George Sykes

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For other people named George Sykes, see George Sykes (disambiguation).

George Sykes
General George Sykes
Nickname	Tardy George Slow Trot Sykes
Born	(1822-10-09)October 9, 1822 Dover, Delaware
Died	February 8, 1880(1880-02-08) (aged 57) Fort Brown, Texas
Place of burial	West Point Cemetery West Point, New York
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	Union Army
Years of service	1842–1880
Rank	Major General (Civil War) Colonel (Post Civil War)
Commands held	V Corps
Battles/wars	Second Seminole War Mexican-American War American Civil War

George Sykes (October 9, 1822 – February 8, 1880) was a career United States Army officer and a Union General during the American Civil War.

Early life

Sykes was born in Dover, Delaware. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1842 and was commissioned as a brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Infantry. He served in the Mexican-American War and Seminole War and was brevetted as a captain for actions at the Battle of Cerro Gordo. By virtue of his service in the Mexican War, Sykes became a member of the Aztec Club of 1847.

Civil War

General Sykes and his staff.

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. His men, who often referred to themselves as "Sykes' Regulars," distinguished themselves defending their position at Gaines' Mill during the Seven Days Battles, before the Union line broke elsewhere.^[1]

Sykes continued as a division commander through the battles of Second Bull Run, Antietam (in reserve), and Fredericksburg. At Chancellorsville, his regulars led the advance into the Confederate rear at the start of the battle. Sykes' division engaged Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws' division on the Orange Turnpike. Sykes' division was forced to retreat after being attacked on the right flank by Maj. Gen. Robert E. Rodes' division, then the army commander, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, nervously recalled his advance to a defensive position and Sykes' men were not engaged for the remainder of the campaign.^[1] Sykes was promoted to major general after Antietam, on November 29, 1862. None of these battles demonstrated any aggressive or unique offensive 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.

Commanders of the Army of the Potomac, Gouverneur K. Warren, William H. French, George G. Meade, Henry J. Hunt, Andrew A. Humphreys and George Sykes in September 1863.

At the Battle of Gettysburg, Sykes' corps fought in support of the beleaguered III Corps on the Union left flank. In his 1st Division (Brig. 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' 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. During Price's Raid in 1864, he was replaced with James G. Blunt.

Postbellum career

After the war, in 1866, Sykes was reverted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served under the 5th U.S. Infantry and later as colonel in the 20th. He commanded at a number of duty stations from Minnesota to Texas until he died in Texas at Fort Brown. He was interred in West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York.

Notes

↑ 1.0 1.1 Tagg, p. 82.

References

Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
Tagg, Larry. The Generals of Gettysburg. Campbell, CA: Savas Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1-882810-30-9.
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.

External links

"George Sykes". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
Civil War Biographies: George Sykes
Sykes' Regulars

Military offices
Preceded by Charles Griffin	Commander of the V Corps February 5, 1863 – February 5, 1863	Succeeded by George Meade
Preceded by George Meade	Commander of the V Corps June 28, 1863 – October 7, 1863	Succeeded by Samuel W. Crawford
Preceded by Samuel W. Crawford	Commander of the V Corps October 15, 1863 – March 23, 1864	Succeeded by Gouverneur K. Warren

v t e Gettysburg figures

Confederate leaders	Lee Alexander R. Anderson G. Anderson Archer Armistead Barksdale Benning Brockenbrough Chambliss Daniel Davis Doles Early Ewell Garnett Gordon Hampton Hays Heth Hill Hood Humphreys Imboden Iverson Jenkins Johnson J. Jones W. Jones Kemper Kershaw Lane Law F. Lee W. Lee Longstreet Mahone Marshall McLaws O'Neal Pender Pettigrew Perrin Pickett Posey Ramseur Robertson Rodes Scales Semmes Smith G. Steuart J.E.B. Stuart Thomas Trimble J. Walker R. Walker Wilcox Wofford Wright

Union leaders	Meade Ames Ayres Barlow Barnes Baxter Biddle Birney Buford Caldwell Candy Carpenter Carr Chamberlain Claflin Cross Curtin Cushing Custer Cutler Crawford Doubleday Farnsworth Geary Gibbon Gilsa Graham Greene Gregg Hancock Harrow Hays Hooker Howard Humphreys Hunt Kilpatrick Krzyzanowski Lincoln Meredith Merritt Newton Nolan Paul Pleasonton Reynolds Robinson Rowley Ruger Schimmelfennig Schurz Sedgwick Sickles Slocum Stannard Starr Steinwehr Sykes Tilton Tyler Vincent Wadsworth Ward Warren Weed Webb Willard Williams Zook

Other notable military personnel	Alger Avery Baker Belo Berdan Biddle Brooke Brown Bryan Burgwyn Burling Carroll Carter Chamberlain Colvill Corby Coster Dearing Devin Ellis Enderlin Fremantle Fry Gamble Godwin Goree Gregg Grimes Gwyn Hall Harrison Haskell Howell Humiston Jeffords Jones Kelly Keogh Lang Latimer Lewis McCandless McDougall McFarland McIntosh Mayo Muhlenberg Oates O'Rorke Pardee Pegram Perrin Poague Salomon Smith Sorrel Spear Stone Taylor Trobriand Wainwright Ward

Local civilians	Bryan Burns McClean McConaughy McPherson Wade Wills

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 65574631 LCCN: n88254309

Persondata
Name	Sykes, George
Alternative names
Short description	Union General during the American Civil War
Date of birth	October 9, 1822
Place of birth	Dover, Delaware
Date of death	February 8, 1880
Place of death	Fort Brown, Texas

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