The Case Of Major General Daniel E. Sickles

[Stiles/Akin]

THE CASE OF MAJOR GENERAL DANIEL E. SICKLES

Major General Daniel E. Sickles, Union Third Army Corps commander, was struck by a cannonball during the battle of Gettysburg. Sickles was on horseback when the 12-pound ball severely fractured his lower right leg. Sickles quieted his horse, dismounted, and was taken to a shelter where Surgeon Thomas Sims amputated the leg just above the knee. Shortly after the operation, the Army Medical Museum received Sickles' leg in a small box... bearing a visiting card with the message "With the compliments of Major General D.E.S." The amputation healed rapidly and by September of 1863 Sickles returned to military service. For many years on the anniversary of the amputation, Sickles visited his leg at the museum.

Sickles' exploits extended beyond the Civil War. He was the first defendant to successfully use the temporary insanity defense in the United States. In 1859, Sickles was found not guilty of the murder of his wife's lover, Philip Barton Key, the son of the composer of the national anthem. Sickles had shot Key in Lafayette Square in Washington in a jealous rage after learning of the affair. Sickles served as a secret agent for President Lincoln and was appointed Ambassador to Spain by President Grant.

 

[JohnW.]

No doubt about it.....Historicus was very much quite the case.

 

[John Hartwell]

It always seemed to me that Mr. Key had severely offended the proper honor of Gentleman Dan, who responded in a manner that many a soon-to-be-rebel Planter could well understand. He just didn't have a cane at hand to thrash him with. My more civilized compatriots may see it differently.

Mr and Mrs Sickles and Mr Key.
The unfortunate Key may be "Late," but they're still calling Dan "The Honorable."​

 

[John Hartwell]

It sold Newspapers:

[Cleveland Plain Dealer, 9 March 1859]
​

And, a few short months later, let bygones be bygones:

[Boston Herald, 11 July 1859]
​

We are, indeed, a curious species.

 

[chucksr]

...burying the past in the grave of oblivion." Well, here we are 11/10/2017 contemplating the definition of "oblivion".

 

[jackt62]

Certainly one of the most "colorful" personalities of the Civil War. He also managed to get himself awarded the Medal of Honor years afterward even though his well known forward movement from Cemetery Ridge without orders was ill conceived and risky.

 

[WJC]

Mr and Mrs Sickles and Mr Key.
The unfortunate Key may be "Late," but they still call Dan "Honorable."​

Sickles was then the sitting Representative of New York's Third District and thus due the honorific....

 

[mofederal]

Chief counsel was James T. Brady, who with Edwin Stanton, who were both Tammany Hall men. It was Stanton who argued the case and it's temporary insanity defense. He argued that Sickles had been driven temporarily insane by his wife Teresa's infidelity. Sickles problem after the acquittal was that he publically forgave his wife.

 

[WJC]

Chief counsel was James T. Brady, who with Edwin Stanton, who were both Tammany Hall men. It was Stanton who argued the case and it's temporary insanity defense. He argued that Sickles had been driven temporarily insane by his wife Teresa's infidelity. Sickles problem after the acquittal was that he publically forgave his wife.

Edwin Stanton (1814-1869), a native of Ohio who practiced law there, Pittsburgh and elsewhere, had just recently returned from California, where he was serving the Buchanan Administration settling land disputes arising from the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo. While wrapping up his assignment in Washington, he was asked to join Sickles' defense team.
Though a Democrat, he was not a member of the Society of St. Tammany, more comonly known as Tammany Hall, a New York City organization.

 

[lelliott19]

I have always had a bit of a soft spot for "Dirty Dan"..... in spite of his shortcomings.

I suppose it could be reasonably argued that a number of the men in Wofford's brigade (and others of Longstreet's Corps) lived to tell the tale as a result of Dan's "faux pas" at Gettysburg.

 

[Stiles/Akin]

I was really just sharing the story of his leg. The rest of the story was just part.

 

[mofederal]

Dan Sickles' Amputated Leg.

 

[mofederal]

Major Gen. Dan Sickles and his Third Corps Staff after Gettysburg.

 

[Deleted User CS]

As I recall you can read the entire Sickles trial transcript online. Fascinating reading. David.

 

[mofederal]

Some trial transcripts would be boring. Somehow I suspect that one is a very interesting read.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

It always seemed to me that Mr. Key had severely offended the proper honor of Gentleman Dan, who responded in a manner that many a soon-to-be-rebel Planter could well understand. He just didn't have a cane at hand to thrash him with. My more civilized compatriots may see it differently.

View attachment 165381
Mr and Mrs Sickles and Mr Key.
The unfortunate Key may be "Late," but they're still calling Dan "The Honorable."​

OK, Jno, now you started something. And you're right, too- Sickles was just such a big toolbag over other things, it's easy to forget he was the victim of yet another toolbag's dishonorable intrusion into his marriage. I'm just always so annoyed with the guy over Warren and a few others, not to mention " The View Is Better From Here ", allowed my view to be occluded.

And they do seem to have let Mrs. Sickles off the hook slightly..... . She er, dallied outside of her marriage. I mean- ouch.

 

[John Hartwell]

Just what happened that February 24, 1859, is clearly outlined here:

Sickles' attorney based his defense on several points: