Sons of Union Veterans of The Civil War
Department of New York

Daniel E. Sickles Camp 3
White Plains, NY

One such woman was Congressman Sickles' young wife, Teresa. While it may, indeed, have begun innocently enough, eventually an affair developed between the two and they were often seen on secret, and not-so-secret rendezvous in and around Washington. It was said that among their favorite meeting locations was a local cemetery. To assist the two in their relationship, Key rented rooms at a local boarding house, not far from Teresa's home on Lafayette Square. He would pass by, signal his love by waving a handkerchief or his opera glasses, and if an appropriate signal was returned, they would meet at the house.

While all of Washington, D.C. seemed to know of the conduct of Philip and Teresa, Daniel E. Sickles, apparently, did not. It must be acknowledged that it is highly likely that Dan's behavior was no better than his wife's, and it is known that, throughout his life, he was a favorite with the ladies and frequently enjoyed their company as well. He also was known to avail himself of professional female companionship, especially when traveling away from Washington. But this was expected, or at least accepted, behavior for the mid-nineteenth century. And while clearly hypocritical, Dan's behavior was not questioned - at least not to the same degree or with the same harshness.

Receiving an anonymous note which brought the affair to Dan's attention, he confronted his wife and confirmed the truth. Regrettably for Key, he had no warning that Sickles had become aware of the love-triangle when he stood in Lafayette Park on February 27, 1859, and tried to signal Teresa. Allegedly seeing Key from the window of his home in the Stockton Mansion on Jackson Place, just down the street from the Decatur House and within sight of the White House, Sickles sent his friend and political colleague, Samuel F. Butterworth, to intercept Key while Dan, unknown to Butterworth, threw on his overcoat, stuffing the pockets with multiple weapons. Sickles stormed across the park, confronting Key on the eastern edge of the park - approaching Key from the north down Madison Place.

The details of what took place have always been somewhat in dispute, as there were many witnesses who all managed to see and hear something different. Some of the trial testimony - including opening arguments and the statements of witnesses - can be found beginning on page 494  in American State Trials, Volume XII by John Davison Lawson, and makes for fascinating reading. A link that will take you there can be found below. The finding of the Court would seem to be that Sickles uttered something along the lines of "Key, you scoundrel, you have dishonored my house—you must die!" Some witnesses swore that the statement noted that Key had specifically dishonored his bed. Whatever part of Sickles' life he felt had been dishonored, he pulled out one gun after another until his present mission was completed. While the exact sequence of events was disputed, the first shot, apparently, grazed Key's hand. The second entered his groin and passed through his thigh. No major arteries were damaged, and this may not have been a fatal wound. Key pleaded with Sickles not to kill him, having earlier shouted "Murder!" when Sickles first produced a gun. A third shot misfired. The fourth hit Key square in the chest, just below his heart, causing the mortal wound from which Key could not recover. His chest filled with blood and he quickly lost consciousness. Sickles attempted one final shot directly at Key's head, but this one, too, misfired. Sickles was quickly ushered away by friends and passersby. He was taken in a carriage to the Attorney General's home, where he surrendered himself. Key was taken into the National Club building on Madison Place - a social club that both Key and Sickles had spent much time in with the others of their class and position - where a doctor soon pronounced him dead. A member of the United States Congress had just killed the District Attorney for Washington, D.C.

The trial which ensued was the celebrity event of its day. Through his own dream-team of attorneys, which included Edwin Stanton - Lincoln's future Secretary of War, Sickles pleaded Innocent by Reason of Temporary Insanity - and was, perhaps, the first Defendant to be acquitted on that basis. Sickles would consider Stanton a close friend for the rest of his life, and would name his first son George Stanton Sickles. While the Jury, and society, seemed to forgive Sickles - some of that public opinion turned when he publicly (if not privately) forgave and reconciled with Teresa. If the crime she had committed could be forgiven, did Philip Barton Key have to be killed? Sickles would spend the rest of his life with his reputation and character stained by his rash actions on that February day, and his political career was never able to completely recover. As with most summaries of Philip Barton Key's life, much of the preceding text has focused on Dan Sickles, rather than Key. This seems to occur whenever Sickles becomes involved with anything - the eulogy for Teresa Sickles would center as much (or more) around Dan than it would about Teresa.

It can be said with some certainty that Key was no more a scoundrel than Dan Sickles himself. And it is hard to justify the taking of Key's life, leaving behind four orphaned children, simply because the betrayed husband could find no other way to absorb and endure the embarrassment of his predicament. One might have hoped that such a man could pause for a moment and observe that "there but for the grace of God go I." But such was not the case. Key's children grew up without a mother or father. Teresa Sickles never regained her place at Dan's side, and while provided for - from a distance, she died quite young and with little love or joy in her life. She would be buried in a plot at Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, along with the Sickles' daughter Laura, Teresa's parents, and a few other family members - a plot which even today bears no marker. And, of course, Dan Sickles' reputation was forever tarnished by the events of February 27, 1859 - something neither his notable political career nor his heroism in the coming war would ever be able to completely overcome.

Philip Baron Key was buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C. He is also memorialized in a cenotaph at his son-in-law's family plot at the Old Westminster Cemetery in Baltimore, MD

The National Club on Madison Place in Washington, D.C. as it appears today.

Artist's Rendering of the Shooting of Key
in front of the National Club in 1859.

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