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William Steele was born on May 1, 1819, in Albany, New York. He graduated from West Point in 1840, and served in the US Army for over 20 years, fighting in the Seminole and Mexican Wars. He spent most of his duty in the South, and married a woman from Texas. These circumstances creating ties which led the New Yorker to chose the Confederate cause and resigning his commission in the U.S. Army. Appointed colonel of the 7th Texas cavalry, he took part in Brig. Gen. Henry Hopkins Sibley's efforts to clear the New Mexico area of Union presence. Promoted to brigadier general on September 12, 1862, he took command of Indian Territory, then was placed in charge of the defenses of Galveston, Texas in March of 1864. Steele took part in the Red River Campaign, temporarily assuming divisional command. He remained in the Trans-Mississippi Department until the end of the war. When the Civil War ended, Steele became a commission merchant in San Antonio, Texas. He moved to Austin, Texas in 1873, and was appointed adjutant general of the state. Steele returned to San Antonio, and died there, on January 12, 1885.
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