The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-03
THE DEATH OF sEDGwICK.
GEN. PORTER DESCRIBES THE
FALL OF THE COMMANDER.
He Was Warned of Danger From
Sharpshooters, But Paid No Heed
to It-Grant Shocked by the News
of the Casualty.

Campaigning with Grant," by Cen
eral Horace Porter in the January Cen
fury; A little before o'clock on the
morning of May the general mounted
his horse and directed me and two
other staff officers to accompany him
to make an examination of the lines
in our immediate front. This day he
rode black pony called JEFF Davis
(given that name because it had been
captured in Mississippi on the planta
ton of Joe Davis, a brother of the
Confederate presidenO. 1t was turned
into the quarter masters department,
from which il was purchased by the
general on his Vicksburg campaign.
lie was not we'll at that time. being
afflicted with boils, and he took a fancy
10 the pony because it had a remark
ably easy pace, which enabled the
general to make his long daily rides
with much NOR comfort than when
he used the horses he usually rode.
Little Jeff soon became conspicu
Gus figure in the Virginia campaign.
we proceeded to Sedgwick's COM
mand, and the general had confer
ence with him in regard to the part
MS corps was to take in the contem-
plated attack Both officers remained
mounted during the interview. The
gallant commander of the famous Sixth
corps seemed particularly cheerful and
hopeful that morning, and looked like
the picture of buoyant life and yigOr-
Gus health. When his chief uttered
some words of compliment upon his
recent services, and spoke Of the hard
ships he had encountered, Sedgwick
spoke lightly of the difficulties exper-
fenced, and expressed every confidence
in the ability of his troops to respond
heroically to every demand made upon
them. When the general-in-ch left
him, Sedgwick started with his staff
to move farther to the front.
Our party had ridden but a short dis
lance to the left when General Grant
sent me back to Sedgwick to discuss
with him further a matter which it
was thought had not been sufficiently
emphasized in their conversation.
While l was following the road / had
seen him take [ heard musketry firing
ahead, and soon saw the body of an
officer being borne from the field. Such
sight was so common that ordinarily
1t would have attracted no attention
but my apprehensionS were aroused by
seeing several of General Sedgwick's
staff beside the body AS came
nearer 1 gave an inquiring look. Colo
mel Beaumont of the staff cast his eyes
in the direction of the body, then
looked at me with an expression of
profound sorrow. and slowly shook his
head. His actions told the whole sad
story. His heroic chief was dead.
L was informed that he was APP
preaching an exposed point CT the line
TO examine the enemy's position more
closely. General Mcmahon of his staff
reminded him that one or two officers
had just been struck at that spot by
sharpshoOters, and begged him not to
advance farther. AT this suggestion
the general only smiled. and soon after
had entirely forgotten the warning. In
different to every form of danger,
such an appeal made but little impress
sion upon him. His movements led
him 10 the position against which he
had been cautioned, and he had
scarcely diSmOunted and reached the
spot on foot when a bullet entered his
left cheek just below the eye and he
fell dead. As his lifeless form was
carried by q smile still remained upon
his lips. Sedgwick was essentially
soldier. He had never married; the
camp was his home. and Che members
of his staff were his family. He was
always spoken of Familiarity as Uncle
john" and the news of his death fell
upon his comrades with a sense of
grief akin to the sorrow of a personal
bereavement.
1 rode off at once to bear the sad
intelligence to the general-in-chief For
few moments he could scarcely re-
aliZe it, and twice asked, is he really
dead?" The shock was severe and he
could iii conceal the depth of his grief
He said: His loss to this army is
greater than the loss of a whole divis-
ion of troops" General Wright was
at once placed in command of the
Sixth corps.