east coast. On 28 September, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, reassigned to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and posted to Cantonment Holt near Washington, D.C.. Steen remained there until June 1862, when he was sent to Fort Craig in the New Mexico Territory. While Steen remained loyal to the Union, his son, Alexander Early Steen, served as a brigadier general in the Confederate Army. He was killed on 7 December 1862 at the Battle of Prairie Grove in Arkansas. In March 1863, Steen was reassigned to Benton Barracks in Missouri. On 23 September 1863, he was officially retired from the Army at Benton Barracks, for incapacity resulting from long and faithful service and wounds received in the line of duty. However, Steen continued to serve on active duty in various capacities. On 30 September 1863, he was placed in command of the Union Army's fort at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, overlooking New York Harbor. In 1866, Steen was sent to the Colorado Territory to command Fort Lyon. Later life When Congress passed a law prohibiting retired officers from serving on active duty, Steen left the Army. He settled on a farm in Jackson County, Missouri. Steen died at his Jackson County home on 22 January 1880. He is buried at Mount St. Mary's Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri. Legacy Steen played an important part in the history of the western United States, leading military expeditions through large areas of the west. As a result of his early explorations, there are landmarks in Oklahoma, Oregon, and New Mexico named in his honor. In Oklahoma's Caddo County, a group of three of sandstone hills were named Steen's Buttes by Lieutenant Edward Beale whose survey team was escorted by cavalry under Major Steen's command. The most prominent landmark that bears Steen's name is Steens Mountain in Harney County, Oregon. With a summit, Steens Mountain is the highest peak in southeastern Oregon. The mountain extends over north to south. As a result, it is often mistaken for mountain range rather than a single peak. Another Oregon landmark named in honor of Steen is Steins Pillar. It is a high rock column in the Ochoco Mountains of central Oregon. Because of an overhanging ledge near its summit, the pillar was not successfully climbed until 1950. There is also ghost town in New Mexico named Steins. The town site is located just off Interstate 10 in