Transcript: Gil and Ben.mp3

Ben 00:01-00:03

Gil, welcome to Crime Capsule.

Gil 00:04-00:06

Thank you very much, Ben. I'm looking forward to this.

Ben 00:07-00:17

Tell us a little bit about yourself. You are a longtime member of the news media and a longtime resident of one of the most interesting cities in the country.

Gil 00:17-01:19

That is for sure. I have been a… I was a newspaper reporter and a national correspondent for 32 years, starting with the Tampa Tribune and then coming to Washington in 1985. writing for the Media General News Service for papers all over the Southeast, Richmond, Tampa, Winston-Salem. And when that kind of dried up, I got into academia and I worked with the American University's Washington Semester Program where we brought in students from all over the world for one semester and I taught those who were interested in journalism. And then the University of Oklahoma hired me to create a Washington News operation for the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. And that, until last May. And now I'm a mostly freelance writer.

Ben 01:20-01:31

You know, they say that New York is the city that never sleeps, but I'm actually of the opinion that Washington is truly the city that never sleeps, because there's always a journalist on call somewhere waiting for a leak, right?

Gil 01:32-02:09

That is probably true. They say that journalism is disappearing, but there are probably more reporters in Washington now than ever, even though the huge loss has been in Washington Correspondents from out of town newspapers, those are gone, but you've got Politico, and BuzzFeed, and all kinds of new, Axios is a new play, and suddenly there are hundreds of new journalists, and they're all scratching for the stories.

Ben 02:10-02:24

It's an exciting time. How many, forgive my bluntness of the question, but how many administrations have you worked for, Gil? And at some point do they all run together or do they all still have their unique contours?

Gil 02:25-03:09

You mean, did I cover personally? Yeah, yeah. Of course, I arrived during Reagan's administration. I actually covered the White House in the George H.W. Bush administration. And then, of course, I've been around ever since, although I left daily journalism just before the election of Obama. For that year, 2008, the club sent me all over the United States doing discussions on the First Amendment, freedom of the press, and the future of journalism. So I got to 35 cities in the United States in just a few months.

Ben 03:14-03:31

Wow, and that is obviously a topic which is very much at hand right now even as we record. Now this is something you have a great deal of expertise in. In fact, your first book was on the history of the National Press Club. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Gil 03:32-03:34

Well, the first book was Lafayette Square.

Ben 03:35-03:35

Ah, yes.

Gil 03:37-04:30

But I can tell you about the history of the National Press Club, if you like. It was founded in 1908 and it has been the center of journalism in Washington for 117 years now. It is the place where news happens. It's amazing who have walked, everybody has walked through our doors at one time or another, you know, starting with Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, and even Trump came, but that was before he was president. We'd like to say that every president of the United States since Teddy Roosevelt has appeared at the club, either before, during, or after their presidencies, or, you know, All three. And just you think of anybody who's anybody in the 20th and the 21st century, there's a good chance that they have come to the press club.

Ben 04:31-05:11

Well, and long may it continue. I don't need to say here how vital the work is. Now, I'm curious, when, after all these years, you've lived in Washington and moved in its circles, and I think fondly of Mark Libovich's book, This Town, which came out some years ago, which is kind of a great Washington expose, very fun to read. But you chose for your book to write about not a gossipy tell-all of sort of insiders and informants and socialites and so forth. You actually chose to write about something much more interesting, I think, which is a place which has continued through time. How did you decide to write about Lafayette Square?

Gil 05:12-06:30

Well, when I got to Washington, first of all, I've always been interested in the history of where I am. Everywhere I've been, I've studied the history, I've written the history. And when I got here, I would come in on the Metro from Arlington, and I would often get off at Farragut West and walk through Lafayette Square to get to the National Press Building. And I started picking up these stories bit by bit about strange things that happened in Lafayette Square over 200 years. And we're talking about something I was thinking about for about 30 years, so it's not something I jumped right into. But finally, I discovered the History Press, and I was looking at a book, and I said, my book is better than this. And I sent them a proposal, and lo and behold, they said, yeah, how fast can you get that done? And that's when I really got serious about finding all of these stories. And as you say, the purpose of it is to see how history has swept through the same piece of real estate over a period of 200 years and what it means to American history.

Ben 06:31-06:48

And your book runs the gamut. I mean, it goes from the very beginnings almost all the way up until, you know, the present day. But Lafayette Square has changed so much in those centuries, those decades. What would you say are some of the most notable changes in its long history?

