James A. Hessler
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Henry Tremain also spoke at the dedication. He proposed that the July 2 battle had been fought for control of the Emmitsburg Road. Without Sickles’ actions “yonder Round Top Mountain might have been gained by the enemy without firing a gun.” Tremain openly acknowledged that due to Sickles’ “persistent efforts are we chiefly indebted for the action of the State of New York in its grand work of monumenting this field, and for projecting and advancing the congressional legislation that will establish here a National Park.” After a speech by New York’s governor and an oration, Sickles spoke briefly, praising his old brigade’s “heroism and never-faltering courage.” General Carr presented Sickles with a gold medal as “a testimonial of the affection and loyalty of your comrades of the Third Corps.” Sickles was so overcome that he could only briefly promise to “preserve the medal as a priceless treasure and wear it near his heart as long as he lived.”77
The party continued at Little Round Top on July 3, where the monument to the 44th New York and two companies of the old 12th New York was dedicated. Butterfield, the regiment’s one-time commander, designed the monument and was the keynote speaker. He began by warning, “we have acted upon the suggestion that nothing should be said here that would give rise to any comment or controversy.” Nevertheless, he felt it necessary to address “certain matters,” specifically those who questioned why the hill was “not occupied earlier. I shall only tell you that it was not the fault of General Sickles. He insisted upon its occupancy at the earliest hour in the morning.” Butterfield commended Chairman Sickles for his service and introduced him to the crowd.
“General Sickles earned our gratitude and deserves the thanks of the people throughout the United States. Whatever criticism has been made upon his position on this field, was answered by General Longstreet when he said that if Gettysburg was the decisive battle of the war, General Sickles was the man who decided it.”78 Sickles rose to speak. After a few brief anecdotes about his militia service in the 12th, he offered another defense of his July 2 performance:
General Meade did not expect an attack from the enemy on this part of the field. His attention was then occupied with the contemplated assault that he expected General Slocum to make on our extreme right, Culp’s Hill.…Later in the day, having discovered that the enemy was massing a very large force to attack this flank of the army, again urgent requests were made by me in person; again and again I sent them over to headquarters calling attention to the fact that double our numbers were already massed for the attack in this direction. Now more than that I do not care to say. I chose to say it here and now because I say it in the presence of Tremain and Moore and Butterfield…I quite agree with General Butterfield in his desire to avoid on this occasion any remarks calculated to provoke controversy or ill feeling.79
Despite their stated intentions to avoid controversy, “some trouble occurred” following the dedication when William Tipton attempted to photograph the assembled veterans. Noting that Tipton and Sickles “had some disagreements recently…over the trolley road,” the Gettysburg Star and Sentinel reported that Tipton “was not permitted to use his camera. He was told to remove it, but declining to do so, several of the veterans, at the command of Generals Sickles and Butterfield, took it down and laid it on the ground, without breaking it, we believe.” The Gettysburg Compilerhad a slightly different perspective, claiming that “sharp remarks” were exchanged and that Tipton’s camera was “pushed down by some one of the veterans and said to be damaged slightly.” Tipton returned to town and had a trespassing summons issued against Sickles, who was asleep when the sheriff arrived; Butterfield left town before he could also be summoned. Tipton’s attorneys, George Benner and David Wills, filed a claim of $10, 000 against Sickles.80
“The whole affair is to be deprecated as out of place and uncalled for,” scolded the Compiler.Overall, the Compilersided with the veterans, noting that Tipton’s presence was clearly unwanted. “Mr. Tipton’s appearance there at that time, under such circumstances, was an intrusion, and his persistent attempts to photograph the veterans against their will cannot be defended.” Sickles was untroubled by the episode. After all, he had been through much worse before and told a reporter, “I think I have a right to determine whom I shall permit to photograph me.” He continued to demonstrate his popularity when he also spoke to the survivors of George Greene’s Twelfth Corps brigade.81
