“Portrait of Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, officer of the Federal Army, and Generals of the Army of the Potomac, vicinity of Washington, D.C., June 1865” (Library of Congress)
President Lincoln wasn’t afraid to swap horses midstream of the rebel invasion back in 1863. Thankfully for the Union cause, George Gordon Meade, the new commander of the Army of the Potomac, sure knew how to play defense against the attacking Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg.
150 year ago today General Meade wrote to his wife in his last wartime letter published in The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade … (page 279-280):
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, May 18, 1865.
I depended on the boys to tell you all the news. You will see by the papers that the great review is to come off next Tuesday. On that day, the army of the Potomac, consisting of the cavalry, Ninth, Fifth and Second Corps, will, under my command, march through Washington and be reviewed by the President. Today’s paper contains an announcement of the fact, in a telegram from Mr. Stanton to General Dix, which it is expected will bring the whole North to Washington.
I have heard nothing further about the proposed new duties, or about going to West Point. The order reducing the armies is published, and I suppose the reduction will take place immediately after the review, so it will not be long before the question is settled.
General Meade was a West Point graduate who had served steadily in the U. S. army since 1842. It’s not surprising that he was wondering what his next army assignment would be. Probably many of the returning volunteers were anxious about what they would be doing in civilian life.
General Meade
