Carl Schmidt

Carl Heinrich (Henry) Schmidt (September 30, 1835 – January 7, 1888) was a German American immigrant, newspaper publisher, and Democratic politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate and the State Assembly, representing Manitowoc County during the 1870s.

Early life Schmidt was born on September 30, 1835, in the Province of Westphalia, Prussia, in what is now western Germany. He was trained as a printer in Prussia and emigrated to the United States in 1854 with his family. They resided briefly at Milwaukee before moving to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

In Milwaukee, he worked in the printing office of Der Seebote, a German language newspaper. He was then hired as foreman in the printing office of the Wisconsin Demokrat and the Manitowoc Tribune newspapers. But within a few months, with backing from his father, he purchased materials to establish his own newspaper. He established Der Nord-Westen, a German language paper, in July 1855 and published it through 1860, after which time he sold his company and joined up with a militia company for service in the American Civil War. The 9th Wisconsin Infantry mustered into service in January 1862, and were sent to Kansas. They were assigned to the Army of the Frontier, operating in the trans-Mississippi and western theaters of the war.

In his war service, Schmidt was most known for the year he served as acting quartermaster of the regiment, in 1864, having command of the supply depot at Little Rock, Arkansas, during the Red River campaign. When the news reached Little Rock of the expedition's retreat and famished condition, Schmidt assembled and led a train of supplies to meet and resupply the army in the field.

In January 1863, Schmidt was commissioned second lieutenant of Company K, and was later promoted to captain of Company F in the Summer of 1864. He retired at the end of his three-year enlistment in December 1864.

That Fall, he was the Democratic candidate for State Senate in the 19th Senate district. Although Manitowoc County at the time was strongly Democratic, he faced a close three-way race in the general election due to a split in the county Democratic Party over grievances against the party leadership. He ultimately prevailed with 47% of the vote over Republican John Carey and "peoples' Democrat" William Bach.

Personal life and family Carl Henry Schmidt had a younger brother named Carl Gottlieb Schmidt, who was also a prominent German American newspaper publisher in Wisconsin. After Carl Henry Schmidt's death, his brother took over publication of his newspaper, Der Nord-Westen.

Schmidt was survived by a wife and five children.