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The Case of Major General Daniel E. Sickles:
Major General Daniel E. Sickles, Union Third Army Corps commander, was struck by a cannonball during the battle of Gettysburg. Sickles was on horseback when the twelve-pound ball severely fractured his lower right leg. Sickles quieted his horse, dismounted and was taken to a shelter where Surgeon Thomas Sims amputated the leg just above the knee. Shortly after the operation, the Army Medical Museum received Sickles' leg in a small box bearing a visiting card with the message: "With the compliments of Major General D.E.S." The amputation healed rapidly and by September of 1863, Sickles returned to military service. For many years on the anniversary of the amputation, Sickles visited his leg at the museum.
Sickles' exploits extended beyond the Civil War. He was the first defendant to successfully use the temporary insanity defense in the United States. In 1859, Sickles was found not guilty of the murder of his wife's lover, Philip Barton Key, the son of the composer of the national anthem. Sickles had shot Key in Lafayette Square in Washington in a jealous rage after learning of the affair. Sickles also served as a secret agent for President Lincoln and was appointed Ambassador to Spain by President Grant.
Right lower leg bones of Major General Daniel E. Sickles showing the destruction cause by a cannonball. |