Brief four page letter dated June 17, 1877 on stationary of the BREVOORT HOUSE-FIFTH AVE. The letter is marked “PRIVATE” and is completely written in the recognizable scrawl of Dan Sickles.

The letter was written to Senator John Sherman, brother of General William Tecumseh Sherman, concerning the dismissal of a veteran who worked in the New York Customs House. The letter has the appearance of a hurried hand with two words crossed out and one word having an ink splotch in front. Sickles ends the letter with a nice bold “SINCERELY, D. SICKLES.” He also adds a postscript that may explain why the letter appears to have been written in haste. Sickles states “I sail for London this morning in the Britannic. Hope to have the pleasure of meeting you in Washington next month.”

The reverse is endorsed by Senator Sherman for his files.

This four page letter meas. approx. 4.75 x 7.25 inches. Paper is clean and bright. There is one vertical fold running the length of the document approx. 1.50 inches from the left edge and one horizontal fold line 2.50 inches up from the bottom edge.

With the item is a photograph clipped from a magazine or book showing Sickles, minus his leg, with General Heintzelman.

Daniel Edgar Sickles was an American politician, soldier, and diplomat.

As an antebellum New York politician, Sickles was involved in a number of public scandals, most notably the killing of his wife's lover, Philip Barton Key II, son of Francis Scott Key. He was acquitted with the first use of temporary insanity as a legal defense in U.S. history.

Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, Sickles became one of the war's most prominent political generals, recruiting the New York regiments that became known as the Excelsior Brigade in the Army of the Potomac. Despite his lack of military experience, he served competently as a brigade, division, and corps commander in some of the early Eastern campaigns. His military career ended at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, after he insubordinately moved his III Corps to a position where it was virtually destroyed. He left the battle with an amputated leg, struck by cannon fire, and was eventually awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. He devoted considerable effort to establishing his role in achieving the Gettysburg victory, writing articles and testifying before Congress in a manner that denigrated the intentions and actions of the army commander, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. After the war, Sickles commanded military districts during Reconstruction, served as U.S. Minister to Spain, and eventually returned to Congress, where he made important legislative contributions for the preservation of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

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