Steedman was a newspaperman, canal builder, and Civil War general known as "Old Chickamauga".

He distinguished himself by saving many lives at the Battle of Chickamauga (1863). He served as chief of police in his latter years. After his death, a loyal friend, James Finlay, paid the total cost of a bronze statue, which was first placed at the intersection of Summit, St. Clair, and Cherry streets. The statue was moved to Riverside Park in 1920. Finlay also had a memorial, complete with a bronze bust, placed at the general's gravesite here at Woodlawn Cemetery

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Here is a brief Steedman biography from the Ohio Department of Veterans Services:

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In 1883, James B. Steedman, a Civil War hero and Ohio statesman, passed away while serving as Chief of Police in Toledo, the final chapter in a life marked by grit, service, and reinvention.

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At just 18, Steedman fought in the Texas War of Independence before moving to Napoleon, Ohio, where he launched the Northwest Democrat newspaper in 1838. As a contractor, he helped construct the Wabash & Erie Canal and the Toledo, Wabash & Western Railway before entering politics in 1847, winning two terms in the Ohio General Assembly.

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Steedman joined the California Gold Rush in 1849, amassing a fortune before enlisting in the Union Army, rising to Brigadier General in 1862. He played a pivotal role in the Battle of Chickamauga, where his leadership helped prevent a Union defeat, and he commanded a brigade in the Army of the Ohio, earning respect for his battlefield tenacity. After the war, he returned to Toledo to resume publishing and civic leadership and was appointed Chief of Police in 1883, serving until his death later that year.

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Steedman was posthumously inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame in 1993 and remembered as a builder of infrastructure, a defender of the Union, and a champion of public service.