Daniel Sickles Research Paper

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Daniel Sickles was a man who committed murder, and got away with it and almost lost the U.S. the Battle of Gettysburg, and an outspoken politician. Sickles murdered his wife’s lover and pleaded that he was insane, and he got away with it. He was also a very bad general and cost the Union military in the Battle of Chancellorsville and almost lost them the Battle of Gettysburg. As a politician Sickles would be the military of governor of South Carolina during Reconstruction and preserved the Gettysburg battlefield and established it as a National Military Park.
Background Information
George Garrett Sickles and Susan Marsh Sickles gave birth to Daniel Edgar Sickles on October 20, 1819 in New York City. Sickles started his career when he went to study law at New York University. After his schooling, he decided to work in politics. He would hold office as the Corporate Consul of New York City, Secretary of U.S. Legation in London, and State and Federal legislator representing New York State. In 1857, Daniel Sickles was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from New York’s 3rd district. He then moved to Washington, D.C. after being elected with his young wife, Teresa Bagioli.
While in Washington, Sickles was often away from home. Feeling lonely, his …show more content…

He forced General Meade to send in 20,000 men to the left flank to save his troops and himself. Even with the 20,000 men, it was hard to hold off Longstreet’s attacks. The weakened Union right was also attacked due to Sickles, and the Union held that off too. Sickles should have been court martialed for his actions. However, due to his injury, he was not. Therefore, Daniel Sickles was a very bad general and made poor decisions in the Battle of Gettysburg. If it were not for the great fighting by the Union soldiers, the Confederates would have won the battle, and quite possibly could have gone on to win the