Meade Meade & Couch

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

I'm finally reading a certain book about the latter part of the Gettysburg campaign and in it is mentioned that George Meade and Darius Couch were friends.

1. Is this accurate?

2. If so, did Meade ever try to get Couch transferred from the Department of Susquehanna back to the AotP? Meade didn't care for several of his top generals so Couch seems like a reasonable replacement (at least in terms of rank and experience; his skill is debatable). Or did Meade have a better opinion of Couch as a person than as a fellow general?

 

[General Butterfield]

Basing the following on what has been mentioned about Meade-Couch in Stephen Sears works:

I can't confirm if they were officially friends but Couch tried to be friendly to most people he was know to give out cigars. He had a Philly connection and seems to have got along well enough with both Meade and Hancock. At Chancellorsville however their was a bit of friction between him and Meade. Meade wanted Couch to take full command, from dazed Hooker, and order a counterattack while Couch didn't want to rock the boat. One scene at the battle Meade and a group of officers were waiting outside of Couch's tent for him to make a decision. When he emerge one officer remarked now will see some real fighting which excited Meade but Couch instead ordered them to prepare to withdraw. Couch said he only would have ordered an attack if he had of been allowed complete freedom without Hooker's interference since Hooker was still alive that wasn't possible....

Still Couch and Meade do seem to be on good terms. Couch made clear to the higher ups that he wanted Meade to succeed Hooker as commander of AoP and didn't want the job himself. As far as a commander Couch would have been a help at Gettysburg he was very competent. I would go as far as to say with Reynolds dead he would have been the best Corps commander there. Post Chancellorsville however he seemed somewhat disgusted with the entire situation so I don't think he wanted an active field command.

 

[Rebforever]

According to Furgurson's book Hooker agreed for Couch to take over then proceeded to tell him what to do. You have it right.

 

[Rebforever]

Basing the following on what has been mentioned about Meade-Couch in Stephen Sears works:

I can't confirm if they were officially friends but Couch tried to be friendly to most people he was know to give out cigars. He had a Philly connection and seems to have got along well enough with both Meade and Hancock. At Chancellorsville however their was a bit of friction between him and Meade. Meade wanted Couch to take full command, from dazed Hooker, and order a counterattack while Couch didn't want to rock the boat. One scene at the battle Meade and a group of officers were waiting outside of Couch's tent for him to make a decision. When he emerge one officer remarked now will see some real fighting which excited Meade but Couch instead ordered them to prepare to withdraw. Couch said he only would have ordered an attack if he had of been allowed complete freedom without Hooker's interference since Hooker was still alive that wasn't possible....

Still Couch and Meade do seem to be on good terms. Couch made clear to the higher ups that he wanted Meade to succeed Hooker as commander of AoP and didn't want the job himself. As far as a commander Couch would have been a help at Gettysburg he was very competent. I would go as far as to say with Reynolds dead he would have been the best Corps commander there. Post Chancellorsville however he seemed somewhat disguised with the entire situation so I don't think he wanted an active field command.

iirc, Couch was ill or something but he was put in charge of Penn. Militia and was waiting for Ewell's arrival at Harrisburg which never panned out because of Ewell's order to head back to Gettysburg.

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

In July 1863, Couch was in charge of the department, with Baldy Smith in field command of a division of 10,000 militia considered worthless by Couch (and probably Smith).