James A. Hessler Read online

  © 2009, 2010 by James A. Hessler

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

  Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress.

  ISBN 978-1-932714-84-5

  eISBN 9781611210453

  05 04 03 02 01 5 4 3 2 1

  First paperback edition, first printing

  Published by

  Savas Beatie LLC

  521 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1700

  New York, NY 10175

  Phone: 610-853-9131

  Editorial Offices:

  Savas Beatie LLC

  P.O. Box 4527

  El Dorado Hills, CA 95762

  Phone: 916-941-6896

  (E-mail) [email protected]

  Savas Beatie titles are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more details, please contact Special Sales, P.O. Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762, or you may e-mail us at [email protected], or visit our website at www.savasbeatie.com for additional information.

  For Michele, Alex, and Aimee

  and in memory of my parents, Donald and Kathleen Hessler

  Major General Daniel Edgar Sickles

  National Archives

  Contents

  Preface

  Acknowledgments

  Order of Battle: The Third Corps at Gettysburg

  Chapter 1: Murder!

  Chapter 2: The Making of a First Class Soldier

  Chapter 3: I Think it is a Retreat

  Chapter 4: No One Ever Received a More Important Command

  Chapter 5: The Third Corps Marches in the Right Direction

  Chapter 6: In Some Doubt as to Where He Should Go

  Chapter 7: No Relation to the General Line of Battle

  Chapter 8: Isn’t Your Line Too Much Extended?

  Chapter 9: The “Key” of the Battleground

  Chapter 10: Gross Neglect or Unaccountable Stupidity

  Chapter 11: The Line Before You Must Be Broken

  Chapter 12: Let Me Die on the Field

  Chapter 13: He has Redeemed his Reputation Fully

  Chapter 14: Subsequent Events Proved My Judgment Correct

  Chapter 15: My Only Motive is to Vindicate History

  Chapter 16: Spoil a Rotten Egg

  Chapter 17: Some Strange Perversion of History

  Chapter 18: The Civil War is Only a Memory

  Epilogue: That Damn Fool Sickles

  Notes

  Notes2

  Bibliography

  Index

  Photos and Illustrations

  Photos and illustrations have been distributed throughout the book for the convenience of the reader.

  Cartography

  Chancellorsville

  Gettysburg, July 2

  Attack and Defense of Devil’s Den

  Attack and Defense of the Wheatfield

  Attack and Defense of the Peach Orchard

  Attack and Defense of the Emmitsburg Road Position

  Preface

  It seems to be a cliché for authors to begin Gettysburg books by apologizing for writing yet another. Fortunately, this is not a recent development. As early as 1902, Lieutenant Colonel William A. Fox wrote in the New York Monuments Commission’s battle report: “Another history of Gettysburg may seem superfluous and presumptuous.”1 Fox’s history of the battle was written under the auspices of Gettysburg’s most influential participant: Daniel Edgar Sickles.

  Major General Sickles is known to students of the battle for his controversial and unauthorized advance to the Peach Orchard on July 2, 1863, seemingly in defiance of Major General George Meade’s orders. Sickles’ participation in the battle lasted barely twenty-four hours, yet no single action dictated the flow of the second day’s combat (and much of the third day) more than his controversial advance. Common historical place names such as Devil’s Den, the Wheatfield, and the Peach Orchard might not exist today were it not for Sickles. One of Gettysburg’s most mythical moments, the last-minute defense of Little Round Top, would almost certainly have occurred quite differently were it not for Sickles. Whether the battle’s outcome would have been any different we will never know, but the history that occurred surely would have been significantly altered. As a result of his actions, no participant with the possible exception of James Longstreet has generated more controversy and hostility in Gettysburg’s “history.”

