Daniel Sickles

[close] Daniel Edgar Sickles (October 20, 1819 – May 3, 1914) was an American politician, soldier, and diplomat.

As an antebellum New York politician, Sickles was involved in a number of public scandals, most notably the killing of his wife's lover, Philip Barton Key II, son of Francis Scott Key. He was acquitted with the first use of temporary insanity as a legal defense in U.S. history.

Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Sickles became one of the war's most prominent political generals, recruiting the New York regiments that became known as the Excelsior Brigade in the Army of the Potomac. Despite his lack of military experience, he served competently as a brigade, division, and corps commander in some of the early Eastern campaigns. His military career ended at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, after he insubordinately moved his III Corps to a position where it was virtually destroyed. He left the battle with an amputated leg, struck by cannon fire, and was eventually awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. He devoted considerable effort to establishing his role in achieving the Gettysburg victory, writing articles and testifying before Congress in a manner that denigrated the intentions and actions of the army commander, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. After the war, Sickles commanded military districts during Reconstruction, served as U.S. Minister to Spain, and eventually returned to Congress, where he made important legislative contributions for the preservation of the Gettysburg Battlefield.