George Hume Steuart (1790–1867) was a United States general who fought during the War of 1812, and later joined the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. His military career began in 1814 when, as a captain, he raised a company of Maryland volunteers, leading them at both the Battle of Bladensberg and the Battle of North Point, where he was wounded. After the war he rose to become major general and commander-in-chief of the First Light Division, Maryland Militia.
During John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, Steuart personally led a detachment of militia, and, as the prospect of civil war drew closer, he was among those who lobbied unsuccessfully for Maryland to secede from the Union. In 1861, at the start of the Civil War, Steuart left his home state of Maryland and joined the Confederacy, though at 71 years of age he was by then considered too old for active service. This did not prevent him from personally riding with Lee's army and even being captured at the First Battle of Manassas.
He is sometimes confused with his eldest son, Brigadier General George H. Steuart, who fought for the Confederacy at a number of major battles, eventually surrendering with General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox in 1865. Steuart died in 1867, his health and fortune ruined by his devotion to the Southern "lost cause".
Early life
Steuart was born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, on November 1, 1790, the eldest son of Dr James Steuart of Annapolis (1755–1846), and Rebecca Sprigg, who were married on November 4, 1788.Brumbaugh, Gaius Marcus, p.473, Maryland Records: Colonial, Revolutionary, County, and Church Retrieved January 2012 James Steuart was a physician who served in the Revolutionary War, and was the son of George Hume Steuart (1700–1784), a Loyalist politician and tobacco planter who was colonel of the Maryland horse militia under Governor Horatio Sharpe.Nelker, p.66
The young Steuart grew up partly at Sparrow's Point, his family's plantation in the Chesapeake Bay, and partly at their residence in West Baltimore, a substantial estate known as Maryland Square. Later he studied at and graduated from Princeton University.Harrison, Bruce, p.937 The Family Forest Descendants of Lady Joan Beaufort Retrieved August 28, 2010 Steuart also had a younger brother, Richard Sprigg Steuart, who grew up to become a physician and was an early pioneer of the treatment of mental illness.Richard Sprigg Steuart and the History of Spring Grove Hospital Retrieved Jan 13 2010
War of 1812 - Bladensburg and North Point
When war broke out between the United States and Great Britain, Steuart (then Captain Steuart) raised a company of Maryland volunteers, known as the Washington Blues, Register of the Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States, National Commandery (1900) Retrieved Jan 14 2010 part of the 5th Maryland RegimentRegister of the Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States, p.101, National Commandery (1900) Retrieved Jan 14 2010 commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Sterett.Hickman, Nathaniel, p.100, The citizen soldiers at North Point and Fort McHenry, September 12 & 13 1814, published by James Young,(1889) Retrieved Jan 14 2010 They saw action at the Battle of Bladensburg (August 24, 1814),*Marine, William Matthew, p.326, The British Invasion of Maryland, 1812-1815 Retrieved Jan 14 2010 where the Americans, including the 5th Regiment, were routed by the British. Although the 5th had "evinced a disposition to make a gallant resistance", it was flanked by the redcoats and forced to retreat in some disorder.Brackenridge, Henry Marie, p.249, History of the Late War between the United States and Great Britain, Philadelphia (1836). Retrieved Jan 15 2010 After the battle, British forces entered Washington, D.C., and set fire to a number of buildings in the city.
Steuart's regiment fought better at the Battle of North Point (September 12, 1814), where the militia were able to hold the line for an hour or so before making a fighting retreat during which Steuart was wounded.Richardson, p.228American Quarterly Review, Issues 35-36, by Robert Walsh, p.495 (1835) Retrieved Jan 15 2010 Some of the militia regiments, such as the 51st, and some members of 39th, broke and ran under fire, but the 5th and 27th held their ground and were able to retreat in reasonably good order having inflicted significant casualties on the advancing enemy.George, p.143 Corporal John McHenry of the 5th Regiment wrote an account of the battle: "Our Regiment, the 5th, carried off the praise from the other regiments engaged, so did the company to which I have the honor to belong cover itself with glory. When compared to the [other] Regiments we were the last that left the ground...had our Regiment not retreated at the time it did we should have been cut off in two minutes."George, p.143
Although North Point was a tactical defeat for the Americans, it would prove a turning point in the War of 1812. The British took significant losses, including their commanding officer Major General Robert Ross, and, lacking the strength to take the city of Baltimore, they eventually withdrew.
