Background
John August Sutter was born on February 15, 1803 in Kandern, Baden, Germany.
John August Sutter was born on February 15, 1803 in Kandern, Baden, Germany.
He possibly attended a military academy there, and he served in the army.
Sutter settled at St. Charles, Missouri, where he became a trader.
Twice he made unsuccessful trading trips to New Mexico.
He left Missouri in 1838, one jump ahead of his creditors.
From Oregon he sailed to Honolulu and to Alaska, arriving in San Francisco in July 1839.
His fort became the focal point of the Bear Flag Revolution, which quickly merged into the Mexican War and ended with California in the hands of the United States.
This triggered the famous gold rush of 1849, during which Sutter's employees deserted him, his herds disappeared, his fields fell into ruin, and his lands were overrun by squatters searching for gold.
He began drinking heavily and by 1852 was bankrupt.
Even when the Federal courts upheld his Mexican land grant, he could not afford the court costs to recover it and was left almost penniless.
He moved to Lititz, Pa. , in 1873 but spent his winters in Washington, D. C. , pushing a petition in Congress for his relief.
He married in 1826 and had three sons and a daughter.
