Isaac Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens ( March 25 , 1818 – September 1 , 1862 ) was the first Governor of Washington Territory , a United States Congressman , and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War until his death at the Battle of Chantilly . He was appointed posthumously to the grade of major general of volunteers . Early life . Stevens was born and raised in Massachusetts , leaving his home state for the United States Military Academy at West Point in the late 1830s . He graduated in 1839 , at the top of his class , and served for a number of years with the Army Corps of Engineers . He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1840 . He 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 . He saw further combat at Molino del Rey , and the Battle for Mexico City , where he was severely wounded . 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 , when he assumed command of the coast survey office in Washington , D . C . , serving in that role until March 1853 . Governor . Having been a firm supporter of Franklin Pierce ' s candidacy for President of the United States in 1852 , Stevens was rewarded by President Pierce on March 17 , 1853 by being named governor of the newly created Washington Territory ( a position which carried with it 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 railroad route across the northern United States , and with Stevens ' engineering experience ( and likely the favor of Pierce yet again ) he won the bid , and spent most of 1853 moving slowly across the prairie , surveying his way to Washington Territory , where he took up his post at Olympia as governor in November that year . 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 – 60 ) . Stevens was a controversial governor in his time , and has become more controversial in retrospect . He used a careful combination of intimidation and force to compel the Native American tribes of Washington Territory to sign treaties that handed over most of their lands and rights to Stevens ' government . 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 . When Stevens was met with resistance , he used the troops at his disposal to exact vengeance . His winter campaign against the Yakama tribe , led by Chief Kamiakin , and his execution of the Nisqually chieftain Leschi ( for the crime of having killed Stevens ' soldiers in open combat ) , among other deeds , led a number of powerful citizens in the territory to beg Pierce to remove Stevens . Territorial Judge Edward Lander and Ezra Meeker ( an influential private citizen ) were both vocal in opposing Stevens — Lander was arrested as a result , and Meeker was simply ignored . Pierce sent word to Stevens of his disapproval of Stevens ' conduct , but refused to remove the governor . Those who opposed Stevens ultimately lost public support , as the majority of the citizens of Washington Territory saw Meeker as being on the side of the " Indians " , and Stevens on the side of the white settlers . As a result of this public perception , Stevens was popular enough to be elected the territory ' s delegate to the United States Congress in 1857 and 1858 . The tensions between the whites and the 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 , but these events were decades away when Isaac Stevens left Washington for good in 1857 . Civil War . When the Civil War began in 1861 , following the Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run , Stevens was commissioned in the Army again . This time , he was Colonel of the 79th New York Volunteers , known as the " Cameron Highlanders . " He became a brigadier general on September 28 , 1861 , and fought at Port Royal . He led the Second Brigade of the Expeditionary Forces sent to attack the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina . He led a division at the Battle of Secessionville , where he personally led an attack on Fort Lamar , losing 25 % of his men . Stevens was transferred with his IX Corps division to Virginia to serve under Major General John Pope in the Northern Virginia Campaign and the Second Battle of Bull Run . He was killed in action at the Battle of Chantilly on September 1 , 1862 after picking up the fallen regimental colors of his old regiment , shouting " Highlanders , my Highlanders , follow your general ! " Charging with his troops while carrying the banner of Saint Andrew ' s Cross , Stevens was struck in the temple by a bullet and died instantly . He was buried in Newport , Rhode Island at Island Cemetery . In March 1863 , he was posthumously promoted to major general , backdated to July 18 , 1862 . Hazard Stevens , Isaac ' s son , was also injured in the Battle of Chantilly . He also became a general in the U . S . Army and an author , and along with P . B . Van Trump participated in the first documented ascent of Mount Rainier . Memorialization . However , Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountains of Washington on US Highway 2 is named after a different man with the same surname . This is John Frank Stevens ( no relation ) , a locating engineer for the Great Northern Railway .