Isaac Stevens

📅 آخر تحديث: ٤ أغسطس ٢٠٢٦
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📷 يحتوي على 6 صور
الموسوعة الحرة

Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Representatives. During the American Civil War, he held several commands in the Union Army. He was killed at the Battle of Chantilly, while at the head of his men and carrying the fallen colors of one of his regiments against Confederate positions. According to one account, at the hour of his death Stevens was being considered by President Abraham Lincoln for appointment to command the Army of Virginia. He was posthumously advanced to the rank of Major General. Several schools, towns, counties, and lakes are named in his honor.

Descended from early American settlers in New England, Stevens – a man who stood just 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) tall – overcame a troubled childhood and personal setbacks to graduate at the top of his class at West Point before embarking on a successful military career. He was a controversial and polarizing figure as governor of the Washington Territory, where he was both praised and condemned. He was described by one historian as the subject of more reflection and study than almost the rest of the territory's 19th-century history combined. Stevens' marathon diplomacy with Native American tribes sought to avoid military conflict in Washington; however, when the Yakama War broke out as Native Americans resisted European encroachment, he prosecuted it mercilessly. His decision to rule by martial law, jail judges who opposed him, and raise a de facto personal army led to his conviction for contempt of court, for which he famously pardoned himself, and a rebuke from the President of the United States. Nonetheless, his uncompromising decisiveness in the face of crisis was both applauded by his supporters and noted by historians.

Isaac Stevens was the father of Hazard Stevens, the hero of the Battle of Suffolk and one of the first men to summit Mount Rainier.

Early life and education

Stevens was born in North Andover, Massachusetts, to Isaac Stevens and Hannah Stevens (née Cummings), a descendant of early Puritan settlers from a gentry family that had produced several distinguished members of the clergy and military.[1] He was a cousin of brothers Moses Tyler Stevens and Charles Abbot Stevens.[2][3] As a young man, he was noted for his intelligence, particularly his mathematical acuity.[1][4] His diminutive stature – in adulthood he stood 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) tall – has been attributed to a possible congenital gland malfunction.[1]

Stevens resented his father, described by historian Kent Richards as a "stern taskmaster", whose unrelenting demands on his son pushed the young man to his breaking point. While working on the family farm, Stevens once nearly died of sunstroke.[1] After Stevens' mother died in a carriage accident, his widowed father married a woman whom Stevens disliked. According to Stevens, he came close to suffering a mental breakdown in his youth.[1]

Stevens graduated from the male prep school Phillips Academy in 1833 and was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1839 at the top of his class.[1]

He married Margaret Hazard Stevens (née Lyman Hazard), daughter of Benjamin Hazard, a local political figure, on September 8, 1841, whilst stationed at Fort Adams, near Newport, Rhode Island.[5]

Miniature of Isaac Stevens at the time of his marriage, 1841

Career

Stevens was the adjutant of the Corps of Engineers during the Mexican–American War, seeing action at the siege of Vera Cruz and at Cerro Gordo, Contreras, and Churubusco. In the latter fight, he caught the attention of his superiors, who rewarded him with the brevet rank of captain. He was again cited and breveted for gallantry at the Battle of Chapultepec, this time to the rank of major. Stevens participated in combat at Molino del Rey, and the Battle for Mexico City, where he was severely wounded.[6] He later wrote a book on his adventures, Campaigns of the Rio Grande and Mexico, with Notices of the Recent Work of Major Ripley (New York, 1851).

