Colonel Isaiah G. W. Steedman

Colonel Isaiah George Washington Steedman was the commander of the northern portion of the river batteries at Port Hudson, and on May 22, 1863, was given command of the entire left wing of the Confederate defensive forces, which included Fort Desperate.

Born in South Carolina, Steedman moved to Alabama and became a physician.  He volunteered for military service as soon as Alabama seceded, and became Colonel of the 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment in February, 1862.  Steedman and most of this regiment was captured at Island No. 10, and after being released in September, 1862, Steedman and the unit were sent to Port Hudson, arriving on October 4, 1862.

After the surrender of Port Hudson on July 9, 1863, Col. Steedman and the rest of the officers were sent to New Orleans.  Steedman and others were sent on to Governor’s Island, New York by sea, and thence to Johnson’s Island, Ohio, where he was held until the spring of 1865.  While there he was in charge of the prison hospital.  At the close of the war, he was paroled and returned to Alabama where he began practicing medicine.  He moved to St. Louis in 1866 and practiced there as a physician until retiring in 1880.  He died on May 15, 1917 and is buried at the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, MO.

Colonel Steedman's Report of Operations, May 24-27

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