Stephen Watts Kearny (sometimes spelled Kearney) (/ˈkÉ'Ë rni/
KAR-nee); (August 30, 1794 â€" October 31, 1848) was one of the
foremost antebellum frontier officers of the United States Army. He is
remembered for his significant contributions in the Mexicanâ€"American
War, especially the conquest of California. The Kearny code,
proclaimed on September 22, 1846, in Santa Fe, established the law and
government of the newly acquired territory of New Mexico and was named
after him. His nephew was Major General Philip Kearny of American
Civil War fame.Kearny was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of
Philip Kearny Sr. and Susanna Watts. His maternal grandparents were
the wealthy merchant Robert Watts of New York and Mary Alexander, the
daughter of Major General "Lord Stirling" William Alexander and Sarah
"Lady Stirling" Livingston of American Revolutionary War fame. Stephen
Watts Kearny went to public schools. After high school, he attended
Columbia University in New York City for two years. He joined the New
York militia as an ensign in 1812.In the late 1820s after his career
was established, Kearny met, courted and married Mary Radford, the
stepdaughter of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The
couple had eleven children, of whom six died in childhood. He was the
uncle of Philip Kearny, a Union general in the American Civil War who
was killed at the Battle of Chantilly.In 1812 Kearny was commissioned
as a First Lieutenant in the War of 1812 in the 13th Infantry Regiment
in the U.S. Army. He fought on 13 October 1812 at Queenston Heights,
where he was wounded and taken prisoner. Kearny spent several months
in captivity before being paroled. Kearny was promoted to captain on
April 1, 1813. After the war, he chose to remain in the US Army and
was promoted to brevet major in 1823; major, 1829; and lieutenant
colonel, 1833. He was assigned to the western frontier under command
of Gen. Henry Atkinson, and in 1819 he was a member of the expedition
to explore the Yellowstone River in present-day Montana and Wyoming.
The Yellowstone Expedition of 1819 journeyed only as far as
present-day Nebraska, where it established Cantonment Missouri, later
renamed Fort Atkinson. Kearny was also on the 1825 expedition that
reached the mouth of the Yellowstone River. During his travels, he
kept extensive journals, including his interactions with Native
Americans. Stephen W. Kearny Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter