Simon Suhler

Last updated
Simon Suhler
Nickname(s)Charles Gardner
Born 1844
Bavaria, Germany
Died 1895 (aged 50–51)
San Antonio, Texas
Place of burial San Antonio National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas
Allegiance United States of America
Union
Service/branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service 1863 - 1865, 1866 - 1878
Rank Sergeant
Unit 8th Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars American Civil War
American Indian Wars
Awards Medal of Honor

Simon Suhler (1844–1895) was a private in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States.

United States Army Land warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces

The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution. As the oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)—before the United States of America was established as a country. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army, and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775.

Medal of Honor United States of Americas highest military honor

The Medal of Honor is the United States of America's highest and most prestigious personal military decoration that may be awarded to recognize U.S. military service members who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U.S. Congress. Because the medal is presented "in the name of Congress", it is often referred to informally as the "Congressional Medal of Honor". However, the official name of the current award is "Medal of Honor." Within the United States Code the medal is referred to as the "Medal of Honor", and less frequently as "Congressional Medal of Honor". U.S. awards, including the Medal of Honor, do not have post-nominal titles, and while there is no official abbreviation, the most common abbreviations are "MOH" and "MH".

American Indian Wars multiple conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America

The American Indian Wars is the collective name for the various armed conflicts fought by European governments and colonists, and later the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settlers, against various American Indian and First Nation tribes. These conflicts occurred within the United States and Canada from the time of the earliest colonial settlements in the 17th century until the 1920s. The various Indian Wars resulted from a wide variety of sources, including cultural clashes, land disputes, and criminal acts committed on both sides. European powers and the colonies also enlisted Indian tribes to help them conduct warfare against one another's colonial settlements.

Contents

Biography

Suhler enlisted in the 32nd Indiana Regiment (known unofficially as the First Indiana German Regiment) at the outset of the Civil War. The 32nd spoke German and were headed by former Prussian officer August Willich. After his capture and wounding at Shiloh and being furloughed back, he deserted from this unit and served under the name of Simon Neustadle, honorably, the remainder of the Civil War in the 11th Heavy Artillery. He also later served in the 4th New York Heavy Artillery.

American Civil War Civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865

The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North and the South. The Civil War is the most studied and written about episode in U.S. history. Primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people, war broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights to uphold slavery.

Prussia state in Central Europe between 1525–1947

Prussia was a historically prominent German state that originated in 1525 with a duchy centred on the region of Prussia on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It was de facto dissolved by an emergency decree transferring powers of the Prussian government to German Chancellor Franz von Papen in 1932 and de jure by an Allied decree in 1947. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised and effective army. Prussia, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 in Berlin, decisively shaped the history of Germany.

August Willich Union Army General

August Willich, born Johann August Ernst von Willich, was a military officer in the Prussian Army and a leading early proponent of communism in Germany. In 1847 he discarded his title of nobility. He later immigrated to the United States and became a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

After the war he joined the 8th Cavalry Regiment under the assumed name Charles Gardner, where he earned the Medal of Honor fighting the Apaches in Arizona. He was awarded the Medal of Honor at the rank of private. After 12 years in the 8th Cavalry he retired at the rank of sergeant. He was recommended to be promoted to lieutenant but this never took place.

The Apache are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Salinero, Plains and Western Apache. Distant cousins of the Apache are the Navajo, with which they share the Southern Athabaskan languages. There are Apache communities in Oklahoma, Texas, and reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. Apache people have moved throughout the United States and elsewhere, including urban centers. The Apache Nations are politically autonomous, speak several different languages and have distinct cultures.

Arizona state of the United States of America

Arizona is a state in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the Western and the Mountain states. It is the sixth largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona, one of the Four Corners states, is bordered by New Mexico to the east, Utah to the north, Nevada and California to the west, and Mexico to the south, as well as the southwestern corner of Colorado. Arizona's border with Mexico is 389 miles (626 km) long, on the northern border of the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California.

Suhler died in 1895 and was buried at San Antonio National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas. A corrected monument was placed at his gravesite on Veterans Day in 1988. His grave site can be found in Section I Grave 1610 and the GPS location is (lat/lon): 29.2528, -98.28068.

San Antonio National Cemetery

San Antonio National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the city of San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 3.7 acres (1.5 ha), and as of the end of 2005, had 3,163 interments.

Veterans Day federal holiday in the United States

Veterans Day is an official United States public holiday observed annually on November 11, honoring military veterans, that is, persons who have served in the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with other holidays including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day which are celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

Medal of Honor citation

Citation:

Bravery in scouts and actions against Indians.

See also

32nd Indiana Monument Civil War Monument

The 32nd Indiana Monument, also known as the August Bloedner Monument, honors the Union soldiers of the 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also known as Indiana's "1st German" regiment, who died in the Battle of Rowlett's Station on December 17, 1861, near Munfordville, Kentucky. Originally placed at Fort Willich, near Munfordville, in January 1862, the monument was moved to Cave Hill National Cemetery at Louisville, Kentucky, in June 1867. Due to its fragile condition, the monument was removed from the national cemetery in 2008. After undergoing conservation treatment at the University of Louisville, it was placed on display at the Frazier History Museum lobby in August 2010. Although it is no longer in its original location, the 32nd Indiana Monument is generally considered to be the oldest surviving memorial to the American Civil War. A replacement monument at Cave Hill National Cemetery was dedicated in December 2011.

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References

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