Sutherland was born in Hancock, Maryland on 27 November 1893, the only son among the six children of Howard Sutherland, who later became a US Senator from West Virginia, and Etfie Harris Sutherland. He was educated at Davis and Elkins College, Phillips Academy, from which he graduated in 1911, and Yale University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1916. While at Yale, he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps. In 1916, he enlisted as a private in the Connecticut National Guard.