George Sykes
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George Sykes (October 9, 1822 – February 8, 1880) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War.
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[edit] Early life
Sykes was born in Dover, Delaware. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1842 and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. He served in the Mexican-American War and Seminole War and was breveted as a captain for actions at Cerro Gordo in Mexico.
[edit] Civil War
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Sykes was assigned as a major in the 14th U.S. Infantry. At the First Battle of Bull Run, he commanded the Regular Infantry Battalion, a collection of eight Regular Army companies from different regiments, the only regulars on the field. He continued his association with regulars in the early defensive positions around Washington, D.C., and then as a division commander of regulars in the Peninsula Campaign, the 2nd Division of the V Corps.
Sykes continued as a division commander through the battles of Second Bull Run, Antietam (in reserve), Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville (in reserve). He was promoted to major general after Antietam, on November 29, 1862. None of these battles demonstrated any aggressive or unique capabilities on his part. He was known to his colleagues by the nicknames "Tardy George" and "Slow Trot" Sykes. When corps commander Maj. Gen. George G. Meade was promoted to lead the Army of the Potomac on June 28, 1863, Sykes assumed command of the V Corps.
At the Battle of Gettysburg, Sykes's corps fought in support of the beleaguered III Corps on the Union left flank. In his 1st Division (Maj. Gen. James Barnes), the fabled defense of Little Round Top was led by brigade commander Col. Strong Vincent and the 20th Maine Infantry under Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. His 3rd Division, the "Pennsylvania Reserves", led by Brig. Gen. Samuel W. Crawford, attacked from Little Round Top, drove the Confederates across the "Valley of Death" and ended the deadly fighting in the Wheatfield. But there is little in the historical record that highlights any personal contribution made by Sykes.
In the Mine Run Campaign in the fall of 1863, Meade complained of Sykes's lackluster performance. Meade and general-in-chief Ulysses S. Grant agreed that Sykes was not a good choice for the upcoming Overland Campaign in May 1864, so when the Army of the Potomac was reorganized that spring, Sykes lost his corps and was sent to uneventful duty in the Department of Kansas.
[edit] Postbellum
Sykes finished his career as a colonel in the U.S. Army. He died in Fort Brown, Texas, and is buried in West Point Cemetery.
[edit] References
- Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Tagg, Larry, The Generals of Gettysburg, Savas Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-882810-30-9.
- Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders, Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.
