Description:

Sickles Daniel



Daniel E. Sickles, Civil War General, Signs a Large Check

 

Check inscribed overall and signed by Major General  Daniel E. Sickles (1819-1914) as "D..Sickles" at lower right. The cream-colored check has a shaded orange diamond at center. Blue-stamped, with an X-shaped perforated cancellation mark at center, and a hole punched at center right. Endorsed verso. With uneven bottom edge and edge darkening, else near fine. 8.375" x 2.75".

 

Check No. 419, issued from the Bank of the Metropolis (17 Union Square, New York City) was issued to "Whitaker + Field" in the amount of $300 on January 19, 1880. This enormous sum is the equivalent of about $7,400 in 2018 currency.

 

Daniel E. Sickles is one of the most colorful characters of American and Civil War history. Born to a wealthy New York City family, Sickles became a lawyer and politician. His connections garnered him a political appointment at the onset of the Civil War, when he was appointed a Brigadier General of the volunteer regiment he had raised. Sickles initially proved a proficient commander, although he had no prior military experience or training; indeed, President Lincoln promoted him to Major General in November 1862. That track record was complicated at the Battle of Gettysburg, however, when Sickles disobeyed orders and moved his forces to Peach Orchard. There, his unit was decimated, and Sickles himself would lose his right leg to a cannon ball later that day. [Sickles donated his shattered leg bone to the National Museum of Health and Medicine, where it can still be seen today in Silver Spring, Maryland.]

 

Prior to his checkered Civil War service, Sickles had courted controversy in personal and political circles. In Queen Victoria's court, Sickles purportedly squired his mistress, a prostitute named Fanny White, and introduced her as the relative of his New York political rival. In 1859, Sickles murdered his wife's alleged lover, Philip Barton Key II (1818-1859) in broad daylight. Sickles avoided conviction by pleading temporary insanity, establishing the legal precedent for the defence so commonly employed today.

 

The dapper, one-legged villain Daniel E. Sickles paints New York City red with this sizable check!

 


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From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
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