Post-war career Steuart was soon promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the 5th Regiment,Niles' Weekly Register, Volume 14, by Hezekiah Niles (1818) Retrieved Jan 15 2010 and after the war he trained as a lawyer, being listed in the Baltimore City Directory of 1816 as Attorney-at-Law. He was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for Baltimore in 1827 and 1828, serving two one-year terms,Archives of Maryland House of Delegates, Baltimore (1790–1864) Retrieved Jan 13 2010 and in 1835 he stood unsuccessfully for election to Maryland's 4th congressional district, running as an independent candidate.Extra Globe dated Wednesday October 7 1835 Retrieved Jan 15 2010 In around 1827 or 1828 his portrait was painted by the Baltimore portrait painter Philip Tilyard.www.tilyard.net Retrieved April 2013
First Light Division formed
In 1833 a number of Baltimore regiments were formed into a brigade, and Steuart was promoted from colonel to brigadier general. Griffith, Thomas W., p.257, Annals of Baltimore, 1833 Retrieved February 28, 2010 From 1841 to 1861 he was Commander of the First Light Division, Maryland Volunteer Militia. Sullivan David M., The United States Marine Corps in the Civil War: The First Year, p.286, White Mane Publishing (1997). Retrieved Jan 13 2010Sparks, Jared, and others, p.168, The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge, Volume 10 Retrieved August 29, 2010 Until the Civil War he would be the Commander-in-Chief of the Maryland Volunteers.Hartzler, Daniel D., p.13, A Band of Brothers: Photographic Epilogue to Marylanders in the Confederacy Retrieved March 1, 2010 The First Light Division comprised two brigades: the 1st Light Brigade and the 2nd Brigade. The First Brigade consisted of the 1st Cavalry, 1st Artillery, and 5th Infantry regiments. The 2nd Brigade was composed of the 1st Rifle Regiment and the 53rd Infantry Regiment, and the Battalion of Baltimore City Guards.Field, Ron, et al., p.33, The Confederate Army 1861-65: Missouri, Kentucky & Maryland Osprey Publishing (2008), Retrieved May 10, 2010
In 1843 Steuart reviewed his troops and those of a visiting regiment from Pennsylvania at Camp Frederick, accompanied by Governor David R. Porter of Pennsylvania and various senior officers. The event was attended by "an immense concourse of spectators",Niles Weekly register, Volume 62, p.177 Retrieved March 2, 2010 and was commemorated in a lithograph published in the same year.
On July 19, 1844, the Boston City Greys visited Baltimore, and marched in parade with various companies of the 53rd Regiment. Steuart hosted a party for the visiting militia, which was held at his family estate in West Baltimore, known as Maryland Square. The event was celebrated by extensive coverage in the Baltimore American and, like the previous year's visit from Pennsylvania, was commemorated in a lithograph.Rice, p.119
Steuart also appears to have formed an acquaintance with the social reformer Dorothea Dix, who in July 1850 was his guest at Steuart's country residence Sparrow's Point on the Chesapeake Bay. Also a guest was the Swedish feminist and activist Fredrika Bremer, who wrote in a letter to her sister Agathe: "Late in the evening I sat in the most beautiful moonlight with Miss Dix on the veranda of General Stuarts' [sic] house, looking towards the shining river and the wide Chesapeake Bay, listening to the story of her simple yet remarkable life".Sjoberg, Leif, American Swedish (1973) Retrieved January 2012 Dix was a campaigner for better treatment of the mentally ill, a subject which was also the life's work of Steuart's brother, the physician Richard Sprigg Steuart. Also among Steuart's social circle was the writer Washington Irving, who was a regular guest at Maryland Square.Richardson, p.226
Know-Nothing elections
During the mid-1850s public order in Baltimore was threatened by the election of candidates of the Know Nothing party.Andrews, p.475 In October 1856 the Know Nothing Mayor Samuel Hinks was pressed by Baltimorians to order Steuart's militia in readiness to maintain order during the mayoral elections, as violence was anticipated. Hinks duly gave Steuart the order, writing that he should "hold yourself with your command, or such portion thereof as you may deem necessary, in readiness to march at a moment's warning, fully armed and equipped for active service".Melton, p.103 In response, Steuart ordered his men to "assemble in marching order" on November 4 and await further orders. However, perhaps fearful of greater violence, the mayor soon rescinded his order.Andrews, p.476 On October 31 he met with Steuart and requested that the general make his soldiers ready, but not assembled, and Steuart duly countermanded his original order. On polling day violence soon broke out, with shots exchanged by competing mobs. In the 2nd and 8th wards several citizens were killed, and many wounded.Andrews, p.477 In the 6th ward artillery was used, and a pitched battle fought on Orleans St between Know Nothings and rival Democrats, raging for several hours. The result of the election, in which voter fraud was widespread, was a victory for the Know Nothings by around 9,000 votes.
In 1857, fearing similar violence at the upcoming elections, Governor Thomas W. Ligon ordered Steuart to hold the First Light Division, Maryland Volunteers in readiness.Andrews, p.478 Ligon carried a "painful sense of duty unfulfilled" owing to the violence of the previous year, and was determined to maintain order.Melton, p.159 However, Mayor Thomas Swann successfully argued for a compromise measure involving special police forces to prevent disorder, and Ligon once again balked at the use of military force. He did not formally rescind the order to Steuart's militia, but rather proclaimed that he did not "contemplate the use, upon that day of the military force which I have ordered to be enrolled and organized." This time, although there was somewhat less violence than in 1856, the results of the vote were again compromised by the use of force and intimidation. Mayor Swann was duly re-elected, albeit in a heavily disputed ballot.
Slavery and the coming of the Civil War