Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
Horrible 20 hours of horrible trench fighting and John Sedgwick's famous quote before his death at the hands of a Confederate marksman. He was the highest-ranking Northern officer to die on a Civil War battlefield.
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Death of Sedgwick May 9, 1864
General John Sedgwick, a much-admired bachelor from Connecticut, commanded the Army of the Potomac's Sixth Corps. On May 9, he was seated at his headquarters when he noticed confusion among some of his troops here at the front. Ignoring earlier warnings of danger, he walked over to sort things out.
No sooner did he arrive than a sharpshooter's bullet sped past, causing a young private at his side to drop to the ground in fear. Sedgwick gently chided the man, saying, "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." A second shot followed, then a thirdthe last followed by a sickening thud. The general pitched to the ground, blood gushing from a hole just below his left eye. He was the highest-ranking Union officer to die in the Civil War.
"Sedgwick was essentially a soldier. He had never married; the camp was his home, and the members of his staff were his family. He was always spoken of familiarly as "Uncle John," and the news of his death fell upon his comrades with a sense of grief akin to the sorrow of a personal bereavement." Lieutenant Colonel Horace Porter, USA Staff
I had heard that he didn't even get the last syllable out before he was hit by the shot from a Whitworth rifle at a distance of more than 500 yards
Horrible 20 hours of horrible trench fighting and John Sedgwick's famous quote before his death at the hands of a Confederate marksman. He was the highest-ranking Northern officer to die on a Civil War battlefield.
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Death of Sedgwick May 9, 1864
General John Sedgwick, a much-admired bachelor from Connecticut, commanded the Army of the Potomac's Sixth Corps. On May 9, he was seated at his headquarters when he noticed confusion among some of his troops here at the front. Ignoring earlier warnings of danger, he walked over to sort things out.
No sooner did he arrive than a sharpshooter's bullet sped past, causing a young private at his side to drop to the ground in fear. Sedgwick gently chided the man, saying, "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." A second shot followed, then a thirdthe last followed by a sickening thud. The general pitched to the ground, blood gushing from a hole just below his left eye. He was the highest-ranking Union officer to die in the Civil War.
"Sedgwick was essentially a soldier. He had never married; the camp was his home, and the members of his staff were his family. He was always spoken of familiarly as "Uncle John," and the news of his death fell upon his comrades with a sense of grief akin to the sorrow of a personal bereavement." Lieutenant Colonel Horace Porter, USA Staff
I had heard that he didn't even get the last syllable out before he was hit by the shot from a Whitworth rifle at a distance of more than 500 yards
