MICHAEL SUSSMANN HISTORY
I, William A. Sussmann Jr. (1944-present), son of Col. William A. Sussmann (1913-2001), son of Francis Adam Sussmann(1867-1960), son of Michael Sussmann(1828-1881) never knew who my great grandfather, Michael Sussmann, was until recently. My father never knew his grandfather’s name and only on a few occasions mentioned that he thought he was in the Civil War and lost a leg. I recently contacted my father’s brother Raymond Sussmann, to inquire if he could help me identify individuals in photos from 1934-1938 taken when my father was a Cadet at West Point. Raymond provided help but also provided me with a genealogy done by someone in the Brech branch of the family tree showing descendents of Michael Sussmann. Both of my fathers two remaining siblings, Raymond Sussmann, and Catherine Sussmann Doyle also indicated that they had not known their grandfathers name but verified the family rumor that he lost a leg in the Civil War.
I therefore set out to learn who Michael Sussmann was. Was he in fact my grandfather, and what was his Civil War service? I first contacted the New York State Archives’ online listing of Civil War veterans and found a Michael Sussmann from Brooklyn, New York. I requested hardcopy information they had and received Regimental Muster Records that showed service date information and that he served in the 55th, 38th, and 40th Civil War New York State Volunteer Infantry Regiments. I then reviewed the General Index to Military Pension Files 1861-1934 at the Baton Rouge Mormon Family History Center and found that Michael Sussmann had received a pension(Cert No. 56317) for service during the Civil War. Armed with this, I requested Michael Sussmann’s complete military record from the US Government National Archives in Washington D.C. which provided over 100 pages of information that contained a treasure trove of information on Michael Sussmann and confirmed that he was my great grandfather. I also found his family listed in the 1980 Federal Census(attached) that showed slight differences from the genealogy provided by my Uncle Raymond Sussmann. Here’s what I found.
Michael Sussmann was born in
Zeil, Bavaria, Germany in 1828 son of Nicholas Sussmann and Barbara Wouders. He
and his future wife, Margaretha(Margaret/Maggie) Waldhauser immigrated to
America on January 14, 1854 aboard the ship President Smidt that sailed from
Bremen, Germany about January 5, 1854. On the ships manifest she is listed as
passenger No. 168, servant, arriving with one valise, and he is listed as
passenger No. 218, mason, arriving with one valise. Margaretha Waldhauser was
born in Steinback, Germany on November 18, 1830, daughter of Valentine
Wauldhauser and Margaret Tzcetzner. Only 22 days after their ship arrived in
America, they were married on February 5, 1854 at Saint Nicholas Church in
Brooklyn, Kings, New York. Only five
miles separated their two birth towns, Zeil and Steinbach, Germany. Either they
were a young couple in love prior to leaving Germany, moving to the new world
to start a new and better life, or theirs was a shipboard romance on the way to
America. The later is unlikely since they were married a mere three weeks after
disembarking in the new world.
As an adult, Michael Sussmann stood 5’-10”, weighed 165 pounds, was of light complexion, and was a stonecutter by occupation. At the time of his death in May 24, 1881, he lived at 56 Ten Eyeck St., Ward 16, Brooklyn, NY and is buried in an unmarked grave at Holy Trinity Church Cemetery(Block 41, Row2,Plot22). According to the 1880 Federal Census, he had eight children:
-John Sussmann (1856-??)
-Louisa Sussmann (1857-??)
-Valentine Sussmann (9/15/64-??)
-Francis Adam Sussmann (7/12/67-5/25/1960)- My Grandfather
-Eliza Sussmann (4/25/69-??)
-Peter Sussmann (1/6/72-??)
-George Sussmann (9/23/75-1950)
-William Sussmann(1877-??)
The 1980 Census indicates that his sons John and Valentine, like their father, were stonecutters, his daughter Louisa was a tailor, and the other five children were in school.
