Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/693

Rh the navy, but accepted an ensign's commission in tin 1 Scotch brigade in the Dutch service, and was a lieutenant when in 1772 a negro insurrection began in the colony of Surinam. He volunteered to ac- company the expedition that was sent to suppress it. and was given the brevet rank of captain. (In his return in 1777 he was promoted to major, and just before resigning from the service, at the begin- ning of hostilities with England in 1783, was made lieutenant-colonel. He published a valuable " Nar- rative of an Expedition against the Revolted Ne- groes of Surinam," which contains much valuable information about the country and its inhabitants (2 vols.. London, 1796 ; enlarged edition, 1800).

STEEUMAN, Charies, naval officer, b. in Charleston, S. C., 24 Sept., 1811 ; d. in Washington, D. C., 13 Nov., 1890. He entered the navy, became a passed midshipman, 14 Jan., 1834, and cruised in the Mediterranean in the frigates "Constitution" and " United States." He was promoted to lieu- tenant, 25 Feb., 1841, and during the Mexican war served in the sloop " St. Mary's " in 1846-'7. At the bombardment of Vera Cruz he commanded the siege-guns in the naval battery on shore, and he participated in other operations on the coast and in the boat expedition that captured Tampico. He was commissioned commander. 14 Sept., 1855, and in the Paraguay expedition commanded the brig " Dolphin." Notwithstanding the efforts of his family and friends in his native state to induce him to join the seceded states, he remained loyal and rendered valuable service to the Union. He im- mediately asked for duty, took command of the rail- road ferry steamer " Maryland," and conveyed Gen. Benjamin F. Butler with the 8th Massachusetts regiment from Havre de Grace to Annapolis. Md., in April, 1861. He then went to the west temporarily and assisted Admiral Foote in organizing the naval forces that operated on the Mississippi river in the gun-boats. In September, 1861, he commanded the steamer " Bienville," in which he led the second column of vessels at the capture of Port Royal, S. C., and participated in operations on the coast of Georgia and Florida. He returned north in the spring, and took command of the steamer " Paul Jones," in which he assisted in the capture of Fort McAllister, on Ogeechee river, in August, 1862, and operated on St. John's river, Fla., during the fol- lowing month. He was promoted to captain, 13 Sept., 1862, and in the steamer " Powhatan " took part in the blockade off Charleston and in several engagements there. He then towed the captured ram " Atlanta " to Philadelphia, took command of the steamer " Ticonderoga," and went to the coast of Brazil in pursuit of the Confederate cruiser " Florida " until November, 1864. He participated in the two attacks on Fort Fisher, remained in command of the " Ticonderoga " on a cruise in the Mediterranean, and returned in command of the steam frigate " Colorado " in September, 1867. He was promoted to commodore, 25 July, 1866, and was in charge of the Boston navy-yard in 1869-'72. He was made a rear-admiral. 25 May, 1871, and retired, 24 Sept., 1873.

STEEDMAN, James Barrett, soldier, b. in Northumberland county, Pa., 30 July, 1818 : d. in Toledo, Ohio, 18 Oct., 1883. He went to Ohio in 1837 as a contractor on the Wabash and Erie canal, and in 1843 was chosen to the legislature of that state as a Democrat. In 184!) he organized a com- pany to cross the plains to California in search of gold, but he returned in 1850. and in 1851 became a member of the Ohio board of public works. During Buchanan's administration he was public printer at Washington, and in 1860 he was a dele- gate to the National Democratic convention at Charleston, advocating the nomination of Stephen A. Douglas. At the opening of the civil war he In < ,i colonel of the 4th Ohio regiment, and was ordered to western Virginia. After taking part in the battle of Philippi he joined Gen. Don Carlos Buell in Kentucky, was promoted brigadier-general of volunteers. 17 July, 1862, and rendered valuable service at Perryville, arriving on the battle-field just in time to drive back the enemy, who had broken the National line and were pushing a heavy column toward the gap. In July, 1863, he was placed in command of the 1st division of the re- serve corps of the Army of the Cumberland. At the battle of Chiekamauga he re-enforced Gen. George H. Thomas at a critical moment, and it has been claimed that he thus saved the day, though credit for ordering the movement is usually given to Gen. Gordon Granger. For his services here he was promoted major-general, 24 April, 1864. He was afterward active in the Atlanta campaign, relieving the garrison at Dalton and defeating Gen. Joseph G. Wheeler's cavalry in June, 1864. When Sherman inarched to the sea he joined Gen. Thomas, and did good service at Nashville. He resigned on 19 July, 1866, after serving as pro- visional governor of Georgia, and was appointed U. S. collector of internal revenue at New Orleans by President Johnson, whose close friend he was. Here his lack of business ability involved him in financial trouble, and he returned to Ohio, where in 1879 he was chosen to the state senate, but was defeated in a second canvass. In the May before his death he became chief of police of Toledo, and he was editor and nominal owner of the "Weekly Ohio Democrat." On 26 May, 1887, a fine monu- ment was dedicated to his memory in Toledo.

STEEL, William, reformer, b. in Biggar. Scot- land, 26 Aug., 1809; d. in Portland, Ore., 5 Jan., 1881. He came to the United States with his parents in 1817 and settled near Winchester, Va., but removed soon afterward to Monroe county, Ohio, where, from 1830 till the civil war, he was an active worker in the ' Underground railroad," of which he was one of the earliest organizers. During these years large numbers of slaves were assisted to es- cape to Canada, and in no single instance was one retaken after reaching him. At one time the slave- holders of Virginia offered a reward of $5.000 for his head, when he promptly addressed the com- mittee, offering to bring it to them if the money were placed in responsible hands. He acquired a fortune as a merchant, but lost, it in 1844. From 1872 till his death he resided with his sons in Ore- gon. In the early days of the anti-slavery move- ment Mr. Steel was the recognized leader of the Abolitionists in southeastern Ohio. He was at one time a candidate of the Liberty party for congress, and in 1844 circulated in eastern Ohio the "great petition." whose signers agreed to vote for Henry Clay if he would emancipate his one slave.

'''STEELE. Frederick''', soldier, b. in Delhi, N. Y., 14 Jan., 1819 ; d. in San Mateo, Cal., 12 Jan., 1868. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1843, and served as 2d lieutenant in the Mexican war, receiving the brevets of 1st lieutenant and captain for gallant conduct at Contreras and Chapultepec respectively. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant, 6 June, 1848, and served in California till 1853, and then principally in Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska till the civil war. receiving his captain's commission on 5 Feb., 1855. He was promoted to major on 14 May, 1861. and commanded a brigade in Missouri from 11 June, 1861, till April, 1862, being engaged at Dug Spring and