He superintended fortifications on the New England coast from 1841 until 1849. He was given command of the U.S. Coast Survey office in Washington, D.C., working closely with the Survey's superintendent Alexander D. Bache. Stevens served in that role until March 1853.[7]

Governor of Washington (1853–1857)

Isaac Stevens (c.1855–1862)

Stevens was a firm supporter of former brigadier generalFranklin Pierce's candidacy for President of the United States in 1852, as both men had served in the Mexican–American War. Stevens was rewarded by President Pierce on March 17, 1853[8] by being named governor of the newly created Washington Territory. (The position also included the title of Superintendent of Indian Affairs for that region). Stevens chose to add one more duty as he traveled west to the territory he would govern: the government was calling for a surveyor to map an appropriate railroadroute across the northern United States, hoping that a transcontinental railroad would open up Asian markets. With Stevens' engineering experience (and likely the favor of Pierce yet again, as well as Secretary of WarJefferson Davis), he won the bid. His party, which included George Suckley, John Mullan and Fred Burr, son of David H. Burr, spent most of 1853 moving slowly across the prairie, surveying the way to Washington Territory. There Stevens met George McClellan's party, which had surveyed the line between the Puget Sound and the Spokane River. He took up his post at Olympia as governor in November that year.[4]

As a result of his expedition, Stevens wrote a third book, Report of Explorations for a Route for the Pacific Railroad near the 47th and 49th Parallels of North Latitude, from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Puget Sound, (commissioned and published by the United States Congress) (2 vols., Washington, 1855–1860).

Stevens was a controversial governor in his time. Historians consider him even more controversial, for his role in compelling the Native American tribes of Washington Territory by intimidation and force, into signing treaties that ceded most of their lands and rights to Stevens' government,[4] likely forging some of the signatures.[9] These included the Treaty of Medicine Creek, Treaty of Hellgate, Treaty of Neah Bay, Treaty of Point Elliott, Point No Point Treaty, and Quinault Treaty. During this time, the Governor imposed martial law to better impose his will on the Indians and whites who opposed his views. The consequent political and legal battles would soon overshadow the Indian war.[10]

Stevens did not hesitate to use his troops for vengeance, and waged a brutal winter campaign against the Yakama tribe, led by Chief Kamiakin. This, along with his unjustified execution of the Nisqually chieftain Leschi, led to widespread pleas to President Pierce to remove Stevens from his post. Two men were particularly vocal in their opposition to Stevens and his policies, territorial judge Edward Lander and influential private citizen Ezra Meeker. While Meeker was ignored, Lander was arrested by Stevens' forces due to his opposition. Pierce refused to remove Stevens from his position, but eventually sent word to the governor expressing his disapproval. Any opposition eventually died down, as most white settlers in Washington Territory felt that Stevens was on "their side", while they considered Meeker to be too sympathetic to Native Americans.[11]

As a result of this public perception, Stevens was popular enough to be elected as the territory's delegate to the United States Congress in 1857 and 1858. The tensions between whites and Native Americans would be left for others to resolve. Stevens is often charged with responsibility for the later conflicts in eastern Washington and Idaho, especially the war fought by the United States against Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce,[12] These events were decades in the future when Stevens left Washington State for good in 1857.

Martial law

In January 1856, Governor Stevens declared to the territorial House of Representatives in Olympia that "war shall be prosecuted until the last hostile Indian is exterminated", although there is uncertainty among historians about whether this was a call for genocide or instead for war crimes against certain "hostile Indians".[13]

In April 1856, Governor Stevens removed settlers whom he believed to be aiding the enemy (in many cases because they had married into local tribes) and placing them in the military's custody.[14][15] Governor Stevens declared martial law in Pierce County in order to conduct a military trial of those settlers. He next declared martial law in Thurston County.[16] But only the territorial legislature had the authority to declare martial law, and representatives fought Stevens' effort to abrogate their authority. A bitter political and legal battle ensued.

Stevens was forced to repeal the declaration and fight subsequent calls for his removal. His decision to use martial law was the result of his determination to enforce a blockhouse policy in the war against the Indians of the Puget Sound region.[1] Indian raids on scattered settlements and an intimidating attack on the city of Seattle in February 1856 resulted in Governor Stevens concluding that he needed to concentrate on defensive measures, given the limited number of men at his disposal. He determined that the white population should be concentrated at specific strongly protected points. For that reason, the volunteers under Stevens' command built a series of forts and blockhouses along the Snoqualmie, White, and Nisqually rivers. Once completed, Stevens ordered the settler population to leave their claims and take temporary residence in these safer areas.

