Civil War general and politician Daniel Sickles was one of the most notorious figures of the 19th century. His life was marked by ambition, scandal, and a murder trial that stunned the nation.
After killing his wife’s lover in Washington, D.C., Sickles became the first American to successfully argue temporary insanity as a legal defense, setting a precedent that still echoes in courtrooms today. Firearms historian and regular contributor to Our American Stories, Ashley Hlebinsky, shares the remarkable story of a man whose personal chaos left a permanent mark on American law.
