George Meade Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 - November 6, 1872) was an American military officer during the American Civil War. He is best known for defeating the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E. Lee, at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Early career
Meade was born in Cádiz, Spain to an American family. At the time, his father had run into financial and legal difficulties due in part to the Napoleonic Wars. Meade graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1835. For a year, he served with the 3rd Artillery in Florida, fighting against the Seminole Native Americans, before resigning to become a civil engineer. He was also a railroad constructor, and worked for the Department of War for some time. However, after finding civilian employment difficult, he reentered the army in 1842. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, and assigned to the corps of topographical engineers.
He was assigned to Mexico during the Mexican War, assigned to the staffs of Generals Zachary Taylor, William J. Worth, and Robert Patterson, and was brevetted for gallant conduct at the Monterey. His military career was uneventful, mainly as an engineer associated with lighthouses, until 1861, when the Civil War erupted.
Civil War career
Meade was appointed a Brigadier General of Volunteers a few months after the start of the Civil War. He was assigned command of a brigade of Pennsylvania Reserves, which he led competently. During the Seven Days' Battles, Meade received a severe wound (specifically at the Battle of Fraziers' Farm). He recovered in time for the Second Battle of Bull Run, after which he received a divisional command. Meade distinguished himself during the Battle of Antietam and its precursor, South Mountain. In the former, he replaced the wounded Major General Joseph Hooker in command of I Corps, performing well.
During the Battle of Fredericksburg, Meade's division made the only breakthrough of the Confederate lines, spearheading through a weak portion of General "Stonewall" Jackson's lines. For this action, Meade was promoted to Major General of Volunteers. However, he was unsupported, losing much of his division. After the battle, he received command of V Corps, and during the short tenure of the system of Grand Divisions after Fredericksburg, Meade commanded the Centre Grand Division. General Hooker, like one of Meade's previous superiors, Major General George B. McClellan, was too timid in his force deployment, leaving Meade's effective division in reserve for most of the Union defeat at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
After Hooker resigned from command of the Army of the Potomac, Meade replaced him three days before the Battle of Gettysburg, where he won the battle that is considered a turning point of the war. Meade succeeded in driving General Robert E. Lee's army back into Virginia, but was criticized at the time, and continues to be criticized, unfairly, by many armchair historians for not actively pursuing the Confederates during their retreat (at one point, the Army of Northern Virgina was extremely vulnerable with their backs to the almost uncrossable Potomac River). Nonetheless, he received the Thanks of Congress and a belated promotion to Brigadier General of Regulars (which was separate from his promotions in the Volunteer army).
When General Ulysses S. Grant was appointed commander of the Union forces, Meade became subordinate to him. During the Bristoe Station Campaign and the Mine Run Campaign, Meade's command fought two inconclusive battles due to Meade's refusal to attack an entrenched position. Interestingly, after Grant made his headquarters in 1864 with Meade, there was an arrangement to mention Meade only in setbacks, because of his well-known fiery temper, especially toward reporters. Most certainly, Meade knew nothing of this arrangement, and the reporters apparently giving all of the credit to Grant angered Meade. He fought effectively during the Overland Campaign (including the Battle of the Wilderness), and the Battle of Petersburg, after which Grant requested that he be promoted to Major General of the Regular Army. Although he fought during the Appomattox Campaign, he felt slighted that Grant and cavalry commander Major General Philip Sheridan received most of the credit. He commanded the Army of the Potomac until the Union victory in 1865.
Meade's decisions during the Civil War have been the focus of controversy. He has been accused of not being aggressive enough in pursuit of Confederate forces, and being unwilling to attack on occasion. It should be noted that Meade never badly lost a battle he was not ordered to fight by Grant. Meade's temper earned him infamy, as did Daniel Sickles' vicious postwar campaign against Meade's character. Sickles was the commander of III Corp at Gettysburg who developed a personal vendetta against the general following Sickels' gross insubordination during the battle at Gettysburg. (Sickles' actions almost lost the battle, and perhaps the war, for the Union.) Meade's reputation among historians has suffered as a result. However, Meade displayed and acted upon an understanding of the necessary changes in tactics brought about by improvements in weapons technology. Meade's decisions to entrench when practicable and not attack entrenched positions should have been more carefully studied. They were lessons that Meade understood could have been used to great effect on the Western Front during World War I.
Meade died in Philadelphia on November 6, 1872, due to complications from his old wounds, combined with pneumonia. There are various statues of him throughout Pennsylvania, including a few in Gettysburg. Also, the US Army installation Fort George G. Meade in Fort Meade, Maryland is named for him.
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A monument to Meade on the Gettysburg Battlefield, located close to the point where Pickett's Charge was repelled.Postbellum career
General Meade was the commissioner of Fairmount Park in Pennsylvania from 1866 until his death. He also held various military commands, including the Military Division of the Atlantic, the Department of the East, the 3rd Military District (including Georgia and Alabama), and the Department of the South. He received an honorary doctorate in law (LL.D.) from Harvard University, and his scientific achievements were recognized by various institutions, including the American Philosophical Society and the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.External links