Alfred Pleasonton (June 7, 1824 – February 17, 1897) was a United States Army officer and major general of volunteers in the Union cavalry during the American Civil War.

During the War of 1812, as a U.S. State Department employee, he 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.

[3] 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.

[2] At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Captain Pleasonton traveled with the 2nd Dragoons from Fort Crittenden, Utah Territory, to Washington D.C.

Despite active politicking on his part, attempting to capitalize on the faded political connections of his father (who had died in 1855), Pleasonton did not earn the rapid promotions of some of his colleagues.

[2] He fought without incident or prominence in the Peninsula campaign, providing Army of the Potomac commander Major General George McClellan with little accurate or valuable information.

[2] As McClellan's chief cavalryman, it was part of Pleasonton's duties to provide his commanding general with intelligence, especially the size of enemy formation.

As a result, McClellan remained convinced that Confederate General Robert E. Lee's forces outnumbered his two-to-one when the truth was almost exactly the opposite.

[2] Ever ambitious, Pleasonton was displeased that he was not promoted to major general of volunteers for his actions, claiming erroneously that his division, and particularly the horse artillery assigned to him, had had a decisive effect on the battle.

Battle reports, however, indicate that Pleasonton's role was considerably less important than he claimed, involving only a small detachment of Confederate infantry on Hazel Grove.

[6] Nevertheless, his claims earned him an appointment to the grade of major general of volunteers on and to rank from June 22, 1863,[7][b] and when the inept Cavalry Corps commander, Maj. Gen. George Stoneman, was relieved after Chancellorsville, Hooker named Pleasonton as his temporary replacement.

He wrote to Gen. Hooker "I cannot ... remain silent as to the unsatisfactory condition in which I find this corps ... the responsibility of its present state ... does not belong to me."

The Army of Northern Virginia, under Gen. Robert E. Lee, was able to slip past Union forces through the Shenandoah Valley and north into Pennsylvania.

Gen. Judson Kilpatrick to attack the right flank of the Confederate army, which resulted in a suicidal assault against entrenched infantry and the futile death of Brig.

[2] In 1864 and 1865, he instituted a policy of amnesty, granting parole to Confederate prisoners on condition they go up the Missouri River to the Dakota and Montana Territories.

Because he did not want to leave the cavalry, Pleasonton turned down a lieutenant colonel in the infantry and soon became dissatisfied with his command relationship to officers he once outranked.

"[13] Pleasonton, always more of a bureaucrat than an ideologue or strong leader, only wanted to defeat the South's military capabilities so that they could not threaten the rest of the states, but was not convinced that "crushing" the rebels, ending slavery, or reelecting Lincoln was worth the cost.

[2] Before his death, Pleasonton requested that his funeral be devoid of all military honors and even refused to be buried in his old uniform because he felt the Army passed him over after the Civil War.