In 1859, Teresa Bagioli Sickles became the center of one of America’s most shocking scandals. She had been having an affair with Philip Barton Key II, and when her husband, Daniel Sickles, discovered the truth, he gunned down her lover in broad daylight. Philip was a notable figure,and his public murder sparked a sensational trial that captivated the nation and would change legal history forever. Teresa Bagioli was born in New York City in 1836, though the precise day and month is unknown.
Her father was Giuseppe Antonio Bagioli,a wealthy Italian-born composer and opera director. He was the head of an Italian opera company that visited New York in 1832. While he was there, he met the famed librettist turned music teacher Lorenzo Da Ponte. As he began socializing with the Da Ponte family more, he became acquainted with Maria, likely Lorenzo’s adopted daughter, though some sources claim that she was a result of an extramarital affair.
At this time, Giuseppe was in his mid-30s, while Maria was barely a teenager. Despite this, a relationship was allowed to go on,and they most likely married in 1834, when Maria was just 15 years old. Teresa was born 2 years later. Teresa would grow up in deeply musical and cosmopolitan surroundings, spending much of her youth in the home of her grandfather, Lorenzo Da Ponte, who had famously worked with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart decades earlier.
Surrounded by artists, languages,and ideas, she was described as highly intelligent,and by her teenage years, Teresa spoke multiple languages and played several musical instruments with ease. In the early 1850s, as Teresa entered her teenage years, she was already being noted for her striking beautyand growing charm. Then, in 1851, she met Daniel Sickles. But, this wasn’t actually their first meeting.
Daniel was born on October 20th, 1819,and was the son of a New York lawyerand local politician. Daniel had also become a lawyer, though in the late 1830sand early 1840s, he worked in the city’s publishing industry. This brought him into contact with cultural figures like Lorenzo Da Ponte anda Antonio Bagioli, who had some of their musical annotations published. He was also friendly with Da Ponte’s son, a New York-based professor.
Despite his later success, in his early 20s, his parents thought he was unsettledand in need of guidance,and was reportedly placed in the scholarly household of Lorenzo Da Ponte,where he studied Frenchand Italian. He is said to have lived there for about a year in the late 1830s, when he was about 20 years of age,and Teresa was still an infant. As mentioned, they were reacquainted years later in 1851,and by then, Daniel had established himself as a local politician in the New York Assembly. Daniel quickly became enamored with young Teresa and soon proposed.
But,even with his social standingand long association with her family,the Bagiolis initially refused to give their consent. Undeterred, Daniel went aheadand married Teresa in a civil ceremonyon September 17th, 1852,and the union was later formally recognized in a religious ceremony after her family gave their approval. It’s not entirely clear what the exact age difference was between them. Daniel is generally understood to have been born in 1819,though he later claimed 1825,likely to minimize the noticeable age gap between himselfand his young wife.
If we accept the earlier date, he was just shy of his 33rd birthday,while Teresa is widely believed to have been about 16 years old at the time they wed,a marriage that would soon unravel in scandal. Daniel and Teresa’s marriage started fairly conventionally. Teresa gave birth to a daughter whom they named Laura Buchananin the late spring of 1853. It’s hard to determine whether or not they suspected Teresa was pregnant when they married the previous September,though in all likelihood,they’d been planning to marry anyway.
As such, it was not a shotgun wedding,so to speak. Beyond this initial appearance of marital normality,the marriage was troubled from the very start. Daniel was a known womanizer when he married Teresa in 1852,and rumors swirled around his actions. He had once been censored by the New York Assemblyfor keeping company with a known prostituteand bringing her into the Assembly chambers.
The speculation was added to by the fact that he was frequently away from home. For instance, shortly after Laura was born, Daniel headed overseas aspart of a trade delegationto Britain on behalf of the government of President Franklin Pierce. He had brought the same prostitute from New York,Fanny White,with him to England,and even introduced her to Queen Victoria in London. After he returned home, he was elected to the US House of Representativesin 1856,taking his seat the following year.
It was now that Daniel and Teresa moved to Washington, D. C. ,settling near Lafayette Squareat the heart of political life. There,Teresa quickly became a standout figure in elite society,renowned for her beauty,charm,and skills as a hostess,even earning the nickname”Queen of Washington Society.
” Together,they appeared the perfect couple,but behind the scenes,Daniel’s repeated affairs told a different story. Then, in March 1857,during President James Buchanan’s administr ation,Teresa met a tall,dashing man named Philip Barton Key II. Philip was the son of Francis Scott Key. Francis was a well-known American poetand lawyer.
