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Philip Barton Key II (April 5, 1818 – February 27, 1859)Richardson, Hester Dorsey. ''Side-Lights on Maryland History: With Sketches of Early Maryland Families.'' Baltimore, Md.: Williams and Wilkins company, 1913. was an American lawyer who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. He is most famous for his public affair with Teresa Bagioli Sickles, and his eventual murder at the hands of her husband,
Born in Georgetown, D.C., Key was the son of 
Key was appointed to his father's former position, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, by President Pierce in September 1853, during a recess of the Senate; the Senate later confirmed his nomination in March 1854. Four years later, he was nominated, and confirmed again, for another four-year term; thus, he would serve until his death.
Sometime in the spring of 1858, Teresa Sickles began an affair with Key. Dan Sickles, though a serial adulterer himself, had accused his much-younger wife of adultery several times during their five-year marriage, and she had repeatedly denied it to his satisfaction. But then Sickles received a poison pen letter informing him of his wife's affair with Key. He confronted his wife, who confessed to the affair. Sickles then made his wife write out her confession on paper.Hartog, Hendrik. ''Man and Wife in America: A History.'' Reprint ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2002.
''Murder of the U.S. Attorney''
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escorts was Philip Barton Key *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Philip Barton 1818 births 1859 deaths 1859 murders in the United States People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) American murder victims Daniel Sickles Burials at Westminster Hall and Burying Ground American prosecutors People murdered in Washington, D.C. Deaths by firearm in Washington, D.C. United States Attorneys for the District of Columbia Key family of Maryland Lloyd family of Maryland Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)
Congressman
A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
Daniel Sickles
Daniel Edgar Sickles (October 20, 1819May 3, 1914) was an American politician, soldier, and diplomat.
Born to a wealthy family in New York City, Sickles was involved in a number of scandals, most notably the 1859 homicide of his wife's lover, U. ...
of New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
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Film and television
* '' ...
. Sickles defended himself by adopting a defense of temporary insanity, the first time the defense had been successfully used in the United States. Gallagher, Gary W. ''Three Days at Gettysburg: Essays on Confederate and Union Leadership.'' Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1999.
Biography
Born in Georgetown, D.C., Key was the son of Francis Scott Key
Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who wrote the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". Key observed the British bombardment ...
Walther, Eric H. ''The Shattering of the Union: America in the 1850s.'' New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. and the great-nephew of Philip Barton Key. He was also a nephew of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney.Flower, Frank Abial. ''Edwin McMasters Stanton: The Autocrat of Rebellion, Emancipation, and Reconstruction.'' New York: W.W. Wilson, 1905. He married Ellen Swan, the daughter of a Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...
attorney, on November 18, 1845. Allegedly the most handsome man in Washington and by 1859 a widower with four children, Key was known to be flirtatious with many women.
Key was appointed to his father's former position, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, by President Pierce in September 1853, during a recess of the Senate; the Senate later confirmed his nomination in March 1854. Four years later, he was nominated, and confirmed again, for another four-year term; thus, he would serve until his death.
Sometime in the spring of 1858, Teresa Sickles began an affair with Key. Dan Sickles, though a serial adulterer himself, had accused his much-younger wife of adultery several times during their five-year marriage, and she had repeatedly denied it to his satisfaction. But then Sickles received a poison pen letter informing him of his wife's affair with Key. He confronted his wife, who confessed to the affair. Sickles then made his wife write out her confession on paper.Hartog, Hendrik. ''Man and Wife in America: A History.'' Reprint ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2002.
Death
Sickles saw Key sitting on a bench outside the Sickles home on February 27, 1859, signalling to Teresa, and confronted him. Sickles rushed outside into Lafayette Square, cried "Key, you scoundrel, you have dishonored my home; you must die", and with a pistol repeatedly shot the unarmed Key. Key was taken into the nearbyBenjamin Ogle Tayloe House
The Benjamin Ogle Tayloe House is a Federal-style house located at 21 Madison Place NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. The house is on the northeast corner of Madison Place NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, directly across the street from ...
, where he died some time later.Smith, Hal H. "Historic Washington Homes." ''Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington.'' 1908.
Sickles was acquitted based on temporary insanity, a crime of passion, in one of the most controversial trials of the 19th century. It was the first successful use of the defense in the United States."Crime History", ''The Washington Examiner'', Feb. 27, 2012, p. 8. One of Sickles' attorneys, Edwin Stanton, later became the Secretary of War. Newspapers declared Sickles a hero for "saving" women from Key. Years later, while attending the theater in New York City, Sickles became aware of the presence of Key's son, James Key, in the audience; both men watched each other throughout the performance. Nothing else happened.
Key is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, with a dedicatory in his son-in-law's family plot in Westminster Hall and Burying Ground in Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...
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External links
* One oescorts was Philip Barton Key *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Philip Barton 1818 births 1859 deaths 1859 murders in the United States People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) American murder victims Daniel Sickles Burials at Westminster Hall and Burying Ground American prosecutors People murdered in Washington, D.C. Deaths by firearm in Washington, D.C. United States Attorneys for the District of Columbia Key family of Maryland Lloyd family of Maryland Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)