Arnold Sutermeister (July 11, 1830 – May 3, 1907) was a Swiss-born contractor in the West of United States (business in

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

and

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

)."Arnold Henry Sutermeister"
'' Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers'', Vol. 83. American Society of Civil Engineers, 1921. p. 2342. Sutermeister was also a Captain in the American Civil War, where he commanded an artillery battery in the Western Theater.

Early life

Arnold Sutermeister was born in

Zofingen, Switzerland Zofingen (french: Zofingue) is a city in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It is the capital of the district of Zofingen. Zofingen is a walled city and home of an ancient monastic settlement. History In ancient times Zofingen was a settlemen ...

on July 11, 1830. He studied architecture in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

and Basel. After his father's death (in 1840) he came to Boston in 1846 with his mother and sister. He moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1857, where he worked as a mathematics teacher. In 1860 he married Louise Louise Johanna Leibnitz (1836–1906).

Civil War

When the American Civil War began Sutermeister joined the Union army as Captain of the 11th Independent Battery Indiana Light Artillery, which he had recruited in Fort Wayne,"Indiana Veteran Dead"
''The Lake County Times''. May 4, 1907. p. 2. on December 17, 1861. He commanded the battery for three years. Serving in the Western Theater in 1862 and 1863, he fought in the Siege of Corinth, the Battle of Chickamauga, and in the Chattanooga Campaign, specifically at the battles of Orchard Knob and

Missionary Ridge Missionary Ridge is a geographic feature in Chattanooga, Tennessee, site of the Battle of Missionary Ridge, a battle in the American Civil War, fought on November 25, 1863. Union forces under Maj. Gens. Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, a ...

. His battery won special distinction at Chickamauga. During the Atlanta Campaign in 1864, Sutermeister served on the staff of Major-general

George H. Thomas George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816March 28, 1870) was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas served in the Mexican–American War and later chose ...

and commanded the siege artillery of the Army of the Cumberland. He also saw action in the following battles: Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, Dallas, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, and Atlanta. He is favourably mentioned in the report of Brigadier-general

John M. Brannan John Milton Brannan (July 1, 1819 – December 16, 1892) was a career United States Army artillery officer who served in the Mexican–American War and as a Union brigadier general of volunteers in the American Civil War, in command of the Departm ...

to Thomas dated September 14, 1864: Sutermeister was also a talented draughtsman, and often sent drawings of the battlefield home to his wife. He was mustered out with his unit on January 7, 1865, and returned to civilian life.″Sutermeister, Arnold Papers, 1850–1865″
''River Campus Libraries''. University of Rochester. Retrieved January 10, 2023.

Later life

After the war ended Sutermeister went back to Fort Wayne and then moved to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, where he started a construction business. He died on May 3, 1907, in his seventy-seventh year, and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery. He left an estate valued at $15,000. Among Sutermeister's eight children were: Arnold Henry Sutermeister (1869–1918); Paul Arthur, the grandfather of

Martha L. Ludwig Martha Ludwig (August 16, 1931 – November 27, 2006) was an American macromolecular crystallographer. Matthews, Rowena G.: ''Martha L. Ludwig 1931-2006: A Biographical Memoir''. National Academy of Sciences, 201/ref> She was the John Lawrence O ...

; Matthews, Rowena G. (2011)
''Martha L. Ludwig 1931–2006. A Biographical Memoir''
Washington, D.C.:

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

. p. 4. and Charles Oscar (1867–1937), the father of Robert A. Sutermeister.

Personal life

In 1860 Sutermeister married Louise Leibnitz at the house of

Hugh McCulloch Hugh McCulloch (December 7, 1808 – May 24, 1895) was an American financier who played a central role in financing the American Civil War. He served two non-consecutive terms as U.S. Treasury Secretary under three presidents. He was originally ...

References

External links

*
″Sutermeister, Arnold Papers, 1850–1865″
at River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutermeister, Arnold Union Army officers Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Kansas City, Missouri) People from Zofingen People of Missouri in the American Civil War 1830 births 1907 deaths