Once Stevens proclaimed martial law, he raised a new and more significant issue. Stevens' proclamation of martial law in Pierce County stated:

لما كانت الظروف في سياق الحرب الهندية قد أثارت شكوكًا خطيرة، حيث قام بعض الأشخاص ذوي النوايا السيئة في مقاطعة بيرس بتقديم العون والدعم للعدو، مما استدعى إلقاء القبض عليهم وإصدار أمر بمحاكمتهم أمام لجنة عسكرية؛ ولما كانت الجهود جارية الآن لإخراج هؤلاء الأشخاص من نطاق اختصاص اللجنة المذكورة عن طريق الإجراءات المدنية؛ لذلك، ولأن الحرب مستمرة الآن في جميع أنحاء المقاطعة المذكورة تقريبًا، ولأن الضرر الجسيم الذي سيلحق بالجمهور، وإحباط خطط الحملة، سيُلحق إذا لم يتم القبض على المخططات المزعومة لهؤلاء الأشخاص، فإنني، إسحاق آي. ستيفنز، حاكم إقليم واشنطن، أعلن بموجب هذا الأحكام العرفية في مقاطعة بيرس المذكورة، وأعلق بموجب هذا القرار، مؤقتًا وحتى إشعار آخر، مهام جميع الموظفين المدنيين في المقاطعة المذكورة. [ 17 ]

في 11 مايو 1856، أرسل المحاميان جورج جيبس ​​وإتش إيه جولدزبورو رسالةً إلى وزير الخارجية ينفيان فيها أن يكون الوضع الحربي في جميع أنحاء الإقليم، وخاصةً في مقاطعة بيرس، بالغ الخطورة كما أعلن الحاكم ستيفنز عند إعلانه الأحكام العرفية. وذكرا أن مزاعم ستيفنز ضد تشارلز رين، وجون ماكلويد، وجون ماكفيلد، وليون إيه سميث، وهنري سميث، تستند كليًا إلى الشكوك. وأكدا أن الدليل الواقعي الوحيد ذي الصلة هو أن مجموعة من الهنود زارت كوخ ماكلويد يوم عيد الميلاد وأجبرته على إعطائهم الطعام. وصرح جيبس ​​وجولدزبورو بما يلي:

كان الهدف الوحيد من الإعلان هو وضع ستة أفراد مغمورين تحت سيطرته المطلقة، وإثبات أنه، إسحاق آي. ستيفنز، يستطيع، على أرض توفرها له منطقة صغيرة، أن يجسد، بشكل غير مباشر، دور نابليون . [ 17 ]

نصّ القانون التنظيمي الإقليمي على تعيين الحاكم "قائدًا عامًا للميليشيا"، إلا أنه لم تكن هناك ميليشيا نظامية. استمد ستيفنز سلطاته من سيطرته على قوات المتطوعين المحليين، التي نُظّمت لتلبية متطلبات الموقف. لم تكن هذه القوات مُصرّحًا بها لا من قِبل الحكومة الفيدرالية ولا من قِبل المجلس التشريعي الإقليمي. كان لمنصب ستيفنز، بصفته مشرفًا على شؤون الهنود في الإقليم، مسؤولية إدارية واسعة، لكنه لم يمتلك أي سلطة عسكرية مباشرة. في 24 مايو/أيار 1856، وبعد صدور رأي قانوني من القاضي تشينويث، قضى بأن ستيفنز لا يملك سلطة قانونية لإعلان الأحكام العرفية، ألغى الحاكم ستيفنز إعلانه في مقاطعتي بيرس وثورستون. [ 18 ]

