Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles
Born: October 20, 1819
New York City, New York
Died: May 3, 1914
New York City, New York
June 20, 1861: Colonel
September 1861: Brigadier General
of Volunteers
March 11, 1863: Major General
1866: Colonel
1869: Retired as Major General
Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles
Notably known for the homicide of his wife's lover, U.S. Attorney Phillip Barton Key II. Pleaded not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. First time used in legal defense in U.S. history.
March 1857-March 1861: House of Representatives from New York
Recruited New York regiments which which became the Excelsior Brigade in the Army of the Potomac
Despite his lack of military experience, served in the Brigade, Division, and Corps commander
June 20, 1861: Appointed Colonel of 70th New York Infantry
September 1861: Promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers
March 1862: Forced to relinquish his command when Congress wouldn't confirm his commission, lobbied his political contacts and reclaimed his rank and command in time to join the Army in the Peninsula Campaign
May 31-June1, 1862: Battle of Seven Pines leading the Excelsior Brigade
June 25-July 1, 1862: Seven Days Battle
Absent from 2nd Bull Run after obtaining leave to go to New York City to recruit troops
Missed the Battle of Antietam because the III Corps was stationed on the lower Potomac protecting Washington
December 13, 1862: Battle of Fredericksburg - Sickles division was held in reserve
March 11, 1863: President Lincoln appointed Sickles Major General
July 1-3, 1863: Battle of Gettysburg - ordered to take up defensive position on the Southern end of Cemetery Hill. Was unhappy to see Peach Orchard with a slightly higher terrain to his front.
Meade was apart with Sickles movement, but it was too late to withdraw to his original position. A Confederate assault by Lieut. Gen. Longstreet and the division of Maj. Gen. McLaws smashed Sickles Corps. In the battle, Sickles was wounded by a cannonball which mangled his right leg. His leg was amputated that afternoon.
Sickles ran a campaign against Meade's character after Gettysburg.
1865-1867: Commanded the Department of South Carolina, Department of the Carolinas, Department of the South and Second Military District
Pursued reconstruction on a basis of fair treatment for Blacks and respect for the rights of employees. Stopped foreclosures and made wages farm laborers the first lien of his crops. He outlawed discrimination against Blacks and banned the production of whiskey.
1866: Appointed Colonel of the 42nd U.S. Infantry
1869: Retired with the rank of Major General
1869-1874: U.S. Minister to Spain
1893-1895: U.S. House of Representatives from New York
Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay, 1967. p 760
Brady's National Photographic Portrait Galleries, photographer. Portrait of Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles, officer of the Federal
Army. [Between 1860 and 1865] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2018666488/>.
Daniel Sickles. 5 May 2022. web. 18 May 2022.
Hessler, James A. Sickles at Gettysburg. New York: Savas Beatie, 2015.
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, 1964. p 446-447