As a lieutenant, Steever served in the Indian Wars. He was involved in hostilities against the Sioux in 1872 In October 1874, he and another officer of Company G of the third Cavalry led a show of force which quelled a possible uprising at the Flagpole Affair at the
Red Cloud Agency. In 1872, Steever was detailed by Secretary of War Belknap as commander of the
Palestine Exploration Society. In the 1890s, Steever was engineer and secretary of the
intercontinental railway commission. Steever served during the
Spanish–American War and its aftermath, and was distinguished in the January 1900
Battle of Mount Bimmuaya. He later became civil and military governor of the
Sulu Archipelago. From 1911 to 1913, when tensions erupted along the US–Mexico border, Steever, then a colonel, was in command of the 4th cavalry at
El Paso. In 1913, Steever was promoted to brigadier general, and he retired later that year. ==Personal life and death==