Civil War Union Major General. He was a descendant of the founders of Hartford, CT. He graduated from the USMA in 1843 ranking 30th in a class of 39. He fought in the Mexican War gaining brevets to Lt. and Captain. At the start of the Civil War he was a full major serving mostly out west. Appointed to Colonel of the 8th Iowa, he was later promoted to Brigadier General on January 29, 1862, and to Major General on March 17, 1863. Steele fought at Wilson's Creek, MO, "First" Vicksburg, Arkansas Post, and in the ill-fated Red River Campaign, the loss of which was not his fault. After the war he was in command of the Dept. of Columbia. While on leave in San Mateo, CA, Gen. Steele fell from a buggy and died on January 12, 1868, two days short of his 49th birthday. Other reports list his death as from "apoplexy", or stroke. Originally buried in Lone Mountain Cemetery in San Francisco, his remains were moved to Woodlawn Memorial Park in Colma, CA, in 1912.

Civil War Union Major General. He was a descendant of the founders of Hartford, CT. He graduated from the USMA in 1843 ranking 30th in a class of 39. He fought in the Mexican War gaining brevets to Lt. and Captain. At the start of the Civil War he was a full major serving mostly out west. Appointed to Colonel of the 8th Iowa, he was later promoted to Brigadier General on January 29, 1862, and to Major General on March 17, 1863. Steele fought at Wilson's Creek, MO, "First" Vicksburg, Arkansas Post, and in the ill-fated Red River Campaign, the loss of which was not his fault. After the war he was in command of the Dept. of Columbia. While on leave in San Mateo, CA, Gen. Steele fell from a buggy and died on January 12, 1868, two days short of his 49th birthday. Other reports list his death as from "apoplexy", or stroke. Originally buried in Lone Mountain Cemetery in San Francisco, his remains were moved to Woodlawn Memorial Park in Colma, CA, in 1912.

Bio by: Joe Ferrell