… Who Became Better Known for His Ironic Last Words
At the Battle of Antietam, Sedgwick was sent on a poorly planned charge. His division was shot to pieces, lost 2200 men, while he took three bullets. When he recovered and returned to duty, Sedgwick was promoted to command of his own corps. He won early success with his Sixth Corps during the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, but the battle ended in defeat. In the Overland Campaign in 1864, he led his corps in the Battle of the Wilderness.
On May 9th, 1864, at the start of the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Sedgwick was positioning his artillery when his troops came under sniper fire. The grew jittery, so Uncle John chided them for their timidity under single bullets. He wondered how they would react when they confronted the massed enemy on the front line, and faced full volleys. The men were ashamed, but continued to flinch. So Sedgwick continued: “Why are you dodging like this? They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dista…“. It was that point that his pep speech was interrupted by a sniper bullet that struck him in the face, beneath his left eye, and killed him instantly. His ironically funny death made him the highest ranking Union battlefield fatality of the Civil War.
