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. -Wikipedia
Let's revise the tag of the week. Past participants:
givello flagamuffin Keibler coffeesp00ns _refugee_ Run_Train FishEggHat bfv Meriadoc lil briandmyers unsignedinteger ecib kleinbl00 insomniasexx OftenBen forwardslash grey mk b_b tacocat Quatrarius
This weeks tag #peopleofnote
Since we're revising. I have a suggestion: Why have it a competition? Why not just have a user-curated list of potential #tags, and we choose one per week (or use a number randomizer to pick one)? Saves people competing (actually prevents me from posting), and means that we don't have to worry about the winner picking a tag which might or might not connect with the rest of the community. just a thought.
Agreed. That's why it died in the first place. I was the last person who did it but nobody really commented outside of the initial thread and I couldn't get consensus on who "won"
tng passed the torch to me, and I chose "friendship", which was probably the worst #tagoftheweek choice so far. Hopefully we can get some momentum going this reboot. Edit: btw, he won the #friendship tag, so things have actually proceeded in accordance with the original rules, I guess.
What a weird and fascinating story! I had no idea but I love it. BTW Francis Scott Key was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet who wrote the lyrics to the "The Star-Spangled Banner". Sickles defense of temporary insanity for the murder of Key's son was the first time that had been used in the United States. Such a great story of an eccentric character. If I was ever on Drunk History this is the story I would tell as my first story choice of Robert Smalls has already been taken.