John Henry Otto was born September 12, 1822, in Westphalia, Germany, and enlisted in the Prussian army sometime around 1845. According to his own account, he served in the war between Prussia and Denmark in 1848 and as a sergeant fought to suppress revolution in southern Germany. He was discharged in 1849 as a first lieutenant in the reserve but was called up again in 1850. He deserted the Prussian army and came to New York in 1853. He was a carpenter and cabinetmaker in Appleton, Wisconsin, with a wife and five small children, when the Civil War broke out. In August 1862 he enlisted in the...