Dan Sickles at 1st Massachusetts Monument Dedication?

General Casey

First Sergeant
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So I was scrolling through some photos on monument dedications for Massachusetts Gettysburg regiments and I came across this photo from the 1st Massachusetts' monument dedication on July 1, 1886.
1mass.jpg


Standing in front of the monument is a man in a large black hat with a mustache. Could it be Dan Sickles? I can't tell if he is missing a leg but it does appear he is holding something with his hand as it looks like his right arm is positioned at an angle as if he is leaning on a cane.

This picture of Sickles was taken at Gettysburg in 1886. Looks to be the same hat almost and maybe jacket.
sickles.jpg
 
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Boy, hard to tell. It doesn't seem to be the same hat, coat does seem similar. Fellow here seems slightly more portly but that could be Sickles' ego all puffed up. Guessing if anyone could find his recollections from that day we'd know. If he was anywhere, doing anything at all he told all of us about it.

The hat is different but they could be taken at different times of the year. The trees in the Sickles photo appear to be bear, meaning it may have been fall or winter or early spring. The monument dedication was on July.
 
Looks to be the same hat almost and maybe jacket.

And above all, the same beard!!
I think it is him, although the hat is different. In the first photo it seems to be his general's uniform hat with emblem, worn for the formal occasion, in the photo with the two other gentlemen it's a civilian hat.
But look at the jawline and the ear, his ear sits pretty deep, at the end of the jawline in both photos. I think it's him. Great find, congratulations!
 
I'm not sure if this topic is still live, though i signed up to the forum to post on it! In the picture with Sickles standing with two other gents, you can note a black face ring on his wedding finger. In the zoomed in picture of the Gent in question i think you can just about distinguish the same ring.

Editing as a first post, it's not much of an introduction; Hello, I did not fight in the US Civil war, though i did serve most dishonorably with a rag tag mob of other dishonorable infantry boots, using firearms that could out shoot the Enfield 1853, by a few rounds a minute. I've always had a nerd interest in military history, with the US civil war being one of the few conflicts that really spike my interest. I have absolutely no idea why that is, as i'm not from the US...... Headscratch.
 
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Sorry I missed this the first time around.

That surely has to be Sickles.

The G.A.R. held its Encampment at Gettysburg those first days of July, 1886, and Dan Sickles put himself right at the center of the event.

Here's the July 2, Boston Herald's account of the dedication: "On the little platform were present Gens. Sickles, Carr, Graham, and Hunt ..."
Boston_Herald_1886-07-02_8.png
Attached is the story of the entire three days' reunion from the National Tribune.
 

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I'm not sure if this topic is still live, though i signed up to the forum to post on it! In the picture with Sickles standing with two other gents, you can note a black face ring on his wedding finger. In the zoomed in picture of the Gent in question i think you can just about distinguish the same ring.

Editing as a first post, it's not much of an introduction; Hello, I did not fight in the US Civil war, though i did serve most dishonorably with a rag tag mob of other dishonorable infantry boots, using firearms that could out shoot the Enfield 1853, by a few rounds a minute. I've always had a nerd interest in military history, with the US civil war being one of the few conflicts that really spike my interest. I have absolutely no idea why that is, as i'm not from the US...... Headscratch.
Welcome, @zenga, to the forums from the host of the Stonewall Jackson Forum and another who shares a perverse interest in Dangerous Dan.
 
Welcome, @zenga, to the forums from the host of the Stonewall Jackson Forum and another who shares a perverse interest in Dangerous Dan.

Yep i'm surprised nobody in the thread has brought up his advance out of the battle line to take a looksee, with a corps yet. Though i will reserve comment on that until it is brought up, what i will say, is the man went to the front and got his leg blown off, competent or not, he didn't lack in the steel department.

Edit, thanks for the welcomes all.
 
Yep i'm surprised nobody in the thread has brought up his advance out of the battle line to take a looksee, with a corps yet. Though i will reserve comment on that until it is brought up, what i will say, is the man went to the front and got his leg blown off, competent or not, he didn't lack in the steel department.

Edit, thanks for the welcomes all.
Just do a search of this website - it's a "popular" topic and I'm sure there are many threads on the subject! (In fact here's a link to one of my own: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/a-closer-look-at-the-peach-orchard.104648/ )
 
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