George Pomutz

Civil War At the beginning of the Civil War, Pomutz enrolled in the Union Army as a first lieutenant in the 15th Iowa Infantry Regiment.

Postbellum career After the end of the Civil War, Pomutz returned to Keokuk. On February 16, 1866, he was appointed Consul of the United States in Saint Petersburg, Imperial Russia, serving in that capacity until September 30, 1870. During that period, he was involved in the negotiations for the Alaska Purchase. Later he became the American consul general in Saint Petersburg, serving from June 17, 1874, until his death there, in 1882. He was buried in Smolensky Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Russia but his grave seems to have disappeared, possibly after the re-purposing of cemetery lands by the Bolsheviks, after the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Legacy The Liberty ship SS George Pomutz was named after him. Launched August 3, 1944, the ship served till 1970.

On August 14, 2004, a statue of Pomutz was unveiled at the Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio.

A street in Timișoara, Romania bears his name.

Quotation

From the address by Emil Constantinescu, President of Romania, at a Joint Meeting of the United States Congress, July 15, 1998: