Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Wisser, John Philip

WISSER, John Philip, soldier, b. in St. Louis, Mo., 19 July, 1852. He was graduated at the Central high-school of St. Louis in 1870, and at the U. S. military academy in 1874. Receiving an assignment to the 1st artillery, he served on garrison duty in Florida and Massachusetts until May, 1876, when he was ordered to the U. S. artillery-school at Fort Monroe. Since 1878 he has been connected almost continuously with the academic staff of instructors at the U. S. military academy, chiefly in the department of chemistry, mineralogy, and geology. On 13 Jan., 1880, he was promoted 1st lieutenant, and during 1884 he studied at the Freiberg, Saxony, school of mines, and at the agricultural experiment station at Wiesbaden. He was requested to investigate and report upon the system of instruction at the military schools of England, France, Germany, and Austria, and to attend and report upon the manœuvres of the 17th corps of the French army in 1884. Lieut. Wisser was aide-de-camp to Gen. John Gibbon during the Chinese troubles in Washington territory in 1886, but in August of that year he returned to the U. S. military academy. He is a member of the Chemical society of Berlin and of the American association for the advancement of science. His publications include “Chemical Manipulations” (Fort Monroe, 1883); “Short Historical Sketch of Gunpowder” (New York, 1883); “Compressed Gun-Cotton for Military Use” (1886); “Report on the Manœuvres of the 17th Corps of the Army of France” (Vancouver Barracks, W. T., 1886); “Practical Instruction in Minor Tactics and Strategy” (New York, 1888); and “Report on the Military Schools of Europe: I., Austria” (1889).