Isaac C. B. Suman commanded the 9th Indiana Volunteer Infantry as its colonel for most of the Civil War, leading the regiment through the Western Theater. In March 1865 he was brevetted Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers for meritorious service but declined the honor, stating it was “a position I never asked for.” After the war he settled in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he was a prominent local citizen until his death in 1911.