Hazard Stevens 1842-1918
Hazard Stevens was an American military officer, mountaineer, and author whose life was deeply intertwined with the early political and exploratory history of Washington Territory. As a teenager, he closely observed the region's foundational political development while accompanying his father, Isaac I. Stevens—Washington's first territorial governor—during the controversial 1850s treaty negotiations with regional Indigenous tribes. Following distinguished, Medal of Honor-earning service in the American Civil War, Stevens returned to the Pacific Northwest and secured his most famous regional legacy in August 1870, when he and Philemon B. Van Trump completed the first documented successful ascent of Mount Rainier. Later in life, he authored the comprehensive two-volume biography The Life of Isaac Ingalls Stevens (1900), fiercely defending his father's often ruthless administrative record and preserving a critical, albeit highly partisan, firsthand account of Washington's chaotic territorial formation and the subsequent Puget Sound War.
Hazard Stevens was an American military officer, mountaineer, politician and writer. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Union army during the American Civil War at the Battle of Fort Huger. Stevens and Philemon Beecher Van Trump made the first documented successful climb of Mount Rainier on August 17, 1870.
A military officer and son of Isaac Stevens who was one of the first two documented climbers to reach the summit of Mount Rainier in 1870.
Biographical Overview
- Lived from 1842 to 1918
- Born: Jun 9, 1842, Newport, Rhode Island
- Died: Oct 11, 1918, Goldendale, Washington
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Bibliography for Hazard Stevens
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Life of General Isaac I. Stevens by Hazard Stevens
Written by his son Hazard Stevens, this extensive biography chronicles the life of General Isaac I. Stevens, focusing on his tenure as the first governor of Washington Territory and his subsequent military service during the Civil War. The narrative details his ambitious efforts to survey the northern transcontinental railroad route, his aggressive treaty negotiations with Pacific Northwest Native American tribes, and his eventual death at the Battle of Chantilly. A keen insight drawn from the text is how its deeply defensive, hagiographic tone—particularly regarding Stevens's highly controversial use of martial law during the Puget Sound War—demonstrates how 19th-century biographers actively sanitized the harsh realities of Manifest Destiny to cement a heroic family legacy. Ultimately, the work remains a vital, albeit heavily biased, historical record of the political and military foundations of the Pacific Northwest.
Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 - September 1, 1862) was the first governor of Washington Territory, a United States Congressman, and a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War until his death at the Battle of Chantilly.
2 volumes (xix., 480, [13] leaves of plates; xx, 530 pages, [44] leaves of plates) : illustrations, maps, plans, portraits ; 24 cm
ONLINE Circulation [ 2 ] Non-circulating [ 2 ]
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Last updated: 2026-09-30