His greatest claim to fame was writing the poem entitled”The Defense of Fort McHenry,”a rousing nationalist workthat was written about the defense of Fort McHenry in Baltimore,Maryland,by the Americans against the British during the War of 1812. We all know the poem today,even if very few of us have ever heard it called by this name. It was subsequently put to a tuneand is known today as the Star-Spangled Banner. In Washington,Philip and Teresa moved in the same social circles,and they frequently saw each other at gatheringsand events,where they gradually grew closer.
With Daniel often absenton political business,Teresa regularly attended these events on her own,but Philip was never far from her side. Still very youngand increasingly isolated,she appears to have grown disillusioned with her marriage. By the spring of 1858,by which time the Sickles had been living in Washington for about a year,her friendship with Philip turned into an affair. Philip was a prominent figurein Washington who served as the US Attorney for the District of Columbia.
He was born in 1818and was 18 years older than Teresa,who by then was around 2. 2. Philip was also a widowerwith four childrenand was widely regarded as one of the most handsome men in the city. The affair between Philip and Teresa went on for the better part of a year,largely hidden from public view.
Yet,despite their efforts at secrecy,Philip’s growing attachment became difficult to disguise. Well,he was often seen lingering near her homeor appearing wherever she might be. The two met frequently,sometimes in the street or in her carriage,and eventually arranged more private encounters. Philip even rented a small house just minutes from the Sickles residence,where the pair could meet in secret.
As he passed Teresa’s home,Philip would signal with a wave of his handkerchief,and if Teresa responded in kind,they would meet at the house. But,it was this very signalthat would ultimately lead to his undoing. Despite their attempts to keep the relationship secret,Daniel was informed via an anonymous letterthat he received on the 24th of February,1859,that his wife was engaged in an affair. Enraged,Daniel confronted Teresa.
She initially denied the affair,but under pressure,she broke downand gave a detailed written confession describing her meetings with Philip. In the aftermath,he forced her to promise she would never see him again. We do not know exactly who senthe letter to Daniel,but the affair between Teresa and Philip was apparently common knowledgeamong the staff of the Sickles house,so it could have been someone who had simply seen Philip comingand going. What we do know for certain is that Philip Barton Key II was murdered just 3 days lateron the 27th of February,1859,at Lafayette Squarein Washington,D.
C. Lafayette Square is known as President’s Park today. On that day,Daniel Sickles saw Philip Key outside his homein the squareand believed that he was waving his handkerchief,signaling Teresa to come out. Philip had been anxious as he hadn’t heard from Teresa for several daysand had rented a room at the Cosmos Club,which was on the opposite side of Lafayette Square,directly across from the Sickles residence.
Regrettably for Philip,he was unaware that the affair had been discovered,and as he waited in the square,exposedand unsuspecting,Daniel armed himself with several pistolsand prepared to confront him. According to a close eyewitness to the eventsand the attorney Samuel F.. Butterworth,when he saw Philip outside,Daniel burst outsideand approached Philip. He then shouted,”You scoundrel,you have dishonored my house.
You must die. ” Philip retorted,”What for? ” Then Daniel pulled out a gunand fired at Philip. T he first shot grazed Philip’s hand,following which a scuffle occurred.
T he pair wrestled with each other,during which Daniel Sickles managed to fire off another shot,which hit Philip below the groin. Wounded,Philip staggered awayand tried to hide behind a nearby tree. As he did,he shouted,”Murder! Don’t kill me!
” However,Daniel was indeed intent on killing him,and he moved closerand fired two further shots from point-blank range. One of these misfired,but the other hit Philip squarein the chest,causing a fatal wound. D aniel fled,while Philip was dragged into a nearby house,where he died shortly afterward. Later that day,Daniel was arrested after taking refugein the home of Attorney General Jeremiah S..
Black,but he would not be held in the conditions one might expect
Daniel Sickles’ arrest caused a sensationin Washington. Though he was detainedin a notoriously grim,rat-infested prison,his own circumstances were far from ordinary. He was granted unusual comforts,including meals from homeand a heated room,and received a steady stream of visitors from family to prominent figuresin Washington society. As he sat in custody,newspapers across the country seized on the story,laying out the scandalin extensive detail.
