John Sedgwick
Or the man who turned out to be bigger than an elephant
If death is a not very pleasant experience, in principle, to die with the word in the mouth should be even worse. And if those words exude pride and arrogance, Karma certainly has enough of you. This applies, for example, John Sedgwick, commander of the Union Army during the American Civil War, died in the Battle of Spotsylvania, a way off the scale makes me "ironiómetro ."
Let's talk a little about him. John was born in Cornwall Hollow, Connecticut, a September 13, 1813. Sharon went to the Academy and then to West Point, where he graduated from the twenty-fourth of his class (1837). Bad start, it appears that John is not a military genius ...
began his career as a gunnery sergeant, but he rose quickly, fighting the Seminole Indians and the war against Mexico. Would be proud of it, if it were not for these promotions are what herejeparlantes called "brevet" temporary promotions without salary increase inherent to it (went from Lieutenant to Captain and then Major). So after the war, he returned to his rank, but he transferred to the cavalry branch. And then you won the lottery, was chosen to fill the vacancy left by Captain Lee (yes, the same Lee of the Confederate Army), promoted to Major, and again to succeed in that range, when he resigned ...
Well, we have an officer without much gloss, affectionately dubbed "Uncle John" by his soldiers, and with a little filly in principle. 
And Civil War broke out, and John came to full speed: it was Mayor from 1855, but rose to Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel and Brigadier General in 1861, and finally to Major General in 1862. Did not reach the top, but was high. He commanded several units and corps and was well into the fray. Had the honor of "Stonewall" Jackson will kick your ass at Antietam, where he received three gunshot wounds (wrist, shoulder and leg), forcing him to stay on the bench until after Fredericksburg. But it was time for the greatest battle of the war, Gettysburg. But too late the race and only his troops engaged in combat.
And in this situation come to the race that cost him his life. While the Confederates in the doldrums, the Union force fell upon Virginia, under the command of which later became U.S. president, Ulysses S. Grant. Several battles were fought, two of them where John Sedgwick was involved: that of the "thickness" and therefore of Spotsylvania. In the first, a small contingent of Confederate did a lot of casualties on Union troops in a thickly wooded area, but neither won, the battle moved to the next town of Spotsylvania.
should have been a battle, but our John had to "reach out" too much to reprimand a battalion approached the front weaving. He was warned that there were snipers, and had already shot several officers that day, but did not heed the advice. According to Martin T. McMahon, BG "brevet" the artist said:
"What?! What?! Are zigzaguando for loose balls?! What will they do when they open fire on an entire line? I am ashamed of you. There would be correct ni a un elefante a esa distancia.”
Las memorias de McMahon continúan diciendo que un soldado rezagado cruzó a pocos metros de Sedgwick, escuchó un silbido de bala y se tiró al suelo. Nuestro protagonista se acercó a él y gentilmente le dio una patadita, tras lo que dijo:
“¿Por qué, soldado? Me avergüenzo de ti, esquivando de esa manera... No le darían a un elefante a esa dist...”
Un ruido sordo cortó la conversación y John se giró hacia McMahon. Una bala le había impactado justo debajo his left eye and collapsed. 
However, McMahon's statement said that second bullet hit no one, that the soldier had time to cross himself and apologize to his superior, and when he sent the rest of his regiment, third bullet made target. But the story / legend above much cooler.
Nothing could do for him. John Sedgwick had the dubious honor of being the highest ranking officer lying on the side of the Union (down other major generals, but he was the longest standing was in office).
Manda eggs.
Latest news: New research
John Sedgwick say yes could be bigger than an elephant:
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