Alexander E. Steen.html |
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| Alexander E. Steen | |
|---|---|
| 1827 – December 7, 1862 (aged 34–35) | |
| Place of birth | Missouri |
| Place of death | Washington County, Arkansas |
| Allegiance | Confederate States of America |
| Service/branch | Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1862 |
| Rank | Brigadier General, Missouri State Guard Colonel PACS |
| Commands held | Division, Missouri State Guard 10th Missouri Infantry |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War: *Wilson's Creek *Prairie Grove |
| Relations | brother-in-law of Lewis Henry Little, first cousin of Arkansas Governor Henry M. Rector |
| Other work | antebellum officer in the United States Army |
Alexander Early Steen (1827 – December 7, 1862) was a career American soldier from Missouri who served as a general in the pro-Confederate service during the American Civil War. He was killed in the Battle of Prairie Grove.
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Military career
Steen graduated from the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, and was assigned as a second lieutenant to the 12th U.S. Infantry. He served at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri, beginning in May 1846.[1] By the mid-1850s, Steen was promoted to first lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Infantry and assigned to duty at Fort Union in the New Mexico Territory, where he led several lengthy reconnaissance patrols scouting for hostile Indians.[2]
With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, many Missourians were forced to choose sides, especially after the state's neutrality came under test when pro-Confederacy forces organized and began resisting the Federal authorities, and fighting became imminent. Steen resigned from the U.S. Army and returned home. On March 16, he accepted a commission as a captain in the Regular Confederate Army's Corps of Infantry.[3] He was also appointed as a brigadier general in the Missouri State Guard under its commander, Sterling Price. He commanded a division of raw recruits early in the war.[4]
Death and burial
Joining the Provisional Army of the Confederate States as a colonel, Steen commanded the 10th Missouri Infantry in the Battle of Prairie Grove in December 1862.
He was killed during the fighting and his body recovered and shipped to Fort Smith.[5]
He is buried in the Fort Smith National Cemetery. A memorial to Unknown Confederate Dead, made of marble, commemorates Steen, as well as Brigadier General James M. McIntosh, an Arkansan who was killed at the Battle of Pea Ridge.[6]
Relations
Steen was a brother-in-law of fellow Confederate general Lewis Henry Little. He was also a first cousin of Arkansas Governor Henry M. Rector.[7]
See also
References
- Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865, Richmond, Virginia: Printer of the Confederate States Congress, 1861.
- National Park Service website for Fort Union
- "Missouri in the Civil War" adapted from Confederate Military History by Clement A. Evans, Confederate Publishing Company, Atlanta, Georgia, 1899.
- National Park Service website for Fort Smith National Cemetery
- Missouri Sons of Confederate Veterans website for Jefferson Barracks</ref>
Notes
- ^ Missouri SCV
- ^ http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/foun/hrs3b.htm Fort Union website]
- ^ Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, p. 706. Steen's resignation from the U.S. Army became effective on May 10, 1861.
- ^ Missouri in the Civil War, Vol. 9, Chapter 6.
- ^ Prairie Grove order of battle
- ^ NPS website for Fort Smith National Cemetery
- ^ Eicher, p. 448.
External links
- Alexander E. Steen at Find A Grave Retrieved on 2008-07-18