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.
George Sykes | |
|---|---|
General George Sykes | |
| Nickname(s) | Tardy George Slow Trot Sykes |
| Born | October 9, 1822 Dover, Delaware |
| Died | February 8, 1880 (aged 57) Fort Brown, Texas |
| Place of burial | West Point Cemetery West Point, New York |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Service/ | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1842–1880 |
| Rank | Major general (Civil War) Colonel (Post Civil War) |
| Commands held | V Corps 20th U.S. Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | Second Seminole War Mexican–American War American Civil War |
He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1842, and served in numerous conflicts, including the Second Seminole War and the Mexican–American War. During the Civil War, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Division of the V Corps of the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, and continued in that role through the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, and the Battle of Chancellorsville.
Sykes assumed command of the V Corps on June 28, 1863, following the promotion of Major General George G. Meade to command of the entire army. Sykes's Corps fought with distinction on the second day of the subsequent Battle of Gettysburg on July 2. He continued in command through the end of the year, was relieved from command for medical reasons on March 23, 1864, and sent to duty in Kansas. Sykes remained in the army after the war and died in 1880.