George Sykes 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 .