John Sedgwick

• "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.

• Death of General John Sedgwick
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