He later moved to New England and found work at the Parker gun factory in Meriden, Connecticut.

[3] During the American Civil War he served as a corporal in Company I of the 3rd Connecticut Volunteers and saw action during the First Battle of Bull Run.

The following year, he relocated permanently to Brooklyn, where he was employed for a time at the Campbell Printing Press Company.

The company's experience with building the Whiteheads proved valuable in the development of the Bliss-Leavitt torpedo, which was also acquired by the US Navy.

At the time of his death, the E. W. Bliss Company's plant covered eighty-five city lots and employed 1,300 men; in 1884, it was the largest factory in the world.