الحرب الأهلية

بعد اندلاع الحرب الأهلية عام ١٨٦١، وعقب هزيمة الاتحاد في معركة بول ران الأولى ، انضم ستيفنز إلى الجيش مجددًا. عُيّن عقيدًا في فوج المتطوعين التاسع والسبعين من نيويورك ، المعروف باسم "مرتفعات كاميرون". رُقّي إلى رتبة عميد في ٢٨ سبتمبر ١٨٦١، وشارك في معركة بورت رويال . قاد اللواء الثاني من القوات الاستكشافية المُرسلة لمهاجمة جزر البحر قبالة سواحل كارولاينا الجنوبية . قاد فرقة في معركة سيسيشنفيل ، حيث قاد هجومًا على حصن لامار، أسفر عن سقوط ٢٥٪ من رجاله بين قتيل وجريح.

نُقل ستيفنز مع فرقته التابعة للفيلق التاسع إلى فرجينيا للخدمة تحت قيادة اللواء جون بوب في حملة شمال فرجينيا ومعركة بول ران الثانية . قُتل في معركة شانتيلي في الأول من سبتمبر عام ١٨٦٢، بعد أن التقط راية فوجِه القديم المتساقطة، وهو يهتف: "يا أبناء المرتفعات، يا أبناء المرتفعات، اتبعوا قائدكم!" وأثناء هجومه مع جنوده حاملاً راية صليب القديس أندرو ، أصيب ستيفنز برصاصة في صدغه، فمات على الفور.

دُفن في نيوبورت، رود آيلاند ، في مقبرة الجزيرة . وفي مارس 1863، رُقّي بعد وفاته إلى رتبة لواء ، بأثر رجعي إلى 18 يوليو 1862. [ 19 ]

الجنرال ستيفنز مع طاقمه وابنه هازارد ستيفنز ، الثالث من اليسار، حوالي عام 1861-1862.

تزوج ستيفنز. أصبح ابنه، هازارد ستيفنز ، ضابطًا محترفًا، وأُصيب هو الآخر في معركة شانتيلي. نجا ستيفنز، وأصبح لاحقًا جنرالًا في الجيش الأمريكي وكاتبًا. شارك ستيفنز، برفقة بي بي فان ترامب ، في أول صعود موثق لجبل رينييه في ولاية واشنطن. [ 20 ]

الموت في ساحة المعركة

وفاة الجنرال إسحاق ستيفنز ، لوحة حجرية للفنان ألونسو تشابل

أدى مزيج من عاصفة رعدية متزايدة العنف ونيران الكونفدرالية المتواصلة إلى إبطاء تقدم فوج نيويورك التاسع والسبعين بشكل كبير. وقد لقي خمسة من حاملي راية الفوج حتفهم تباعًا وهم في مقدمة الصفوف. [ 21 ] عندما رأى ستيفنز أن جنديًا آخر كان يحمل راية الفوج قد أصيب برصاصة، انطلق مسرعًا من موقعه في المؤخرة، مخترقًا صفوف رجاله المذعورين، لينتزع الراية من يد الجندي الجريح. [ 21 ] ووفقًا لشهود عيان، فإن حامل الراية المصاب - لعلمه بأن راية الفوج ستكون هدفًا - صرخ في وجه ستيفنز قائلًا: "أقسم بالله يا جنرال، لا تأخذ الراية!" [ 21 ]

تجاهل ستيفنز نداء الرجل واستولى على الراية، وعندها أصيب ابنه هازارد، الذي كان يخدم في الفوج، برصاصة من وابل نيران الكونفدرالية. استغاث هازارد ستيفنز بوالده، فأجابه الجنرال: "لا أستطيع مساعدتك الآن يا هازارد. أيها العريف طومسون، اعتني بابني". [ 22 ] التفت ستيفنز إلى رجاله وصاح: "اتبعوا قائدكم!" . [ 21 ] وواجه ستيفنز خط الكونفدرالية ولوّح براية الفوج المستعادة، ثم شرع في الهجوم على مواقعهم، وتبعه رجاله في صفوف متراصة. [ 21 ] أجبر التقدم المتجدد قوات لويزيانا المدافعة على التراجع إلى الغابة. [ 21 ]