  Sickles’ importance to Gettysburg transcends his one day of battle. He is reviled by many Gettysburg students for his post-battle participation in attempts to remove George Meade from command of the Army of the Potomac. The feud between Sickles, Meade, and their partisans are as much a part of Gettysburg’s history as the battle itself, and they added a considerable quantity of primary material (often inaccurate and self-serving) to the Gettysburg historical record. Sickles would return to Gettysburg many times during his remaining fifty years of life. These visits provided him numerous opportunities to give speeches and talk to news reporters, ensuring that his version of Gettysburg’s history would be perpetuated. On a positive note, he was a driving force in placing monuments on the field and in establishing Gettysburg National Military Park, even though he is more often remembered today for the financial misappropriations that led to his expulsion from New York’s monument commission.

  When one combines his battlefield performance with his post-battle efforts, it is obvious that he stands as one of Gettysburg’s most monumental figures. Yet, typical battlefield visitors know virtually nothing about him, and what knowledge they do have is almost universally negative. There are only a handful of Sickles biographies in print, all of which are either dated or (sometimes) poorly researched. Only historian Richard Sauers has produced any significant full-length treatments of Sickles within the context of Gettysburg.

  This book is not a traditional Sickles biography. His contribution to Gettysburg is its primary focus. Until now, no full-length work has attempted to provide a comprehensive view of Sickles and Gettysburg: what led him there, his actions on the field, the post-battle controversies, and his role in developing the National Military Park. The second day’s battle between Sickles’ Third Corps and James Longstreet’s Confederate First Corps necessarily slides into the spotlight, as does one of the battlefield’s most underrated and influential areas: the Peach Orchard. Sickles abandoned Cemetery Ridge because he preferred the terrain surrounding Joseph Sherfy’s peach orchard. Why?

  As Lieutenant Colonel Fox predicted more than a century ago, some prospective readers may well believe another Gettysburg book is “superfluous and presumptuous.” For a small body of readers, this may be true. But a greater majority of well-meaning Gettysburg students have been trained by the novel The Killer Angels and motion picture Gettysburg to believe that July 2, 1863, is really the story of Joshua Chamberlain and Little Round Top. Dan Sickles has been relegated to the role of a stereotypical political general conspiring against George Meade to blunder away the battle for the Union cause. Sickles was considerably more three-dimensional than many recent Gettysburg works have influenced readers to believe. From the Federal perspective, for better or worse, Gettysburg’s second day was Sickles’ battle. Readers don’t have to like Dan Sickles, but as with any historical figure,
an open-minded appreciation of his full character and actions, both positive and negative, will help them better understand the events that occurred around him.

  A final reason for this book is that Dan Sickles remains one of the war’s most fascinating characters. He had many influential friends as well as enemies. He rose from Tammany Hall politics in New York City, to defendant in a sensational murder trial, to playing a pivotal role on the war’s greatest battlefield. He followed up those accomplishments with another five decades in the public eye as a controversial war hero and politician.

  As long as Gettysburg produces such entertaining individuals, there should be no apology for writing and reading about them.

  Acknowledgments

  Although many Gettysburg historians personally despise Dan Sickles, I was still fortunate enough to receive much support and assistance during the completion of this project. The staffs of several institutions generously provided their time, access, and permission (where necessary) to use their materials: John Heiser at Gettysburg National Military Park, Tim Smith at Adams County Historical Society, Dr. Richard Sommers at United States Army Military History Institute (Carlisle Barracks, PA), John-Michael Muller at Yale University (Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library), Tammy Kiter at New York Historical Society, RA Friedman and the staff at Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Thomas Lannon and Laura Ruttum at New York Public Library (Manuscripts and Archives Division), Jane Cuccurullo from The Green-Wood Cemetery, Michael Rhode, Brian F. Spatola, and Kathleen Stocker at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Michael R. Ridderbusch at West Virginia University Libraries, and Laura Clark Brown at Wilson Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

  Many thanks to fellow Licensed Battlefield Guide Jack Drummond and his wife Marianne who provided me with much of their own research material and have continuously supported my efforts. Thanks as always to my friend Charlie Householder for (very) critically reading a draft, providing photos, and for constantly challenging me during our years of battlefield hikes together. We don’t always agree on everything, but I do find the arguments useful! I am indebted to my friend Bob Gerber for navigating through the New York Public Library and for then suggesting my eventual publisher. Bob is also a member of the Phil Kearny Civil War Round Table and my gratitude to Joe Truglio, Vic Conversano, Norman Dykstra, Sylvia Mogerman, Ivan Kossak, and the entire gang for your support and enthusiasm over the years.

