2nd Division – John Sedgwick

John Sedgwick

John Sedgwick Quotes

Last Updated January 16, 2010

With quotations by Sedgwick first followed by others in alphabetical order of the person making the quote

“If I am ever hit again, I hope it will settle me at once. I want no more wounds.”

Sedgwick, John

Early 1863??

Speaking about his wounds at Antietam.  A Confederate sharpshooter at Spotsylvania killed Sedgwick

The Killing of ‘Uncle John’
Major General John Sedgwick fatally misjudged the accuracy of Confederate sharpshooters at Spotsylvania by
Fred L. Ray   http://www.cfspress.com/sharpshooters/articles.html#killing_of_uncle_john

“Stuart, you are wrong in the step you are taking, but I cannot blame you for going to the defense of your native state.  I am a Northern man and will be true to my own section.”

Sedgwick, John

April 1861

Sumner to Stuart upon the latter’s departure for Virginia after the secession of that state

Wert, Jeffry D. Cavalryman of the Lost Cause. New York:  Simon and Schuster, 2008. Pg 44

“I have been utterly upset by poor Sedgwick’s death-a sad blow to the Army and the country”

McClellan, George

Jul 22 1864

GBM to Barlow

Sears, Stephen.  George B McClellan – The Young Napoleon. New York:  Ticknor & Fields, 1988 pg 365

“Had it not been for his military surroundings, he would have been mistaken for a rough backwoodsman.”

One of Sedgwick’s soldiers

The Killing of ‘Uncle John’
Major General John Sedgwick fatally misjudged the accuracy of Confederate sharpshooters at Spotsylvania by
Fred L. Ray   http://www.cfspress.com/sharpshooters/articles.html#killing_of_uncle_john

“He was our Uncle John and we shall never see his equal. His loss is irreparable.”

One of Sedgwick’s soldiers

The Killing of ‘Uncle John’
Major General John Sedgwick fatally misjudged the accuracy of Confederate sharpshooters at Spotsylvania by
Fred L. Ray   http://www.cfspress.com/sharpshooters/articles.html#killing_of_uncle_john

“a coarse man”

Stuart, Flora

JEB Stuart’s wife Flora Stuart who disliked Sedgwick.  Boyd “Boyhood”, p 59 notation by Flora Stuart, Boyd Papers LSU.

Wert, Jeffry D. Cavalryman of the Lost Cause. New York:  Simon and Schuster, 2008. Pg 36

Sedgwick placed a man of limited intelligence on his staff.  The aide’s major task was to read Sedgwick’s orders and announce whether he understood them.

Found in Robertson’s book about Stonewall Jackson

Robertson, James I.  Stonewall Jackson The Man, The Soldier, The Legend. New York:  Macmillan Publishing Co, 1997 pg xv