21. The Last Words That Eclipsed a Life
John Sedgwick (1813 – 1864) was born into a family of Revolutionary War veterans, including a grandfather who had served as a general alongside George Washington. Sedgwick graduated from West Point in 1837 and was commissioned as an artillery officer. He served ably, and was still in uniform when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Sedgwick was given command of a cavalry regiment, and by August, 1861, he was promoted to command his own brigade in the Army of the Potomac. By February, 1862, he had his own division. He fought bravely in the Peninsula Campaign, the Seven Days Battles, and Antietam, before he was given a corps. Sedgwick’s concern for his soldiers’ well-being won him the love of his men and the nickname “Uncle John”. Unfortunately, he is more widely remembered for his ironic last words than for his solid military career.
During the Overland Campaign in 1864, Sedgwick led his corps in the Battle of the Wilderness. On May 9th, 1864, at the start of the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Sedgwick positioned his artillery. But his troops came under sniper fire and got jumpy. Chiding them for their timidity under single bullets, he wondered how they would react when they confronted the massed enemy on the firing line. Ashamed, the men remained jittery. So Uncle John continued: “Why are you dodging like this? They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dista…“. At which point his pep speech was interrupted by a sniper bullet. It struck him in the face, beneath his left eye, and killed him instantly. He became the highest-ranking Union battlefield death of the Civil War.
