Truman B . Ransom Truman B . Ransom ( September 20 , 1802 — September 13 , 1847 ) was a Vermont educator and military officer who served as President of Norwich University and commander of a regiment in the Mexican – American War . He was killed at the Battle of Chapultepec . Biography . Truman Bishop Ransom was born in Woodstock , Vermont on September 20 , 1802 . At age 13 he was apprenticed as a chair - maker and painter . At age 16 he began attendance at the American Literary , Scientific and Military Academy , now called Norwich University , alternating semesters with work for his employer in Quechee , Vermont to pay his tuition . Ransom graduated in 1825 and began a career as an educator , teaching at several colleges started or overseen by Norwich University founder Alden Partridge , or that operated on his Norwich University model , including Jefferson College in Mississippi . In 1835 Ransom became Vice President of Norwich University and was also appointed Professor of natural philosophy and engineering . Ransom volunteered for the militia in the 1830s , and advanced through the ranks from Captain to Major General , gaining experience as a drill master and commander of units from company to brigade . In 1836 he received his Master of Arts degree from Norwich . From 1837 to 1844 Ransom served as Major General of the Vermont Militia , and he published a manual on tactics for militia that was distributed throughout United States . In 1844 Ransom was appointed Norwich University ' s President , the first to hold the office after Alden Partridge . A Democrat , Ransom ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in 1840 . He ran again in 1843 , losing twice to Jacob Collamer . In 1846 he was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor . Ransom volunteered to serve in the Mexican War and , on February 16 , 1847 , was appointed as the Major of the newly formed 9th Infantry Regiment under the command of future president Colonel Franklin Pierce . He was quickly promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and second in command , and when Pierce was promoted to Brigadier General and took command of a brigade , Ransom was promoted to Colonel on March 16 and given command of the regiment ( which was officially organized on April 9 ) . Ransom fell at the head of the regiment on September 13 , 1847 while storming the works at Chapultepec on the outskirts of Mexico City . He was remembered by Richard Coulter Drum , a participant in the battle as " by all odds the most brilliant man under fire I have ever seen . " Ransom was temporarily buried in Mexico City ' s Protestant cemetery , and later returned to Vermont and interred at Norwich ' s Fairview Cemetery . His eulogy was spoken by Frederic Williams Hopkins , who had worked with Ransom to revitalize the militia . Legacy . Norwich University ' s Ransom Hall is named for Truman Ransom . Battery Ransom , an artillery fortification that stood on Fort Jackson , Louisiana was also named for him . Family . Ransom married Margaretta Morrison Greenfield in 1830 . They had seven children : Dunbar Richard ( 1831 - 1897 ) ; Thomas Edwin Greenfield ( 1834 - 1864 ) ; Mary Rozella ( 1837 - 1843 ) ; George Richard ( 1839 - 1845 ) ; Frederick Eugene ( b . 1841 ) ; Mary Rozella ( named for a sister who predeceased her , born and died in 1843 ) ; and Catherine Harriet ( b . 1846 ) . Thomas Edward Greenfield Ransom served as a brevet major general in the Union Army during American Civil War and died in service on October 29 , 1864 . Dunbar Ransom served as a Civil War officer and later became a railroad executive before dying in Texas . Frederick Ransom served as a lieutenant in the 11th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War .