Background
The son of an American merchant, Richard Worsam Meade (1778–1828) and his wife Margaret Coats Butler (1782–1852), George Gordon Meade was born on December 31, 1815, in Cadiz, Spain.
(No study of the Civil War can be complete without this wo...)
No study of the Civil War can be complete without this work. The life and letters of the hero of Gettysburg are here masterfully compiled and edited by Meade's own son (Colonel George Meade) and grandson. This first volume presents a narrative and letters from Meade's childhood, through the Mexican War, and to the end of 1863. Though criticized by some after his victory at Gettysburg for not pursuing Lee's army, Grant considered George Meade to be one of the most suited general officers for large commands. Meade remains one of the most important figures of the American Civil War. Embroiled in the politics of the military and harsh with the press, Meade's letters to his wife are extremely valuable and revealing. And he does not hesitate to mention getting horses shot out from under him and minie-balls whistling through his hat.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1519084684/?tag=2022091-20
( General George Gordon Meade is best known to history as...)
General George Gordon Meade is best known to history as the commander of the victorious Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, the greatest battle of the Civil War. In his own lifetime meager credit was allotted him for his achievement at Gettysburg, for his long pursuit of General Robert E. Lee into Virginia, and for the furious marches his men were forced into both before and after Gettysburg, until, finally, -in the vicinity of Appomattox Courthouse, he again held the upper hand. And since his death in 1872, frequent criticism has been meted out to him for not following up the victory his troops accomplished. In this account of the man and his achievements, Freeman Cleaves has attempted to sift the truth from War Office archives and records, from private and public documents, to assess fairly the value of his services. The fourth-ranking officer in the Federal Army at the end of the Civil War, Meade was one of that small corps of professional soldiers who ably conducted campaigns both North and South. A graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, he was a member of the far-famed Army Topographical Engineers, and served under General Taylor in the Mexican War. Plain-spoken, restless, and impatient, he was a familiar figure close to the front in many major Civil War battles, where his sound generalship won the respect of his troops and fellow officers, though Grant later, almost incomprehensibly, gave preferment to Sheridan. Here, then, is not only a picture of the man in full round, but also a stimulating account of the strategies behind the important Civil War battles in which Meade distinguished himself: the Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness Campaign. Every student of Civil War history will want to meet the man who stopped Lee.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806122986/?tag=2022091-20
(On the afternoon of the same day on which this last lette...)
On the afternoon of the same day on which this last letter was written, June 25, General Meade received the order of march for the following day, which was to bring his corps to Frederick City, Maryland. A ccordingly, eariy in the morning of June 26, the corps started en route for that place, and going by way of Carter s Mill and Leesburg, crossed the Potomac at the upper pontoon bridge, at Edwards s Ferry, and proceeded to within four miles of the Monocacy, where it encamped for the night. Resuming its march, early on the 27th, it forded the Monocacy near its mouth, and arrived toward afternoon at Ballinger s Creek, just outside of Frederick City. After making proper dispositions for the encampment of the corps, General Meade rode into Frederick City with one or two of his staff, hoping to meet there General Hooker, whom he had not seen since breaking camp near Banks s Ford, on the Rappahannock, on the 13th of June, and to gain some information as to the plans and supposed whereabouts of the enemy; in which hope he was disappointed. General Hooker not having yet arrived. Returned to camp, ignorant of a great change which had been decided upon and impended over him and the army. General Meade lay quietly asleep in his tent at three oclock of the morning of June 28, when he was aroused by hearing on the outside an inquiry for his tent, by a person who claimed to be the bearer of important despatches to him. This proved to be Colonel James A. Hardie, of General Halleck sstaff, who entered General Meade stent and executed his mission. What this mission might have been was the occasion of agitated conmient among several of General Meade saides, who, their tents Not shown on map. (Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.) About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008QSIUGE/?tag=2022091-20
The son of an American merchant, Richard Worsam Meade (1778–1828) and his wife Margaret Coats Butler (1782–1852), George Gordon Meade was born on December 31, 1815, in Cadiz, Spain.
His early education was at Mount Hope Institution in Baltimore. At the age of 15 he received appointment to West Point; he graduated in 1835. Meade received an honorary doctorate in law (LL. D. ) from Harvard University.
After serving for a year in Florida and Massachusetts he became disillusioned with Army life and resigned to pursue a civil engineering career.
In 1842 Meade returned to the Army. Until the outbreak of the Civil War, he served in the topographical engineers. In August 1861 Meade was appointed brigadier general and given command of a Pennsylvania brigade. He served throughout the Peninsular Campaign. On June 30, 1862, in the Battle of Glendale, he was seriously wounded in the arm, side, and back. Nevertheless, he led divisions in the Second Manassas, South Mountain, Antietam, and Fredericksburg campaigns and commanded a corps during the Battle of Chancellorsville. Meade was genuinely surprised when, on June 28, 1863, he was named to head the Army of the Potomac. Only 3 days later Robert E. Lee's army struck Meade's forces at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In spite of his newness to Army command, Meade demonstrated admirable skill in the bloody 3-day battle. However, when Lee's Confederates were allowed to retire virtually unmolested to Virginia, a storm of criticism descended on Meade. He tendered his resignation from the Army, but it was refused, and he continued commanding the Army for the remainder of the war. He is overshadowed in the climactic campaigns of 1864-1865 because General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant traveled with the Army of the Potomac and supervised its principal operations. Meade's promotion to major general came embarrassingly late in the conflict. After the war Meade commanded military departments in the South and East.
He died of pneumonia on November 6, 1872, in Philadelphia.
(On the afternoon of the same day on which this last lette...)
( General George Gordon Meade is best known to history as...)
(No study of the Civil War can be complete without this wo...)
( Even though he defeated Robert E. Lee in the Civil War'...)
He was a member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati.
Gaunt and stern, Meade suffered from fits of nervousness. Although he was routinely competent, he lacked boldness and brilliance in action. His hot temper led the soldiers to nickname him "the old snapping turtle. "
In 1840, he married Margaretta Sergeant, daughter of John Sergeant. They had seven children together.