Gil 06:48-08:04

Well, of course, it started just as an open ground that Pierre L'Enfant had left. They called it President's Park, and it was kind of empty. The question was, should the White House grounds be extended to it? And it was Thomas Jefferson, who was trying to keep everything small, said, no, that should be a public park. And it was the President's Park. And it was named for Lafayette not until 1824, 1825. We're at the 200th anniversary of Lafayette returning to the United States for this tour of every state in the Union at the time, 24 of them. And he started in Washington talking to President James Monroe, who was a fellow officer, and he ended up talking to President John Quincy Adams, who was the father of John Adams. These people all knew each other quite well. But as he went around the country, people named everything after him. If you go through all these states, there's a Lafayette this, a Lafayette that. And so somebody said, we have to name something here. And so they decided to name the park after him.

Ben 08:05-08:48

I can think of about three separate Lafayette counties here in the Deep South, you know, where I live and work, you know, plenty of towns, you know, that bear his name. I mean, there's something which is very special about, you know, the legacy that he gave to this country. Now, you say that it's seen a lot, it has witnessed a lot over its many years. an auspicious anniversary we are celebrating this year. You know, one of those, we're going to talk about two separate incidents over the course of this and next week, but one of those kind of, we might as well go straight to the heart of the matter, Gil. One of those was a murder in broad daylight. Let's not beat around the bush here.

Gil 08:48-09:03

Not only was it a murder in broad daylight in front of witnesses, but it was a congressman shooting the son of Francis Scott Key, who was the district attorney for Washington.

Ben 09:05-09:50

I mean, is there a greater scandal than that? I'm still looking. Now, this murder, I mean, it reminded me, I have to be completely honest with you, it reminded me of something that you would have seen on, say, one of the telenovelas, right? Like, I mean, it was as soap opera kind of worthy as any incident I have read about. to date. And, you know, the leading man is a scoundrel. The leading lady, she's no, you know, saint either. Just tell us how this began to start brewing. What led up to this particular?

Gil 12:37-13:22

We're talking about Dan Sickles. And he was from New York City. And he, growing up, he became interested in three things, women, money, and power. And he was groomed by Tammany Hall in the 1840s, 1850s, which is the corrupt political machine. He learned how to make money in politics and government, not necessarily legally. And he was also a regular at Bravo's, especially with a woman by the name of Fanny White, who is the proprietor of the largest brothel in New York.

Ben 13:59-14:00

So he was a man about town.

Gil 14:00-15:08

He was certainly a man about town. But he also was deeply enamored with a woman by the name of Teresa Baglioli. And he had known her since she was born, and she had fallen for him by the time she was eight. And they got married when she was 15, and he was 32, and they got married in 1852. And Sickles was a delegate at the 1852 Democratic Convention and an ardent supporter of Franklin Pierce, who named Sickles the first secretary to the American Legion in London under Ambassador James Buchanan. Now Teresa was pregnant and had just delivered their child and she stayed behind when he went off to Europe, which was fine with Sickles because he took Fanny with him and actually introduced her to Queen Victoria at a royal reception at Buckingham Palace.

Ben 15:09-15:39

You know, when I read that portion in your book, Gil, I have to confess, I almost didn't believe it. I mean, I know that you are scrupulous with your sources, but, you know, I had to stop and read twice the section where you describe this scoundrel of a fellow who ends up in a prominent political position introducing his courtesan slash brothel owner friend to the Queen of England and no one seems to be batting an eye.

Gil 15:43-18:47

First of all, just as an aside, I want to say that a lot of this information came from a great book that you should tell your listeners about, which was American Scoundrel, the Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles by Thomas Kennelly. It's a great book, and this is just one part of it. But anyway, so let's get back to the story. So when Teresa finally arrived and Fannie made a quick exit, she became a hit with Buchanan and his niece, Harriet Lane, who served as the bachelor Buchanan's legation hostess. And when Buchanan won the presidency in 1856, Sickles won a congressional seat. And he ended up renting one of the most expensive townhouses on Lafayette Square and purchased a high-priced carriage. And Teresa wore dazzling jewelry. So where did that money come from? Now, even though Theresa was so young, I think about 19 at this time, she became a hit of Washington society. They entertained lavishly and she continued her friendship with Harriet Lane, spending time at the White House and entertaining the President at their home. And she even, when Harriet was not available, she would actually serve as the President's hostess. So now, Sickles buried himself in congressional business, but still had time to take the train to Baltimore to visit a mistress. And he was also known to seduce several other women. And Teresa was left behind too much. She met the dashing young district attorney for Washington, Philip Barton Key, who had followed his father, Francis Scott Key, into the position. And Sickles and Key had become friends and they were both members of the same club on Lafayette Square, the Washington Club. But left alone, Teresa and Key, who was a widower, struck up a friendship that progressed, as we say. First he would ride a carriage, ride a horse alongside her carriage, then he rode with her in the carriage, and the carriage would stop while they walked off together. And so as things progressed, he rented an apartment just off of Lafayette Square. And when he wanted to meet Teresa, he would go to the Andrew Jackson statue, which is in the middle of the square, and he would wave a white handkerchief.

