(September 13, 1813 - May 9, 1864)
United States Military commander (Note: The German Wikipedia currently has a much more extensive article on Sedgwick than the English wikipedia does.)
- "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."
- These were among General John Sedgwick's final words. He was serving as a Union commander in the U.S. Civil War, and was hit by sniper fire a few minutes after saying them, at the battle of Spotsylvania, on May 9, 1864. The words have often been portrayed as if they were absolutely his last statement, with the sentence being presented as if he did not even finish it, and altered into the form: "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..." which though it may be a slightly more striking version of events, simply is not true.
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