Temporary Insanity: USA Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles

[Battleline]

Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles (b. 1819, d. 1914) Well before the Civil War, Daniel Edgar Sickles was a well-known controversial figure. Associated with the Tammany Hall political machine, Sickles was a U.S. Congressman from New York when he gunned down Philip Barton Key, his wife’s lover, near the White House. Edwin Stanton, later secretary of war, used a temporary insanity argument (the first time it was successfully used) and won acquittal for his client. Born Oct. 20, 1819, Sickles studied law with Benjamin Butler and was admitted to the bar in 1843. In 1847, he was elected to the New York Assembly. In 1853, he became secretary to James Buchanan, secretary to England. In 1855, Sickles was elected to the New York Senate. By that time Sickles was very familiar with scandal. He had been censured by the state assembly and did not enjoy a good reputation with his peers. That didn’t stop his rise. From 1857-61, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives. His political career ended both when he forgave his wife, but the Civil War gave him new adventures. Sickles recruited a regiment of New York troops, which became part of the Excelsior Brigade. Promoted to brigadier general of volunteers to rank from Sept. 3, 1861, Sickles had to overcome opposition to confirming his rank based on his past scandals. Sickles was able to overcome this adversity in time to serve with his brigade at Seven Pines and during the Seven Days Campaign as part of Gen. Joseph Hooker’s division. After missing the major fighting at Second Bull Run and Antietam, Sickles was advanced to division command in September of 1862 and promoted to major general of volunteers Nov. 29, 1862. After the Union debacle at Fredericksburg, Sickles was given command of III Corps when Hooker was elevated to army command. At Chancellorsville, the III Corps was sent after troops of Lt. Gen. Thomas Jackson. While III Corps had some success, it eventually was ordered from high ground at Hazel Grove and suffered major casualties against artillery fire. Some experts claim Sickles’ movements contributed to the success of the Confederate attack. At the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, Sickles again made a controversial move. Holding a low area between Cemetery Ridge and Little Round Top, Sickles was desperate to find higher ground. This resulted in an unauthorized movement forward to positions later known as the Peach Orchard, the Wheatfield and Devil’s Den. This move left Little Round Top unguarded and opened the Union left flank. Fighting the Confederate First Corps of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, Sickles’ men were forced to retreat to the original line. Sickles was lucky to make it back at all. A Confederate cannonball mangled his right leg, which had to be amputated that night. The preserved leg can be seen today at the Armed Forces Medical Museum in Washington, D.C. Despite his wound, Sickles made a trip to Washington, D.C., the following day to meet with President Lincoln, in the event that Maj. Gen. George Meade would try to remove him. Meade didn’t have to do anything. The wound was enough to keep Sickles from taking the field again. While Sickles worked against Meade, it had little bearing on the conduct of the war. In 1864, Sickles was sent south to study the effects of the Federal occupation. He was a leading Democratic supporter of Lincoln during the campaign of 1864 and was in South America on a mission when the war ended. After the war, Sickles served as military governor of South Carolina and later was minister to Spain, where he was romantically linked to Queen Isabella II. He won one more term to Congress in 1893. Chair of the New York state monuments commission, Sickles was a leader in the movement to preserve the Gettysburg battlefield (and thus his reputation). Sickles died May 3, 1914, in New York City. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

[Gil R.]

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