Isaac Ingalls Stevens

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Isaac Ingalls Stevens photographed by Mathew B. Brady between 1855 and 1862

Isaac Ingalls Stevens (born March 25, 1818 in North Andover , Essex County , Massachusetts , †  September 1, 1862 in Chantilly , Virginia ) was an American general, politician and from 1853 to 1857 the first governor of the Washington Territory .

Early years and military advancement

Stevens attended schools in his native Massachusetts. He then enrolled at the US Military Academy at West Point , which he graduated in 1839. He was then assigned to the pioneers of the US Army ( Army Corps of Engineers ). From 1841 he was entrusted with the supervision of the coastal defense systems of the New England states . During the American-Mexican War he served under General Winfield Scott in Mexico . He was involved in several battles and rose to major. After the war, in 1849, he was appointed chief of coastal defense in Washington, DC . He held this office until 1853.

Political career

During the presidential campaign of 1852, Stevens was an avid supporter of Franklin Pierce . This was evident by the fact that he appointed Stevens as the first governor of the newly founded Washington Territory. This ended Stevens' first military service. On his way to the north-west of the country, he took a lot of time because he had the route measured for a possible railway line. It was not until November 1853 that he arrived in Olympia , the capital of the territory. His actions as governor are still controversial and are judged differently. Using a combination of intimidation and overt violence, he forced the indigenous Indians to sign ten contracts, which meant that large parts of their land had to be ceded to the governor's government or to the Washington Territory. These contracts included: the Medicine Creek Contract , the Hellgate Contract , the Neah Bay Contract , the Point Elliott Contract, and the Quinault Contract . If there was resistance, the governor used the soldiers assigned to him. Even whites living in this area complained about Stevens' approach, which also led to increasing tension with the Indians. President Pierce cautioned Stevens to be moderate, but refused to recall.

In 1857 Stevens was elected as a delegate to the US Congress . He left the problems he left behind to his successor in the office of Territorial Governor, Fayette McMullen . In Congress he represented the Washington Territory until 1861. When the civil war broke out , Stevens was again active in the military. He joined the Union Army as a colonel and made it up to brigadier general . Stevens was involved in several battles. He was fatally wounded during the Battle of Chantilly , Virginia on September 1, 1862. He was then posthumously promoted to major general.

literature

  • Kent D. Richards: Isaac I. Stevens: Young Man in a Hurry , Utah: Brigham Young University Press 1979
  • Clifford E. Trafzer (ed.): Indians, Superintendents, and Councils: Northwestern Indian Policy, 1850-1855 , Lanham: University Press of America 1986

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Stevens, Isaac Ingalls
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American general, politician, and the first governor of the Washington Territory (1853–1857)
DATE OF BIRTH March 25, 1818
PLACE OF BIRTH North Andover , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH September 1, 1862
Place of death Chantilly , Virginia