In addition to his congressional duties and his role with the New York Monument Commission, Sickles was elected to the GBMA’s Board in June 1891 and served through the organization’s final meeting in 1895. He attended the annual meeting in July 1893, in which the two most important issues discussed were the trolley and the potential transfer of the association’s land to the United States government. “The effort will be made to have the next Congress act in the matter and the Memorial Association is expecting Grand Army Posts all over the Union to urge their congressmen to vote in favor of the bill when introduced,” reported the Gettysburg Compiler middot As early as his 1890 visit with the Comte de Paris, Sickles had been championing the establishment of “a permanent military post, garrisoned by artillery.”82 Over the years, his view of Gettysburg’s future had expanded. “[I]n view of the fact that so many of the old soldiers are approaching the age at which they will be more or less invalid and infirm,” he explained,
a soldier’s home should be erected there. The Carlisle Indian School might with propriety be situated at Gettysburg, and perhaps also a GAR museum.…Besides this, we want to preserve the natural features and the earth works of Culp’s Hill, and also have a law passed marking the lines of the Confederate troops. You can readily see from the improvements already there, the avenues and the many monuments, that we have a splendid foundation on which to build our proposed superstructure.83
A news reporter found the new congressman to be “as erect, despite his 60 odd years of life and his crutches, as he was when but a lad of 20. He receives his visitors with a manner that is a mixture of bluff cordiality and the courtesy of the old school. His hand grasp is hearty, and one who is admitted at 33 Fifth Avenue, New York, especially if he be a veteran or a veteran’s friend, is made to feel that the house and its belongings are as much his as the general’s during the visit.” Sickles assured his visitor:
It is a great comfort to me to meet the boys who fought for the Union, especially if they tell me they fought in my command…Hardly a week of my life passes that I am not accosted on the street by some man who tells me he fought under me as a private, and in almost all cases he has the bearing and wears the clothes of prosperity. It is true that we who went to the war lost several years’ progress in the arts of peace, but the severe discipline that we passed through more than made up, I think, for the time we lost.84
Sickles actively championed battlefield and veteran affairs when he reported for the 53rd Congress, which debated several Gettysburg-related resolutions. During the second session, which ran from late 1893 to mid-1894, Sickles supported a resolution to present “medals of honor to the militia and volunteer troops of the several States who volunteered their services for the defense of the States of Maryland and Pennsylvania in the year 1863, prior to and after the battle of Gettysburg.” One Congressman drew laughter by ridiculing the idea of giving a debased (silver) medal, and Texas Democrat C. Buckley Kilgore wondered why a distinction was being made for “picnic soldiers” and not those who had served throughout the conflict.85 “But why,” Kilgore wondered, “did they not continue in the service?”
Sickles: Their services were not required.
Kilgore: I suppose they were bankers and other people of that class, and that you had to promise them silver medals in order to get them to go at all. [Laughter] But I understand the gentleman from New York to say that this is a contract entered into by the Government.
Sickles: Yes.
Kilgore: In that case I want to set up the plea of limitations right here and now, because this claim has been running thirty-one years and t
he statute of limitations bars it.
Sickles: Oh, that statute applies to money obligations, not to obligations of honor. There is no statute of limitations against the recognition of patriotic services in this country, thank God! [Applause]
Kilgore: I understand that; but there were many other people who were engaged in serving their country in a patriotic way and whose claims are equal or greatly superior to these. Beside sir, we have not got the money for this purpose.
