Earl Van Dorn (September 17, 1820 – May 7, 1863) was an American Major General who started his military career as a United States Army officer and became famous for successfully leading two defenses of a Native American settlement from the Comanche. He joined Confederate forces in 1861 after the Civil War broke out and was a major general when he was killed in a private conflict.
A great-nephew of Andrew Jackson, he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy, graduating in 1842.