One Leg and Temporarily Insane: The Tawdry Twisted Tale of Civil War General Daniel Sickles
General Daniel Sickles, former Democratic congressman from New York, eccentric aristocrat and Corps Commander has a mixed reputation among his fellow officers in the Union Army. His erratic behavior throughout his life, and during the war, has earned him the unflattering nickname of “Devil Dan” Sickles. Most call him a political General and many believe that it is only his connections with the Tammany Hall Democratic political machine of New York City that have earned him his officer’s commission. In 1863, on the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg, he was the only Corps Commander in the entire Union Army without a West Point education. In early 1862, as rumors about his sanity swirled around Washington, Sickles was forced to give up his position in the army when Congress refused to endorse his commission because many of his peers considered him mentally unfit for command. General Daniel Sickles was a murderer--albeit an acquitted one. General Sickles with his S...