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
