After the Battle of Nashville, Steedman returned to Etowah until he was given command of the Department of Georgia, an assignment lasting from June 27 to December 10, 1865. He remained in the Army after the end of the American Civil War until resigning on August 18, 1866. After resigning his commission from the U.S. Army, Steedman returned home to Ohio in 1866. During the administration of U.S. President Andrew Johnson, he was the collector of internal revenue at New Orleans, Louisiana, until 1869. He again returned to Toledo, became the editor of the town's "Northern Ohio Democrat" newspaper, and in 1870 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate. In May 1883 he was appointed the Chief of Police in Toledo, a post he held until his death. Steedman died in Toledo in 1883, and is buried there in Woodlawn Cemetery.