On April 15, 1861 in response to the Southern States seceding and the shelling of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln called up 74,000 militia from the states according to a quota for a period of three months maximum. These organizations were for the most part military only in name, their peacetime activities rarely going beyond holiday parades and ceremonial functions. Hardly had these “three month men” reached the field and been soundly beaten by the South’s Army during the first Battle of Bull Run, before it was discovered that a mistake had been made and the rebellion was going to be a gigantic war. So, on May 3, 1861 Lincoln issued a call for United States volunteers to serve three years, unless sooner discharged. At once, thousands of loyal men sprang to arms. One of these was Michael Sussmann who at age 33 enlisted on August 1, 1861at Staten Island, NY as a Private. At this time he and Margaretha had two children of age 4 and 7 years and resided at 89 Montrose Ave., Brooklyn(Williamsburg), NY.
The Union Army had some 360 regiments during the war. An infantry Regiment normally consists of about a thousand troops. But during the Civil War normal size due to recruiting problems and losses was 400-600 men. The lower the regimental designated number the earlier the members entered the army. Higher number regiments formed and sent down later in the war were made up of draft and bounty conscripted troops of questionable background and were never accounted the equal of the ones with lower numbers which had enlisted in 1861 and 1862. But, within a year volunteers slowed down to a trickle as the realities of war set in and by late 1862 authorities had to resort to threats of draft to meet the Presidents call for troops. It is significant that Michael Sussmann enlisted early(55th Regiment) for 3 years as most of these did so out of a sense of patriotism in contrast to later recruits who were drafted or bountied. However, we can only speculate why Michael Sussmann volunteered. The prevailing excitement, lure of far places and the desire for change were dominant factors. The Union was associated with ideals and opportunities which had helped pull immigrants across the sea and which they felt were now imperiled. Devotion to the Union was strong among immigrant groups such as the Germans who had seen the unhappy effects of division in their native land and who felt a special responsibility for preventing a similar fate from overtaking their adopted country. However, considering that he had a wife and two children to support and that he made his living by manual labor, the economic factor is more likely. It seems remote that $13/month, the pay of infantry privates during most of the war, would be an attraction. But, the first months of the war were marked by depression, and unemployment recurred periodically until 1863. If a soldiers pay was low, so were wages in general, and army employment had a certainty and permanence rarely found. Financial inducement seems to have been especially cogent among the immigrants, about two million of whom had flocked to the north from Europe in the 1850’s. Poverty, difficulties of employment, and a strong desire to acquire property combined to drive thousands into the army.
After enlisting, Michael Sussmann spent a month in the Brooklyn area training in drill and army life before being assigned to the Army of The Potomac and mustered into F Company, 55th NY Volunteer Infantry Regiment(Gardes Lafayette) on August 28, 1861 near New Dorp, Staten Island. Michael Sussmann and the 55th Regiment left New York on August 31, 1861 leaving behind his wife Maggie, 5-year-old John, and 4-year-old Louisa. The general direction for most units was southward to the environs of Washington D.C. for eastern regiments and west for western regiments. The 55th Regiment was no exception and in September 1861 it arrived at Fort Gaines, Md. which no longer exists but was located at the present sight of American University in NW Washington D.C. The 55th NY Regiment served during all Battles of the Peninsula Campaign in the 3rd Brigade(G. Peck), 1st Division(G. Couch), 4th Corp(G. Keyes). During the Peninsula Campaign the 55th Regiment total casualties were 169 men. However, the largest single casualty loss to the 55th Regiment occurred during the famous bloody battle of Fair Oaks(Seven Pines) during which the 55th Regiment played a key(see separate write up) roll and sustained 103(25%) casualties of their 400 men. Fortunately, Pvt. Michael Sussmann was not one of these casualties. Never a large regiment, the losses the 55th suffered in the Peninsula Campaign devastated it, and the regiment was never able to recuperate. In September 1862, it was consolidated into a four company battalion. A few months later these survivors became companies G(Sussmann),H,I, and K of the 38th New York Volunteer Regiment.