Ben 18:50-20:01

So One question just before before we progress. I really am curious about this because your your account of their But and I say they're plural both But Teresa and Dan you know, we're having affairs at this point and I understand Washingtonians love to talk and gossip is hot commodity and you write that there's a there's a certain element even between them of sort of Teresa's turning a blind eye to some of Dan's liaisons. We'll get to Dan's reaction to hers in a moment. But the question that I had for you, Gil, which I just could not help but wonder, kids, right? Because in this day and age, there was no birth control, you know, contraception was clumsy at best, and so often these kinds of affairs routinely were exposed by baby bump, right? And I couldn't help but wonder what, surely they knew that was a risk, but But was there ever the danger there, or were there any illegitimate pregnancies that then had to be sort of taken care of, so to speak, in the parlance of the times? What do we know about that?

Gil 20:02-20:17

I don't know anything. That's a very good question and I don't believe there were any, at least with Teresa, I don't believe there was any pregnancies.

Ben 20:18-20:27

It's remarkable because the level of risk was so high in this day and age. I mean it really kind of is extraordinary to think that they quote-unquote got away with it on that front.

Gil 20:28-23:12

That's right. So Now, so Key decided to rent an apartment just off Lafayette Square. As I said, when he wanted to meet, he would go to the Jackson statue and wave a white handkerchief. So Sickles, as you say, everybody in Washington knows everything. He was the only one who didn't know this. But one day, he got a poison pen letter all about Teresa's affair. And he confronted her and she broke down and he forced her to sign a confession. And just then, as luck would have it, Sickles looked out the window and he saw a key at the Jackson statue waving a white handkerchief. And while So while Key was outside talking to a friend outside the Washington Club, Sickles armed himself and slipped around Lafayette Square to confront him. And he said, Ki, you scoundrel, you have dishonored my house. You must die. And he pulled out a derringer from his pocket. The first shot did little damage to Ki, who lunged at Sickles as he prepared to fire again. As two grappled, Sickles dropped the gun. Don't murder me, Ki said, as Sickles pulled another gun out of his pocket. And all Key had, he pulled out some opera glasses out of his pocket and threw them at Sickles. Didn't do a whole lot of good. So the second shot hit Key in the leg. And he said, I'm shot, Key said, and he begged Sickles not to kill him as Sickles shouted insults at him. Key dropped to the ground crying, don't shoot me, murder, murder. Sickles' gun misfired again, but he re-cocked it, held it close to Key, and shot him again, this time fatally. A mutual friend who had watched the whole thing intervened. He has violated my bed, Sickles yelled repeatedly as Key was pulled into the Washington Club to await the coroner's inquest. So the question is, was this murder? Or was it the act of a deranged man from learning his wife had an affair with a friend and had caught him signaling for another trist? This was big news in Washington. The crime and trial were well covered. Now among Sickles' attorneys was Edwin Stanton. who would go on to be Lincoln's Secretary of War, just as an aside.

Ben 23:12-23:22

And we should remember that this is right on the eve of the Civil War, too. This is 1859, and so we are just right on the cusp.

Gil 23:23-24:17

So, witnesses went through every detail of Therese's affair, but evidence of Sickle's own affairs were suppressed during the trial. And then Sickles' attorneys offered a novel defense that the revelation of the affair and seeing keys signaled for another Trist had addled his mind, causing him to act with temporary insanity. And this was the first time that temporary insanity was used as the legal defense. And it worked. It took only three, so he was let off. And it took only three and a half months for Sickles to reconcile with Teresa, much to the scorn of his friends. He said, what are you, reconciling with this woman who had this blatant affair?

Ben 24:17-24:28

I mean, the judge by the rod, you know, that you yourself use, right? What can we really say to Sickles at this point?