Sickles: We are going to tax sugar in a few days, and that will bring us all the money that we want. [Laughter]86
In August 1890, an attempt was made by Michigan Representative Byron Cutcheon to have the National Government establish a commission to mark the lines of both armies at Gettysburg. In March 1893, a Congressional sundry bill allocated $25, 000 for this purpose. A three-man commission was appointed to open or improve avenues along those lines, and also to acquire the land necessary to ensure a “correct understanding” of the battle. By 1894, Sickles wanted at least another 2, 500 acres added, thinking that another $100, 000 would cover the costs. Before Sickles could begin his self-described “operations,” he hoped that the future of Tipton’s electric trolley could be settled in court.87
The battlefield commission had so far failed to stop Tipton and Hoffer (who was president of the railway company) from blasting Devil’s Den apart in the name of the trolley tracks, so in July 1893, concerned local citizens had petitioned the state’s Attorney General to intervene and stop further battlefield damage. The United States Government followed suit and notified the railway that it intended to condemn the trolley’s land. That August, however, the Pennsylvania Attorney General surprised everyone by announcing that he would not interfere with the railway. On May 15, 1894, the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia ruled in favor of the trolley company, noting that the March 1893 sundry bill did not give Congress the right to acquire land.88
Congressman Sickles sprung into action. On May 31, 1894, Sickles requested unanimous consent for the consideration of a joint resolution authorizing the Secretary of War “to acquire by purchase (or by condemnation)…such lands, or interests in lands, upon or in the vicinity of said battlefield.” Before giving his consent, Texas Democrat J. D. Sayers challenged Sickles on the potential cost. Sickles argued by explaining that “blasting and other work tending to destroy the battlefield will be resumed at once, unless we supplement the act of March 3, 1893, by giving clearly and distinctly the authority” to condemn. Another Texan, Joseph Bailey, also questioned whether or not Congress should even be allowed condemnation authority “for park purposes,” and asked for the opinion of the House. Sickles refused any compromises, saying that he was “unwilling to emasculate the resolution,” and “if we can not have authority to condemn, then we are at the mercy of a lot of land jobbers, who want to speculate upon this historical ground.”89
The resolution worked its way through the Senate, with debate over “whether this is one of those public objects which the courts have decided may justify the power of eminent domain.” Several proponents noted that the original sundry bill intended to actually cover this, but was omitted and the latest resolution would now close the gap. After eventually passing through both Houses, President Cleveland signed the bill on June 5. The Federal Government apparently now had the power to condemn land at Gettysburg, but the judge in Philadelphia ruled again in favor of the trolley company on April 23, 1895. This time, however, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the lower court in January 1896. As far as preservation was concerned, it was a landmark ruling confirming the government’s right to protect historic land. In reality, however, much of the damage to the battlefield had already been done and the electric trolley actually operated (albeit under different owners) for another twenty years. In the end, the popularity of automobiles killed the trolley more so than did the actions of Sickles and Congress. In 1917, several years after Sickles had died, the government finally appropriated $30, 000 to purchase the land and dismantle the line.90
Of more lasting effect was Sickles’ direct role in establishing Gettysburg National Military Park. Between 1890 and 1899 Congress authorized the establishment of the first four national military parks: Chickamauga and Chattanooga, Shiloh, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg. Despite the great attention paid to it, Gettysburg was not the first Civil War battlefield to be designated a National Military Park. That honor belongs to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, which was so designated in August of 1890—more than four years before a park was established at Gettysburg. And like Gettysburg, the Chickamauga and Chattanooga park was created because of the efforts of veterans alarmed in the late 1880s by their battlefield’s rapidly changing landscape. In passing the legislation, Congress recognized “the preservation for national study of the lines of decisive battles…as a matter of national importance.” It was the first legislation to authorize the preservation of an American battlefield, and laid the foundation for the concept of the national historical park.91
