Edward Jenner Steptoe (November 7, 1815 – April 1, 1865) was an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

who served in the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

and the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

. He is primarily remembered for his defeat at the

Battle of Pine Creek The Battle of Pine Creek, also known as the Battle of Tohotonimme and the Steptoe Disaster,Keenan, Jerry. "Steptoe, Col. Edward Jenner." Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars 1492-1890 Santa Barbara, CA : ABC-CLIO, c1997 p. 223. was a conflict be ...

during the

Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War The Coeur d'Alene War of 1858, also known as the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Pend d'oreille-Paloos War, was the second phase of the Yakima War, involving a series of encounters between the allied Native American tribes of the Skitswish ("Coeur d'Alen ...

. It was at Pine Creek where Steptoe and 164 men were ambushed by over 1,000 Indian warriors.Oregon volunteers battle the Walla Wallas and other tribes beginning on December 7, 1855

HistoryLink HistoryLink is an online encyclopedia of Washington (state), Washington state history. The site has more than 8,100 entries and attracts 23,000 weekly visitors. It has 500 biographies and more than 14,000 images. The non-profit historical organi ...

, April 20, 2008 The battle, and the subsequent (successful) retreat, is also known as "the Steptoe Disaster."Keenan, Jerry. "Steptoe, Col. Edward Jenner." Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars 1492-1890 Santa Barbara, CA : ABC-CLIO, c1997 p. 223.

History

Steptoe was born in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and graduated from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

on July 1, 1837. He first saw action in Florida fighting against the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

s.Biography of Edward Steptoe
(

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

— Utah History Encyclopedia) From 1838 to 1842, Steptoe fought extensively in the

Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

. During the

, he participated in the

Siege of Vera Cruz On 9 March 1847, during the Mexican–American War, the United States military made an amphibious landing and besieged the key Mexican seaport of Veracruz. The port surrendered twenty days later. The U.S. forces then marched inland to Mexico ...

, and fought in the Battles of Cerro Gordo, San Antonio Garita, Buena Vista, and

Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest Nature Value Area´s in Mexico, measuring in total just over . Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of ...

. After Cerro Gordo he was promoted to brevet

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, and following Chapultepec he was promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel. In 1854 he was sent by the War Department to Utah to investigate the recent massacre of John W. Gunnison and his survey party. In particular he was to determine the truth of rumors that Mormons had colluded with the Indians in the ambush. Steptoe charged eight Paiute Indians for the attack and three were convicted of manslaughter. He did not uncover evidence of Mormon involvement. Late in 1854, President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

offered Steptoe the governorship of the

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

to replace

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

. Steptoe did not receive the actual letter from Pierce until March 1855. By that time he had already decided to turn down the offer. Instead, he was promoted to Major of the newly formed 9th Infantry Regiment. In May 1858, during the Spokane–Coeur d'Alene–Paloos War, a combined force of about 1,000 Coeur d’Alenes,

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

s, and

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of North Central Idaho, north central Idaho, southeastern Washington (part of eastern Washington), and by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. ...

s attacked and defeated a force of 164 US troops under Steptoe at the

Steptoe was sent on sick leave after the battle, during which he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and resigned due to ill health in November 1861. He died four years later in his home state of Virginia. He is buried in Lynchburg, Virginia, where his tombstone is marked: "Edward J. Steptoe, Lieut. Col., Army of the United States."

Geographic features named after Steptoe

Steptoe, Washington Steptoe is a small unincorporated area, unincorporated rural town in Whitman County, Washington, Whitman County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The ZIP Code for Steptoe is 99111. A post office called Steptoe was established in 1 ...

Steptoe Butte Steptoe Butte is a quartzite island jutting out of the silty loess of the Palouse hills in Whitman County, Washington, in the northwest United States. The butte is preserved as Steptoe Butte State Park Heritage Site, a publicly owned recreation ...

Steptoe Valley The Steptoe Valley is a long basin located in White Pine County, Nevada, White Pine County, in northeastern Nevada in the western United States. From the historic community of Currie, Nevada, Currie, the valley runs south for approximately 100 ...

Notes

References

* ''Biographical Annals of the Civil Government of the United States. During its first century; from original and official sources''. By Charles Lanman. Washington, DC: James Anglim, 1876. * ''Drake's Dictionary of American Biography. Including men of the time, containing nearly 10,000 notices of persons of both sexes, of native and foreign birth, who have been remarkable, or prominently connected with the arts, sciences, literature, politics, or history, of the American continent''. By Francis S. Drake. Boston: James R. Osgood & Co., 1872. * ''Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars, 1492-1890''. By Jerry Keenan. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1997. *

External links

Biography of Edward Steptoe
(

— Utah History Encyclopedia)
Johnson, Randall A., ''May 17, 1858. The Ordeal of the Steptoe Command''
(

.org essay No. 8123)
"Saturday is 150th anniversary of Battle of Steptoe" By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, AP Posted: 2008-05-17 17:35:15
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steptoe, Edward American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Members of the Aztec Club of 1847 United States Military Academy alumni American people of the Indian Wars 1815 births 1865 deaths People from Bedford County, Virginia Military personnel from Virginia United States Army officers

History

Geographic features named after Steptoe

See also

Notes

References

External links