One of the most interesting individuals at the Battle of Gettysburg was United States Major-General Daniel Sickles. His movement to a position forward of the Army of the Potomac’s battle line on July 2, 1863, depending on your point of view, either saved the Union Army, or almost led to its destruction. Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Jim Hessler has been guiding at Gettysburg since 2003. He is employed full-time with Bill Me Later/ PayPal and has been a Licensed Battlefield Guide since 2003. His book, Sickles at Gettysburg: The Controversial Civil War General Who Committed Murder, Abandoned Little Round Top, and Declared Himself the Hero of Gettysburg, was published last month. He is a long-time Gettysburg and Little Bighorn enthusiast and also a speaker at Civil War Round Tables. He lives in Gettysburg with his wife and two children.

In our first post on Sickles at Gettysburg we saw Sickles’ Corps’ position at Bridgeport, Maryland, Emmitsburg Maryland, and his arrival at the Gettysburg Battlefield. In our second post, we looked at Sickles’ Gettysburg position near Cemetery Ridge before he made his move west to the Emmitsburg Road. In our third post, we showed Sickles’ movement of his line to the high ground near the Peach Orchard and the Emmitsburg Road. In our fourth post, we showed General Meade’s reaction to Sickles’ move. In our fifth post, Jim described Sickles’ wounding. In our sixth post Jim visited the Daniel Sheaffer House on the Baltimore Pike where Sickles stayed the night following his wounding. In today’s post, Jim describes Sickles preservation efforts, and gives his own view if Sickles was correct to move forward on July 2, 1863.

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