The press was reporting that Sickles “has a scheme for the creation of a grand national park, which will include the battlefield and other historic points of interest at Gettysburg.” Sickles held onto this notion throughout his last term in Congress, telling a friend in November 1894 (during a break between sessions), “I shall push a Gettysburg Park Bill through at the approaching session if possible.” He was also still acutely interested in ensuring that New York received its battlefield due. Noting that Pennsylvania had appropriated funds for Gettysburg statues to Meade, Reynolds, and Hancock, Sickles warned, “We shall not consider our Gettysburg work completed until we have a statue erected on Culp’s Hill to Gen. Slocum.”92
Before tending to any Gettysburg legislation, however, there was the matter of Sickles’ re-election. In October 1894, Tammany Hall announced candidates for the upcoming Congressional elections. The Wigwam re-nominated Sickles for another term, the 54th Congress set to begin in March 1895. Different Democratic factions nominated separate candidates in New York and Brooklyn. The state Democratic leaders tried to hammer out a compromise to ensure that the party was united on one candidate in each district. Tammany agreed to withdraw candidates in two districts and all public indications were that Sickles’ candidacy in the Tenth District would be pulled. On the surface, Tammany seemed to be abandoning Sickles, but Dan spoke to the press from Tammany headquarters and publicly stated that he was willing to make any personal sacrifice for the good of the party.93
In the end, the Democrats ran two candidates in Sickles’ Tenth District. Sickles remained Tammany’s choice, while George Karsch ran as the “New York State and Empire State Democrat.” In the November election, Sickles received 10, 925 votes and lost a close race to Republican Andrew J. Campbell’s 11, 825 votes. Fellow Democrat Karsch received 2, 099 votes. Sickles and Karsch had combined to outpoll the Republican, but the two Democrats split the vote and prevented a Sickles re-election. Matters complicated themselves when Congressman-elect Campbell died of Bright’s disease just a month later. The immediate presumption was that Sickles’ narrow defeat ensured his running again in a special election, to be held in 1895.94
It was under this uncertainty (despite Campbell’s death Sickles was still officially an outgoing “lame duck”) that Dan reported for the 53rd Congress’ third and final session in December 1894. Gettysburg historiography frequently tells us that Sickles had gone to Congress for the sole purpose of designating Gettysburg as a national military park. The fact that he waited until the last possible session to do so certainly casts doubt on that theory. That December, he finally introduced a bill “to establish a national military park at Gettysburg, PA.” Having already established the precedent at Chickamauga, there seemed little doubt that the bill would pass, and the debate primarily concerned its details.95
Sickles’ proposal authorized the secretary of war to purchase from the GBMA “a deed of conveyance to the United States of all the lands belonging to said association, embracing about 800
acres, more or less, and being a considerable part of the battlefield of Gettysburg, together with all rights of way over avenues” and that such land, including the National Cemetery, “shall be designated and known as the ‘Gettysburg National Military Park.’” The park’s commissioners were appointed to superintend the opening of new roads, improve existing ones, and to “properly mark the boundaries of the said park, and to ascertain and definitely mark the lines of battle of all troops engaged in the battle.” The secretary of war was also authorized to acquire more land “by purchase, or by condemnation proceedings” and to establish and enforce “proper regulations for the custody, preservation, and care of the monuments.” Another section of the proposal authorized the secretary to erect “a suitable bronze tablet” containing President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and “a medallion likeness of President Lincoln.” Always interested in his beloved veterans, Sickles added a provision to establish his long-planned branch of the “National Homes for Disabled Soldiers.” To accomplish this ambitious piece of legislation, “the sum of $100, 000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated.… ”96
As the proposal worked its way through the House, Sickles was forced to modify his bill during meetings with the Committee on Appropriations and the War Department. His pet project Soldiers’ Home was dropped, and the appropriation was decreased from $100, 000 to $75, 000. An addition to Section 4 modified the proposed boundaries as land “not exceeding in area the parcels shown on the map prepared by Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles.” In other words, the initial boundaries of Gettysburg National Military Park were accepted based on a map that Dan had drawn up. What would become known as the “Sickles Map” remained in effect until 1974, when a Senate Appropriations Committee accepted a National Park Service recommendation to protect additional acreage and eliminate the map as marking the park’s boundary. Not only did Sickles push through the legislation, but for the park’s first (nearly) eighty years he determined its boundaries.97