He first gained national attention when in 1859 he shot and killed his young wife's lover, Francis Barton Key, the son of Francis Scott Key. During the ensuing trial, in which he was represented by Edwin M. Stanton (who would become Lincoln's Secretary of War), he for the first time in U.S. jurisprudence pleaded the "unwritten law" (self defense of one's wife as his own property) and was acquitted. He subsequently enraged both critics and fans by publicly forgiving his unfaithful spouse.
He is further known for an extremely controversial move as a Major General, commander of the 3rd Army Corps, during the battle of Gettysburg in which he failed to obey orders (or so the accusation states). In the end, his actions were pivotal is defeating the Confederate army at Gettysburg.
However, on the evening of July 2, 1863, while riding horseback during the second day of fighting at Gettysburg, General Sickles had his right leg shattered by a solid 12 pound cannonball. He quieted his horse, dismounted, and was removed to a sheltered area where his leg was amputated just above the knee by Surgeon Thomas Sim, U.S. Volunteers.
A short time later, the Army Medical Museum received the amputated leg in a box bearing a visiting card which read: "With the compliments of Major General D.E.S." For many years on the anniversary of the amputation, Gen Sickles would visit the Museum to view his leg.
It is now housed in the National Museum of Health and Medicine on the Walter Reid Army Medical Center campus.
Later in life he was appointed as the US minister to Spain and was later re-elected to Congress. While in Congress he sponsored the Sickles Bill, which Federalized the Gettysburg battlefield. The bill was approved in 1895 and Gettysburg National Military Park became the property of the American people. The aging general visited Gettysburg several times and was keenly interested in the park's development. Despite the controversy of his tactical decisions on the second day of the battle, General Sickles was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for the service he rendered in rallying and inspiring the troops at Gettysburg.
I have heard that their are those that refute some of these facts. Is that true?
ReplyDeleteThere are a few things that could be better explained, but on the whole the posted account is correct.
ReplyDeleteFor example, yes Sickles did receive the an award for his service during the Civil War, but it was not the Congressional Medal of Honor because there is no such award. It is called the Medal of Honor. And he did receive that, but so did EVERY other soldier who saw service during the Civil War. It was about 30 years later that a decision was made to make the medal a more important award, so it was rescinded from the thousands who had been given one. Sickles was one of the lucky few who was allowed to keep his, but it had more to do with the fact that he had political connections than to his having shown any act of heroic bravery, etc.
Actually, he didn't receive his medal of honor during the civil war. It was awarded to him much later after his actions at Gettysburg were reviewed. but thank you for the clarification, stranger.
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