Alfred Pleasonton - Early Life

Early Life

Pleasonton was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Stephen and Mary Hopkins Pleasonton. Stephen was well known at the time of Alfred's birth. During the War of 1812, as a U.S. State Department employee, Stephen's personal initiative saved crucial documents in the National Archives from destruction by the British invaders of Washington, including the original Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. However, while working as a U.S. Treasury Department employee, he was involved in scandals in the 1830s involving corruption in awarding of contracts for government lighthouses, which turned out to have substandard construction and began deteriorating prematurely. He was investigated by the U.S. Congress, which cited his "lethargy and maladministration" and led to his dismissal in 1852, casting a pall over the family reputation. (The administration of U.S. lighthouses was transferred to a nine-member Lighthouse Board, which, ironically, included Alfred's future commander during the coming Civil War, George G. Meade.)

Alfred's much older brother, Augustus, attended the United States Military Academy and served as Assistant Adjutant General and paymaster of the state of Pennsylvania; his career direction obviously affected his younger brother's and both boys were assured nomination to the Academy by their father's fame from the War of 1812. Alfred graduated from West Point in 1844 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Dragoons (heavy cavalry), stationed first at Fort Atkinson, Iowa. He followed his unit for frontier duty in Minnesota, Iowa, and Texas. With the 2nd Dragoons, he fought in the Mexican-American War and received a brevet promotion to first lieutenant for gallantry in the Battle of Palo Alto and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, Texas, in 1846. He served as regimental adjutant after the war and was promoted to captain in 1855.