قاد ستيفنز رجاله فوق أسوار الكونفدرالية المهجورة، مطاردًا قوات الكونفدرالية المنسحبة إلى الغابة. [ 21 ] في تلك اللحظة، أصابت رصاصة كونفدرالية ستيفنز في رأسه، فقتلته على الفور. [ 21 ] وبينما كان ينهار، التف جسده حول العلم الذي كان لا يزال يحمله، ملطخًا إياه بدمه. [ 21 ] ووفقًا لتقرير صحفي صدر في تلك الفترة، عُثر على جثة ستيفنز بعد ساعة من وفاته، وكانت يداه لا تزالان ممسكتين بعصا العلم. [ 23 ]

دُفن في مقبرة الجزيرة في نيوبورت، رود آيلاند . [ 7 ]

الآراء الدينية

By the time Stevens started attending Philip's Academy, he had already formed his views on religion and became a Unitarian Universalist, which he was very strong on. During a religious revival, one of the teachers, who had recently converted, sought to educate the students about religion, and offered to answer any question. Stevens asked: "Can a sincere Univeralist be saved?", the teacher answered with a simple: "No". In response, Stevens bombarded the teacher with further theological questions. The debate ended with the teacher admitting he could not answer Stevens' question and withdrew from answering questions. Later that class, the same teacher asked the class if they wanted to attend an afternoon revival meeting instead of class, and all stood up, except Stevens. [24] He attended a Universalist church as an adult, and Stevens was strongly critical of Mexican Catholicism. In a letter dated to June 3, 1847, Stevens wrote about his experience in a Mexican Catholic church during his time in Puebla, writing: “I attended church in the morning, and was anything but pleased with the idle ceremonies of the occasion. The Catholicism of this country is a great corruption of that of the United States. It is chiefly a religion of observances…”, going on to compare it to Aztec religious practices, except human sacrifice.[25]

Legacy

A monument (on left) marking the approximate location where Stevens was killed in the Battle of Chantilly
Stevens Hall at Washington State University (2017)

Reputation

Historians have generally viewed Stevens as a complicated figure. According to historian David Nicandri, the four years in which he ruled Washington "takes up a greater volume of concern and consciousness than the entire balance of the territorial officialdom up until the time Washington becomes a state in 1889".[26] Accounts of Stevens' tenure have been highly polarized. Writing in 1972, Richards observed that nearly all accounts of his tenure have either "condemned" or "uncritically applauded" him.[1]Ezra Meeker, a historian, settler, and contemporary opponent of Stevens, described him as one who would "take no counsel, nor brook opposition to his will".[26]

Posthumous promotion

In March 1863, at the request of President Abraham Lincoln, the United States Senate posthumously advanced Stevens to the rank of Major General.[27] According to George Cullum's Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy "at the very hour of his death, the President and Secretary of War were considering the advisability of placing Stevens in command of the Army in which he was serving".[7]

Memorials

A quartzite marker at Ox Hill Battlefield Park, site of the Battle of Chantilly, commemorates the approximate place where Stevens fell while leading his men.[28][29] Nearby, plaques on granite markers honoring the two Union generals killed in the battle – Stevens and Philip Kearny – refer to both individuals as major generals, reflecting Stevens' posthumous promotion.[30][31]

In Washington, Stevens County is named in his honor, as is Lake Stevens.[32] Several Washington public schools, including Seattle's Isaac I. Stevens Elementary School, Port Angeles' Stevens Middle School, and Pasco's Isaac Stevens Middle School, are also named in his honor, as is the Washington State University dormitory Stevens Hall.[33] The Washington chapter of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is known as Isaac Stevens Camp No. 1.

In addition, Stevensville, Montana, Stevens County, Minnesota, and Idaho's Stevens Peak, Upper Stevens Lake, and Lower Stevens Lake are named in tribute to Stevens.

