot in the Holly Springs Raid, embarrassing U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant by saving Vicksburg and protecting the Confederacy's main port.

Van Dorn's successful raid of Holly Springs also delayed the potential expulsion of Jewish people from Grant's military district.

His next acclaimed success that helped restore his reputation as a military genius was his overwhelming victory over an enemy brigade at the Battle of Thompson's Station, Tennessee.

His sister Octavia had a son, Clement Sulivane, who became a captain in the CSA forces and served on Van Dorn's staff; he later was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Handsome, debonair, and polished, he presented a dashing figure in Confederate gray, so it was not surprising that he was a major attraction and the center of attention at public and private events.

[1] He was wounded four separate times while in Indian Territory,[7] including seriously when he commanded the first expedition against the Comanche and took two arrows (one in his left arm and another in his right side, injuring his stomach and a lung) at the Battle of Wichita Village on October 1, 1858.

[11] After resigning from the Mississippi Militia on March 16, 1861, Van Dorn entered the Regular Confederate States Army as a colonel of infantry on that same date.

[12] Leaving New Orleans on April 14 and arriving at Galveston, Texas, Van Dorn led his men successfully in capturing three U.S. ships in the town's harbor.

For this, President Abraham Lincoln declared Van Dorn a pirate under the laws of the U.S. "for seizure of vessels or goods by persons acting under the authority of the Confederate States.

Van Dorn wanted to attack and destroy the U.S. forces, enter Missouri, and capture St. Louis, turning over control of this important state to the Confederacy.

[25] When Van Dorn learned of the problems with his right wing, he renewed Price's attacks, saying, "Then we must press them the harder", and the Confederates pushed Curtis back.

[28] In his official report, Van Dorn described his summary of the events at Pea Ridge: I attempted first to beat the enemy at Elkhorn, but a series of accidents entirely unforeseen and not under my control and a badly-disciplined army defeated my intentions.

[31] Despite the loss at Pea Ridge, the Confederate Congress would vote its thanks "for their valor, skill, and good conduct in the battle of Elkhorn in the states of Arkansas" to Van Dorn and his men on April 21.

[6] In his report on March 18 to Judah P. Benjamin, then the Confederate Secretary of War, Van Dorn refuted suffering a loss, saying, "I was not defeated, but only foiled in my intentions.

As at Pea Ridge, Van Dorn did well in the early stages of the battle on October 1–2, 1862, combining with Price's men and prudently placing his force that now was roughly equal in size to the U.S. army at about 22,000 soldiers.

But Van Dorn, with this small force, successfully stormed the works of this Gibraltar of Mississippi, defended by 35,000 men, composed of the flower of the entire Federal army, and commanded by their favorite general Grant.

But this success was gained by the loss of nearly one-half of our number in killed and wounded, which weakened our army to such an extent that the largely reinforced enemy were enabled to repulse, and after a stubborn hand-to-hand fight drive us out of the fortifications.

"[35] In late 1862, General Earl Van Dorn played a crucial role in the Confederate recapture of Galveston, Texas, demonstrating his strategic ingenuity and desire to minimize casualties.

Van Dorn also had a rider go to the Union side and invite a trusted advisor of the commanding officer, Colonel Isaac S. Burrell, to come to the Confederate lines to inspect their illusory strength with a promise of his safety in doing so.

This psychological strategy successfully convinced the Union forces to surrender without significant bloodshed, highlighting Van Dorn's ability to achieve military objectives while preventing unnecessary loss of life.

[45] After victory in Holly Springs, Van Dorn and his men then followed the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, fought unsuccessfully at Davis's Mills, skirmished near Middleburg, Tennessee, passed around Bolivar, and returned to their Grenada base by December 28.

[47] The attacks of both Van Dorn and Forrest caused Grant to withdraw his troops to Grand Junction, Tennessee, his U.S. army living off the countryside.

After three charges were beaten back, Jackson finally carried the U.S. position, as Forrest captured Coburn's wagon train, blocking the road to Columbia and the only escape route for Union soldiers.

The Battle of Thompson's Station was important in that it prevented a union of Coburn's and Sheridan's forces and [it] marked Van Dorn as a promising and skillful leader of cavalry and mounted infantry.

Gossip quickly spread around town about Van Dorn's visits to Mrs. Peters' home and the couple's frequent unchaperoned carriage rides together.

Van Dorn's sister Emily later wrote a memoir defending her brother and blaming Peters' loyalty to the United States in the war as the real reason for shooting him.

Later, his talent as a leader of mounted troops came to the forefront when he proved his true value to the Confederacy by leading the successful raid on Holly Springs, Mississippi, in December of 1862.

By December of that year, Van Dorn appears to have matured as a soldier, giving the impression that he had learned to curb his impatience and recognize the value of intelligence and reconnaissance.

He said that his death cost the Confederacy a "useful leader at a critical juncture of the Vicksburg campaign", noting that Van Dorn was the senior major general in the Confederate States Army when he was killed.

Handsome, debonair, and polished, he presented a dashing figure in Confederate gray, so it was not surprising that he was a major attraction and the center of attention at public and private events.