George Hume Steuart was the first commanding officer of the post on the Pawnee Fork that became Fort Larned. His time there was short; the rest of his career took him from the U.S. Army to the Confederacy.
A dragoon in the West
| Date | |
|---|---|
| August 24, 1828 | born in Baltimore, Maryland — a state he stayed fiercely loyal to all his life |
| July 1, 1844 | enters the U.S. Military Academy at West Point |
| July 1848 | graduates 37th in his class; brevet second lieutenant, 2nd U.S. Dragoons |
| November 1849 | second lieutenant |
| after the Mexican War | campaigns against Native peoples in Texas, serving at several forts |
| March 3, 1855 | first lieutenant, transferred to the 1st U.S. Cavalry |
| December 20, 1855 | captain |
| 1856 | sent against the Cheyenne |
| 1857–1858 | on the expedition to Utah against the Mormons |
| then | to Fort Riley with Company K, 1st Cavalry |
At the Camp on Pawnee Fork
On October 7, 1859, Steuart set out to relieve Lieutenant Long's company at the Camp on Pawnee Fork. He didn't stay long. On November 21, orders from department headquarters at Fort Leavenworth told him to return and leave 30 men at the camp under 1st Lt. David Bell. He handed over command to Bell on November 26, 1859, and went on to the Comanche expedition of 1860.
George Hume Steuart in his Confederate general's uniform. Public domain
For Maryland, and the Confederacy
When the Southern states seceded, Maryland was not allowed to join the Confederacy. Steuart believed his home state should have been free to go. He resigned his commission on April 22, 1861, crossed into Virginia with many other Marylanders, and joined the Confederate army.
- Commissioned a captain of cavalry; in May 1861 named lieutenant colonel of the newly formed 1st Maryland Infantry.
- At First Bull Run (First Manassas) he served with distinction and was made colonel, commanding the regiment. Soldiers called him "Maryland" to tell him apart from Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart.
- March 1862: brigadier general, commanding three Virginia regiments along with the 1st Maryland.
- June 8, 1862: wounded at Cross Keys; back in command in May 1863.
- Fought at Gettysburg, the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, where he was captured — famously refusing to shake Winfield S. Hancock's hand. Exchanged in 1864.
- Present at the surrender and parole of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse.
After the war he went home to Maryland and farmed. He died on November 22, 1903, aged 75, and is buried in Baltimore's Green Mount Cemetery, as are several other Confederate generals and John Wilkes Booth.
The park has profiles of all of Fort Larned's post commanders.
Sources
Based on "George H. Steuart," National Park Service, Fort Larned National Historic Site; a work of the United States government in the public domain. Rewritten in hubnx's own words.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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