Alfred Pleasonton was born on June 7, 1824, in Washington, D.C., to Stephen and Mary Pleasonton. His father was a State Department employee who saved the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and other historical documents during the British attack on Washington in the War of 1812. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in July 1844 and received a commission as a brevet 2^nd lieutenant in the 1^st United States Dragoons.

 

He spent the next few years in the Iowa Territory, the Minnesota Territory, and Texas. He served in the Mexican American War, and he fought in the Battle of Palo Alto. He was promoted to 1^st lieutenant in September 1849 and then to captain in March 1855. By 1860, he was living in Washington, D.C., with his sisters Laura and Clementina.

 

Army officials transferred him to the 2^nd United States Cavalry in August 1861, and he was promoted to major in February 1862. In July 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general in the volunteer army. He served with the Army of the Potomac. He suffered a concussion during the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. He also took part in the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Battle of Gettysburg, and he was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Theater in July 1864.

 

He remained in the army after the war, but he resigned in 1868. He worked as a commissioner of internal revenue under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was asked to resign after he quarreled with his superiors. When he refused, however, he was fired from the position. He later served as president of the Terre Haute and Cincinnati Railroad. He died from Bright’s disease in Washington, D.C., on February 17, 1897.

 

Image: Alfred Pleasonton (courtesy Wikicommons)

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