  George Newton, who is a Licensed Battlefield Guide and author of Silent Sentinels: A Reference Guide to the Artillery of Gettysburg (Savas Beatie, 2005), read an advance version of this book and made several corrections for which I am very grateful. Licensed Battlefield Guide Tim Smith assisted me in his role at the Adams County Historical Society and with his own insight on the attempts to re-bury Sickles at Gettysburg. Sue Boardman, who is a Licensed Battlefield Guide and also is co-owner of the Antique Center of Gettysburg, generously provided access to her large collection of battlefield photographs. Many friends also supplied their own research, photos, encouragement, and advice: Michael S. Bennett from Daniel E. Sickles Camp 3, Sons of Union Veterans of The Civil War, Jim Bowback, Sickles reenactor Richard “Red” Davis, Licensed Battlefield Guide Truman Eyler, Norm and Linda Gaines, Licensed Battlefield Guide Fred Hawthorne, Licensed Battlefield Guide Bobby Housch (and webmaster for www.gettysburgdaily.com), Emmitsburg-area historian John Miller, Mike Nuss, author and historian J. David Petruzzi, Sickles descendant John Shaud, Licensed Battlefield Guide Ellen Pratt, Licensed Battlefield Guide Phil Lechak, Jim Glessner, Eric Lindblade, Erik Dorr, Mike Noirot, John Hoptak, and Danny Roebuck. I would also like to acknowledge my Guide “mentor” Rich Kohr for helping to shape many of my perceptions of this battle, even if he seldom has a good word to say about General Sickles. (Rich, of course any errors in interpretation are mine alone.)

  None of this would be possible without my publisher, Savas Beatie, and managing director Theodore P. Savas, who gave Sickles a home. His designer Ian Hughes gave the book its public persona with its striking jacket design. Marketing director Sarah Keeney, Veronica Kane, and Tammy Hall helped promote the book. I am thankful for all their efforts. Brad Gottfried, author of The Maps of Gettysburg (Savas Beatie, 2007) and The Maps of First Bull Run (Savas Beatie, 2009), among other works, greatly improved my battle narrative by providing maps. My appreciation to Andy Turner at Gettysburg Magazine, which published portions of this work in Issue #34 under the title “Sickles Returns.”

  Most of all, I am indebted to my family—wife Michele, son Alex, and daughter Aimee—for tolerating the long hours (both at home and away) that went into completing this book and for allowing Dan Sickles to live with us for many years. In addition to moral support, Michele helped me with formatting, editing, indexing, and website development. It’s finally done!

  James A. Hessler

  January 2009

  Order of Battle: The Third Corps at Gettysburg

  Army of the Potomac

  Maj. Gen. George G. Meade

  Third Corps

  Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles / Maj. Gen. David Birney

  1st Division: Maj. Gen. David Birney / Brig. Gen. J. H. Hobart Ward

  1st Brigade: Brig. Gen. Charles Graham / Col. Andrew Tippin

  57th, 63rd, 68th, 105th, 114th, 141st Pennsylvania

  2nd Brigade: Brig. Gen. J. H. Hobart Ward / Col. Hiram Berdan

  20th Indiana, 3rd, 4th Maine, 86th, 124th New York,

  99th Pennsylvania, 1st, 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters

  3rd Brigade: Col. Regis de Trobriand

  17th Maine, 3rd, 5th Michigan, 40th New York, 110th Pennsylvania

  2nd Division: Brig. Gen. Andrew Humphreys

  1st Brigade: Brig. Gen. Joseph Carr

  1st, 11th, 16th Massachusetts, 12th New Hampshire, 11th New Jersey,

  26th Pennsylvania

  2nd (“Excelsior”) Brigade: Col. Wm. Brewster

  70th, 71st, 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 120th New York

  3rd Brigade: Col. George Burling

  2nd New Hampshire, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th New Jersey, 115th Pennsylvania

  Artillery Brigade: Capt. George Randolph / Capt. Judson Clark—guns: 30

  1st New Jersey, Battery B, 1st New York, Battery D, 1st Rhode Island, Battery E,

  4th US, Battery K, New York Light Artillery, 4th Battery

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Murder!

