Dan Sickles is one of those controversial historic figures who you either love or hate. His actions throughout his life often put him at odds with society, and to this day, historians continue to debate his life, his military decisions, and his legacy.
Although Dan would gain infamy during the Civil War through his questionable command decisions and subsequent wounding during the battle of Gettysburg, he was already well known by contemporaries before the war for his scandalous antics and fast style of living.
Born in 1819 (or 1825 depending on the historian) Dan attended the University of the City of New York earning a law degree. After getting involved in politics he became active in the Democratic party and used his connections with the Tammany Hall political machine to become the corporation counsel for the state of New York (at only age 28) and also used those same connections to gain a New York Senate seat.
Dan was a well known ladies man, who loved the social scene. Despite this, he married a girl he had met years earlier while he was studying law at her parents house. Ignoring her parents objections, Dan Sickles married Teresa Bagioli despite her being only 15 and he being 32. Even though he was married, Dan would take up almost exclusive company with Fanny White, the owner of a local bordello. He would be censored for almost successfully bringing her onto the floor of the New York State assembly, and for almost presenting her to the Queen while he was being secretary to the US Legation in London. In 1856 he would be elected to the House of Representatives, leading him and Teresa to move to Washington DC.
While in DC, the Sickles would rent a lavish townhouse on Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House. Although they were known for their glittering dinner parties for the upper crust of Washington society, it was also well known that neither Dan nor Teresa were particularly faithful to their wedding vows.
With Dan's knowledge, Teresa began to be accompanied to social events by a handsome young lawyer named Phillip Barton Key, son of Francis Scott Key. (Yup, the same Francis Scott Key who wrote the Star Spangled Banner). After hearing a rumor of there being infidelity between Key and his wife, Sickles confronted Key about the affair, which Philip Barton denied. Although Dan initially believed him, after an anonymous letter was delivered in February of 1857 to Dan describing the affair, Dan confronted his wife Teresa and was able to get a written confession out of her with all of the details of the affair. Teresa admitted that Phillip Barton Key had rented a house close to the Sickles House, and that the 2 had different signals for a rendezvous, one being Key waving a handkerchief in front of the Sickles residence.
Not knowing that Teresa had told Dan about the affair, Key walked in front of the Sickles residence, waving a handkerchief the next day. After seeing Keys, Dan quickly got a friend to go down and delay Key while Dan grabbed a pistol.
Then in broad daylight, across the street from the White House, Dan Sickles confronted Key about the affair. Key began to reach in to his coat pocket, which caused Dan to shoot him. Although he was hit, Key fell to the ground and yelled "murder! murder" while Sickles attempted to shoot him again. Bystanders were able to wrestle the gun out of Sickles hand, while Dan muttered "is that scoundrel dead?". Key was not dead, but would die from his wounds, causing Dan to be charged with murder.
In what was described as the trial of the century at the time, all the details of the affair and the murder were splashed across the newspapers. Dan would be represented by the best lawyers, including Edwin Stanton, future Secretary of War. This group of lawyers would claim that Sickles was innocent because he was not thinking straight due to his outrage at finding out about the affair of his wife and Key. After only 70 minutes, the jury would agree with Sickle's lawyers, and he would be found innocent of all charges. This trial would also go down as a landmark case, because it would be the first instance where the plea of "temporary insanity" would be successfully used as an innocent plea in the American judicial system.
After the trial, Washington society still accepted Sickles because they felt he had every right to confront Keys as he did, as Key and Teresa should not have been having an affair. However, when Sickles refused to divorce Teresa, Washington society would turn their back on the couple, and they would be excluded from the very circles from which they used to be the center.
Had the Civil War not happened, Dan Sickles would have faded into obscurity, except for perhaps in law schools. But the Civil War did happen and Dan would manage to exceed his prewar reputation, and secure his place in history books, by doing in war exactly what he did in life. He thought about what was best for Dan Sickles, moved decisively, and never backed down, even if it started to look like he had made a mistake.
However, I am going to leave his Civil War antics and his post war legacy for later posts, so stay tuned!
If you are interested in reading more about Dan Sickles please use the links below for books that I would recommend.
If reading is not your style, I have given a link to an entertaining and informative presentation given by an awesome battlefield ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park which covers all of the colorful sides of Dan Sickles.
Interesting. Always enjoy discovering links between the Civil War and notable "firsts"