Michael Sussmann’s new New York 38th Volunteer Infantry Regiment was a two year length of service regiment. As a result Michael Sussmann, a three-year man, by this time a seasoned veteran, was transferred into G Company of the 38th Regiment, 2nd Brigade(G. Ward), 1st Division(G. Birney), 3rd Corp(G. Sickles) on December 21, 1862. He served in the 38th Regiment for some six months during which the 38th Regiment served in the Chancellorsville Campaign and suffered a total of 39 casualty losses(about 10%) during the famous Battle of Chancellorsville. Fortunately, Pvt. Michael Sussmann was not one of these casualties.
As a result of the 38th ‘s Regiment two year length of service ending when it was mustered out in June 1863, all three year men from the New York 38th Regiment were transferred to A,E(Sussmann), and H Companies of the New York 40th Volunteer Infantry Regiment on June 3, 1863. Such seasoned three-year men with extensive combat experience were highly prized as the backbone of units being restaffed with drafted or conscripted replacements with limited training and questionable dedication and loyalty. The 40th Regiment, known as the “Mozart Regiment” for its link to New York City’s Mozart Hall political machine, was one of the oddest regiments in the Army of The Potomac. In the heady days of patriotism in 1861, it had accepted four companies of Massachusetts men, and since then had merged with or been assigned segments of no fewer than five New York regiments including Pvt. Michael Sussmann from the 38th Regiment. It was well known that this disparate group was melded into one of the best seasoned veteran regiments in the Army of the Potomac. The normal weight of all a soldiers equipment ranged from 40-50 pounds. However most soldiers eventually found means of reducing the load. Indeed, the process of becoming a veteran was in large measure one of shedding. A veteran Billy Yank, model 1863, was a lean, weather beaten creature who could march none stop often at quick time for 20-30 miles per day often all through the night and be ready for action on arrival exhausted and famished.
The 40th New York Volunteer Regiment served in the Gettysburg Campaign under the 3rd Brigade(G. Regis DeTrobriand), 1st Division(G. Birney), 3rd Corp(G. Sickles). During the Battle of Gettysburg it played a key roll in defending Little Round Top(see separate write up) and casualty losses in the bloody Plum Run Valley were severe at 168 representing 33% of the 500 man regiment. Fortunately, Michael Sussmann was not one of these casualties.
During the 1863/1864 winter bivouac there was little fighting between the Army of the Potomac and Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. It was during this winter lull in the fighting that Michael Sussmann returned home to Brooklyn on furlough and conceived his 3rd child Valentine in December 1863.
In the spring of 1864 the 40th Regiment was active in the Virginia/Overland Campaign. It was during this campaign’s first engagement during the famous Battle of the Wilderness that the veteran Pvt. Michael Sussmann was severely wounded on May 5, 1864 during the assault along Orange Plank Road on rebel defenses which initially buckled but rebel fire soon had the 40th Regiment and Pvt. Michael Sussmann flat on their bellies. Things got desperate as rebel minnie balls whistled down from their ridge defenses pinning the 40th Regiment and Pvt. Michael Sussmann to the ground and exacting a fearful toll. Men who had been in all the battles of the war up to that time said they had never seen anything like it. Unfortunately, Pvt. Michael Sussmann received a severe wound in his right leg as a rebel minnie ball entered the anterior aspect of his right thigh three inches above the knee and lodged near the scrotum. No bones were broken but his femoral artery was severed. Considering the more or less horizontal trajectory of the ball up his leg, it is likely he was lying flat on his belly when shot.
