The Death of Sedgwick

Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, commander of the Sixth Corps and one of the most popular senior officers in the Army of the Potomac, arrived here on the morning of May 9, 1864, to direct some minor redeployment of his troops. Ignoring warnings from his chief-of-staff, he walked about rebuking his men for worrying about the occasional fire of Confederate sharpshooters concealed in the woodline far to the front, telling them, “I am ashamed of you, dodging that way. They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” Shortly afterward, a bullet from a Whitworth rifle more than 500 yards away struck Sedgwick in the face and killed him almost instantly. He was the highest-ranking Northern officer to die on a Civil War battlefield, and although at least five Confederate soldiers later claimed responsibility, the identity of the marksman remains unknown.

Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia · United States