  Probably no participant journeyed to Gettysburg on a more colorful road than did Daniel Edgar Sickles. By 1863, he was already known as an attorney of questionable ethics, the product of corrupt New York politics, a former protégé of President James Buchanan, the defendant in a sensational murder trial, a friend of President and Mrs. Lincoln, and the highest ranking non-West Pointer in the Army of the Potomac. By the summer of 1863, Sickles had already experienced more peaks and valleys than most men witness in a lifetime.

  Dan was born in New York City, the only child of George Garrett and Susan (Marsh) Sickles. His birth date is of some debate, a fact often unnoticed by Gettysburg scholars. The consensus among biographers is that he was born on October 20, 1819, although varying references (some provided by Sickles himself) range from 1819 to 1825. For example, his 1914 New York Times obituary states he lived “to almost 91,” implying an 1823 birth date. His military record claims he was thirty-nine in June 1861, suggesting an 1821 birth year. On at least one occasion, Sickles told newspaper reporters he was born in 1825; a posthumously published New York monument history concurred. The 1910 U.S. Federal census lists the date as “about 1826.” One theory for the discrepancy is that his parents may not have married until 1820, and that he post-dated his 1819 birth in order to downplay the stigma of being born prior to the wedding. Another, less scandalous, scenario is that other dates are the result of vanity or a failing memory. If we accept a birth year of 1819, Sickles was just shy of his forty-fourth birthday when he fought at Gettysburg.1

  A pre-Civil War image
of Dan Sickles.

  Library of Congress

  There is little reliable information about Sickles’ early days. In later life, he talked infrequently of his prewar years; the focus was typically on Gettysburg and the Civil War. One accepted fact is that his father, George Sickles, was a real estate speculator who ended up quite wealthy. Around 1838, in order to prepare him for college, Dan’s parents installed him into the household of Lorenzo L. Da Ponte, a New York University professor and attorney, where Dan lived and studied. Professor Da Ponte’s colorful father was eighty-nine year old Lorenzo Da Ponte, who had been the librettist for three of Mozart’s operas and was the first Professor of Italian Literature at Columbia College. The elder Da Ponte was the household patriarch until he died in August 1838. Also residing under the same roof was the elder Da Ponte’s adopted daughter Maria and her husband, Antonio Bagioli, a successful composer and music teacher. Perhaps it was his exposure to the Da Ponte household that influenced Sickles’ lifelong love of theater and particularly opera. Given that Dan and Maria were the same age, there were rumors (as repeated in Frank Haskell’s memoir) that Dan and his future mother-in-law had a sexual affair. More important to Dan’s future was the fact that the Bagiolis had a child living under the same roof, an infant daughter Teresa who was born around 1836.2

  A woodcut of Teresa Sickles.

  Library of Congress

  When Professor Da Ponte died in 1840, Sickles broke down uncontrollably at the funeral. One witness said that Dan was overcome by a “spasm of grief” and “raved, tore up and down the graveyard shrieking and I might even say yelling, so much so that it was impossible for us who were his friends to mollify him in any measure by words.” His grief became so “aggravating” to the other mourners, who feared “his mind would entirely give way,” that he was forcibly removed from the cemetery. His remarkable outburst lasted nearly ten minutes. Only a few days later, however, the same friend found him to be excessively “light-hearted.” This episode reveals much about Sickles’ character. As the friend realized with great understatement, Sickles was “subject to very sudden emotions.”3