Since there was no formal or effective system of evacuating casualties during the war, it became customary for a wounded soldier’s closest companions to evacuate a casualty from the battlefield. Privates John Kehr, Jacob Caparano and Michael Sussmann all enlisted together at Staten Island, were mustered in together on August 28, 1861, and served together in the 55th, 38th, and 40th Regiments. All three fought side by side in Company E, of the 40th Regiment likely in the same squad.. Pvt. John Kehr (wounded himself July 1, 1862 at Malvern Hill) was alongside Michael Sussmann when he was shot on May 5, 1864 and escorted him to the rear but was then himself captured by the Rebels and became a POW. Pvt. Jacob Caparano then helped Michael Sussmann into an ambulance from the battlefield and to a field hospital. Field surgeons wanted to amputate his right leg but Pvt. Michael Sussmann refused to allow it. It took five days for the wounded Michael Sussmann to reach the 1,114 bed US General Hospital Fredericksburg, Va. where he was a patient from May 9-25, 1864. He was then at the 900 bed Campbell Hospital Wash. D.C. as a patient from May 25, 1864 to July 17, 1864. It was during his stay at the Campbell Hospital that the artery was tied off on June 2, 1864 and the Minnie ball removed from the scrotum area about June 16, 1864. He was then moved to the 1,293 bed US General Hospital Willets Point, NY where he was a patient from July 17, 1864 to August 28, 1864 when he was discharged from the Army.
Upon returning home in August 1864 he was hobbled on crutches for an extended period. As a result of the wound the right leg was weak and the foot stiff/inflexable and he suffered from neuralogic pain. As a result he was unable to perform manual labor and was certified 50% disabled and received a pension of $4/month later in 1878 increased to $8/month. Prior to the war he was a stonecutter/laborer but after the war he had the means to own a stone yard and employ others as stonecutters. Even though disabled he was able to have six more children after returning from the war. One (Valentine) conceived during Army of The Potomac winter bivouac in January 1864 indicating his return home on furlough:
-Valentine Sussmann, born 9/15/1864
-Francis Adam Sussmann, born July 12, 1867
-Louise Sussmann, born April 29, 1869
-Peter Sussmann, born January 6, 1872
-George Sussmann, born September 23, 1875
-William Sussmann, born 1877
Archive papers include the birth certificates of five of the children including Francis Adam Sussmann who was my grandfather proving that Michael Sussmann was in fact my great grandfather. As time went on, he would experience shortness of breath with exertion and experience chest pains. He also had difficulty passing urine freely, complained of his kidneys, and would cry out in pain. Ultimately he died on May 24, 1881at age 53 of what was then called Brights Disease a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute nephritis or inflammation of the kidney that causes infections, toxins, and a variety of autoimmune diseases.
This left his widow Margaretha Sussmann, who never remarried, with five children under the age of 16 and no means of support beyond her own labors. Subsequent to Michael Sussmann’s death, she applied for a war widow pension and was turned down in October 27, 1886 by the Pension Commissioner whose rejection was reconfirmed on December 27, 1889 on the grounds that his cause of death was not caused by his war wound. The rejection was appealed all the way to the Secretary of the Interior in a January 5, 1890 letter that describes her as “a most deserving poor woman… All during the long years of this unhappy war, the maintenance of the numerous family of Sussmann was burdened upon the shoulders of this poor woman, .. and (his) cripple only to increase her burden. By her good care she managed to sustain his unenviable existence for a number of years through extreme poverty.” The Secretary of The Interior turned down her appeal on May 22, 1891. However, she was receiving a pension for her children under 18, as there is a Pensioner Dropped Form upon her death on July 5, 1899 indicating she had been receiving an $8/month pension up until May 4, 1899. Margaretha Sussmann is also buried in Holy Trinity Cemetery Block 41, Row 2, Plot 23 alongside her husband Michael Sussmann.
This ends research to date other than to mention that my grandfather Francis Adam Sussmann, son of Michael Sussmann was also a manual laborer stonecutter in the late 19th and early 20th century often unemployed due to industrial mechanization of methods of cutting stone. To my recollection, I at a very early age only met Francis Adam Sussmann once well into his 80’s when visiting a Catholic Home with my father, William A. Sussmann. Also of interest is that my Father Col. William A Sussmann served in WWII under General Patton in the 6th Armor Division as Commander of the 15th Tank Battalion and in driving the Germans back passed very close to Zeil, Germany where his grandfather Michael Sussmann had immigrated from. Immediately after the War, he Commanded the 13th Constabulary Squadron and our family lived in Bamburg, Germany for three years only about forty miles from Zeil, Germany