When the trial came to court on the 4th of April,a huge crowd showed up outside. Sickles was a wealthy enough manby the end of the 1850s,and he had hired a crack team of eight lawyers to represent him,led by James Brady,a New York-based lawyer who was known for having witnesses intimidated. Conversely,the prosecution was led by Robert Ould,an attorney of limited ability. Sickles was a popular politician,and as the jury was being selected,it was estimated that 72 out of the 75 individuals considered for jury duty could potentially be sympathetic to the defendant.
When the trial commenced,the defense laid out their casein an unusual way. They claimed that Sickles could not be held accountable for his actions because he was temporarily out of his mind because of Philip Key’s affair with his wife. As one of Daniel’s lawyers,John Graham,put it,”If he was in a state of white heat,was that too great a state of passion fora man to bein who saw before himthe hardened,the unrelenting seducer of his wife? ” As this temporary insanity argument developed,a bizarre situation evolved where the murdered Key almost became the man on trialin the court,while Sickles was portrayed as the victim.
T he defense sought to reinforce their caseby introducing her written confession of the affair as evidence,hoping to further justify Daniel’s actions. T he prosecution pushed back,and the document was ultimately ruled inadmissible. U ndeterred,Sickles took matters into his own hands,leaking the confession to the press,where it was published in full,exposing Teresa’s private lifeand intensifying the frenzy surroundingthe case. Another major moment came when a doctor appeared on the standand testified that Daniel’s psychological collapse,as a resultof the revelations about Teresa’s infidelity,had been so great that he’d been concernedthat Daniel would never recover from the insanity that caused him to kill Philip Key
Teresa was slanderedand vilifiedin the press on a daily basisas the trial went on,and she avoided being seen in public.
When the deliberationsin court ended on the 26th of April,the judge instructed the jurythat they should bear in mindthat 3 days passed between when Daniel learnedof Teresa’s affairon the 24th of Februaryand when he killed Philipon the 27th. He was clearly highlightingthe weaknessesin the idea that the murder was a crime of passion. D aniel had 3 days to calm down. The fact that he murdered Philip at the end of the 3 days suggested premeditated murder.
T he jury decided differently. A fter just 1 hour,the jury returnedand declaredthat Sickles’ temporary insanity plea was legitimate. They found him not guilty. That evening,Daniel threw a huge partyin Washington,attended by 1,500 peopleto celebrate his release.
T he aftermath of the trial was perhaps as strangeas the events leading up to and during it. Teresa and Daniel were briefly estranged from each other,but they didn’t divorce. Teresa was vehemently attackedin the pressand was shunned by high societyon the East Coast,whereas Daniel resumed his placein Congress. All of this makes a person wonderif people really understood who the murderer was.
In the end,the couple did reconcile somewhat,a decision which led to further outragein the papers. Then their sensational story became yesterday’s news
Abraham Lincoln was elected as president of the United Statesin November 1860. South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Uniona month later,andthe American Civil War broke outin April 1861as the Confederate States of America began trying to expel Union forcesfrom the South. Thus,the trial of 1859 disappeared from the public consciousness.
In any event,Daniel Sickles now had the opportunity to rehabilitate his reputation. He became an officerin the Union Armyand fought at many of the most important battlesin the war. In early July 1863,he was involvedin the Battle of Gettysburg. During the clash,his right leg was mangled by a cannonball.
T he leg was amputatedand was sent to the Army Medical Museumin Washington. T he bonesare still on displayin the National Museum of Healthand Medicineto this day
Teresa’s marriage was never the same after the scandal,and she largely withdrew from public life. She spent much of her remaining yearsin New York,where she diedin Brooklyn on the 5th of February,1867,from tuberculosis. She was just 30 or 31 years of age.
D espite the scandal years earlier,her funeralin Greenwich Village was well attendedon account of her family’s connections. In 1869,Daniel was appointed as US Minister to Spain,and some rumors claimthat he even had an affairwith the exiled Queen Isabella II. In Madrid,he then began a relationshipwith a Spanish Frenchwoman named Carmina,and they marriedin 1871. T he couple had two children together.
A fter returning homein 1880,he held many officesin New Yorkand even briefly returned to Congressfor a 2-year termbetween 1893and 1895. By this time,his daughterwith Teresa had died. T he two had grown estranged,and Laura,who was an alcoholic,died in 1890 at just 38 years old. D aniel Sickles would live a long life,dying at 94 years of agein 1914.
In a final telling detail,he remainsthe only senior commanderfrom the Battle of Gettysburgwithout a statue,an absencethat reflectsthe shadow castby the scandal,the trial,andthe killing that defined his legacy