The United States Army previously maintained two military posts named after Stevens: Fort Stevens in Washington, D.C., and Fort Stevens in Oregon.

Biographies

Hazard Stevens wrote a biography of his father, The Life of Isaac Ingalls Stevens (1900). Kent Richards' biography, Isaac I. Stevens: Young Man in a Hurry (1979), remains in print as of 2016.[21]

Hall of fame

In 1962, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.[34]

See also

ملحوظات

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ريتشاردز (1972) ، ص 81-86.
  2. ↑ دليل السيرة الذاتية، ستيفنز، تشارلز أ .
  3. ↑ دليل بيولوجي، ستيفنز، إسحاق آي .
  4. 1 2 3 HL، ستيفنز، إسحاق إنجلز (1818–1862) .
  5. ↑ https://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entries/isaac-ingalls-stevens/
  6. ↑ سي دبليو، إسحاق آي ستيفنز .
  7. 1 2 3 سجل كولوم، إسحاق آي ستيفنز .
  8. ↑ الجدول الزمني الإقليمي - بيرس يعين إسحاق آي. ستيفنز .
  9. ↑ كلوغر، ريتشارد (6 مارس 2012). المياه المُرّة لنهر ميديسن كريك: صدام مأساوي بين البيض وسكان أمريكا الأصليين . دار فينتج للنشر. رقم ISBN 9780307388964.
  10. ↑ ريتشاردز (1993) ، ص 275.
  11. ↑ واجهة المستخدم - إسحاق ستيفنز .
  12. ↑ جامعة ولاية واشنطن - المعارض الرقمية .
  13. ↑ AHS، إعادة النظر في نقاش الإبادة الجماعية الأمريكية .
  14. ^ لوكين (1952) ، الصفحات من 91 إلى 119؛ رو (2003) ، ص 177 – 178.
  15. ↑ ريتشاردز، ستيفنز، وآخرون (1939)، ص 301-337 .
  16. ↑ إيفانز (1889) ، ص 581.
  17. 1 2 لوكين (1952) ، ص. 99.
  18. ↑ مجلس الجمعية التشريعية لإقليم واشنطن (1855) ، ص 8.
  19. ↑ الذاكرة الأمريكية، مجلس الشيوخ الأمريكي 1862-1864 .
  20. ↑ NPS، صعود جبل رينييه .
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Welker (2007) ، ص 223-234.
  22. ↑ ستورك (1865) ، ص 1574.
  23. ↑ صحيفة بيركشاير كاونتي إيجل، "وفاة الجنرال ستيفنز"، (11 سبتمبر 1862) .
  24. ↑ https://dn790004.ca.archive.org/0/items/lifeofisaac01stevrich/lifeofisaac01stevrich.pdf الصفحة 121
  25. ↑ https://dn790004.ca.archive.org/0/items/lifeofisaac01stevrich/lifeofisaac01stevrich.pdf الصفحة 147
  26. 1 2 بانيل (2016) .
  27. ↑ شيكاغو تريبيون، "تكريمات بعد الوفاة"، (14 مارس 1863) .
  28. ↑ صخور وحجر كوارتز، حراس حجريون .
  29. ↑ خطة الإدارة العامة لمتنزه أوكس هيل باتلفيلد ، هيئة متنزه مقاطعة فيرفاكس (2005) .
  30. ↑ على صوت البنادق، أوكس هيل (2011) .
  31. ↑ منتزه أوكس هيل باتلفيلد في فيرفاكس، فيرجينيا، هيستوريك أمريكا (2020) .
  32. ↑ تاريخ المدينة - ليك ستيفنز، واشنطن (2011) .
  33. ↑ تاريخ قاعة ستيفنز - جامعة ولاية واشنطن .
  34. ↑ NC&WHM، قاعة عظماء الغرب (2011) .

مراجع

Further reading