Jacob Hale Sypher was born near Millerstown, Pennsylvania and attended local schools.

Sypher enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War as a private in Battery A, 1st Ohio Light Artillery Militia (a three-month unit).

Sypher never exercised operational command of the unit, as he was assigned to court-martial duty throughout the regiment's service.

At the next election, there was even more violence, black voting was suppressed, and the Democrats regained control of the state legislature.

Sypher left Louisiana, moving to Washington, DC, to practice law.