Gil 24:29-25:44

Well, to regain his reputation, as you say, the Civil War was starting, and Sickles raised volunteer units in New York. And on the second day as a Corps commander, on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, as a Corps commander, General Sickles was hit in the leg by a cannonball. Historians still dispute whether Sickles nearly lost the Battle of Gettysburg by disobeying orders or he had won it. But the fact of the matter is that there is no statue to him. He's the only Corps commander without a statue to him on the Gettysburg battlefield. So, what was really odd is that the remains of that leg that was shot off were gathered up and he donated them to the Army Medical Museum that was looking for specimens of severed limbs. This is really strange. Sickles would visit them every year on the anniversary. And you can still see them at what is now the National Museum of Health and Medicine, in case you wanted to see Sickles Lake.

Ben 25:45-26:16

Well, it's funny you should mention that. I have a follow-up story for you on that, which we'll get to in just a second. But I guess I'm just kind of curious, Gil, after all of this drama, a sitting congressman murdering the district attorney in broad daylight, What was the political fallout for him, or did he sign up to fight for the Union so quickly that he avoided all political fallout because there were much greater concerns at play?

Gil 26:17-27:31

He certainly never returned to that townhouse, and so he must not have returned to Congress, I don't think. I don't know. But we can talk a little bit about what happened next on the political fallout, or not fallout. So Sickles stayed with the army after the war as part of the occupation force during Reconstruction. But Teresa, who is back in New York, came down with tuberculosis and died in New York in January 1867. And Sickles rushed back in time for her funeral, but she was only 31. You think of all this that happened, and she was only 31. Yeah, it's remarkable. Now, since there obviously was no political repercussions, President Grant appointed Sickles ambassador to Spain. where he allegedly kept up his reputation by having an affair with the deposed Spanish queen, Isabella II, while also courting a beautiful young woman of Spanish-Irish background, and they did have two children. So that, so as you can see,

Ben 27:33-28:01

You could say he came out on top, but I do wonder whether, and this does happen from time to time, you know, ambassadorial appointments can either be rewards for good service, or they can be, get him out of my sight and send him to the furthest, you know, far flung island in East Asia, so that at least for my administration, you know, I never have to look at him ever again. And it just makes me wonder what was going through, you know, Ulysses S. Grant's mind at that time.

Gil 28:02-28:34

Well, you know, it was the Mosby of Mosby's Rangers, the famous Confederate commander who led all kinds of raids on the Union forces around Northern Virginia. Cavalry officer, yeah. Yes. He got, he decided, he became a Republican and Grant made him an ambassador in the Pacific. Might have been, I should know this off the top of my head, but I don't.

Ben 28:35-28:42

Long time to get to the Pacific in those days. Didn't have any airplanes. It could get you there in a 12-hour flight. So once he's there, he's good as gone, right?

Gil 28:42-28:50

He once wrote a book that… Hell is being a Republican in Virginia.

Ben 28:50-30:39

I love it. No, I love it. I love it. Look, I'm going to share with you my favorite story about a severed leg, which is a sentence I have not often uttered in the past, but which, you know, we're trying new things today. What can I say? When I read your account of Dan Sickles' amputated leg, I could not help but be reminded of the, I believe it was 17th century Dutch physician, a gentleman named Philip Verheyen, who famously began to lose his leg, I believe it was to gangrene. And so what he, I mean, in arguably one of the most remarkable medical maneuvers of the last millennium, he amputates his own leg, right? Because he's a physician and he knows how to do it. in order to save, obviously, the rest of his life. You know, he doesn't want the gangrene, the infection to spread. So he amputates his own leg, and then, and then… he begins to dissect it for science. He wants to do an anatomical study of his own leg for future medical research. Oh, but wait, it gets better when, there's a painting of him at the time doing this. You can look it up. And then, sort of the coup de grace was very similar to Sickles visiting his own leg in the Army Medical Museum. he wrote letters to it. And his letters actually are the kind of the anatomical study. And he sort of used the epistolary form to describe what he was finding as he dissected his own leg. And some people say that the whole story is apocryphal. I don't think it is. I think there's enough of a paper trail to sort of suggest that something like this did actually happen.

Gil 30:40-30:41

Who would have dreamt that up?

Ben 30:43-30:56

Who could fictionalize that? My only question is sort of how much of the original strength Hanever, which is what we get modern gin from, did Dr. Verheyen have to drink before he went through all of this?

Gil 30:59-31:01

You wouldn't want a drunken surgeon working on your

Ben 31:03-31:30

unless you are the patient, in which case I figure all, you know, all bets are off. Do what you ever got to do. Gil, this is such a joy. I love exploring this era in our nation's history, and this is such a remarkable story of a really special place that has witnessed so much, and it's about to witness even more next week when we come back and look at Seward. So thank you for joining us this week, and we will see you right back here shortly.

Gil 31:31-31:33

Thank you very much. I certainly enjoy this. This is great fun.