George Gordon Meade
George Meade entered the West Point Military Academy in 1831 and graduated four years later, ranking 19th in a class of 56 members. In 1836 he resigned from the army to pursue a career in civil engineering. In 1842, however, he returned to the army and was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers. He served in the Mexican-War. Otherwise, Meade was employed as a military engineer: constructing lighthouses, breakwaters, and completing survey work. After the beginning of the Civil War, Meade, was made a brigadier general and given command of a Pennsylvania brigade. Soon he was given command of a division in the First Corps, followed by a promotion to command of the Fifth Corps. On June 28, 1863, Meade was appointed by President Lincoln to command the Army of the Potomac, a position Meade held until the end of the war, although he was later overshadowed by the direct supervision of a new general-in-chief, Ulysses S. Grant. Meade is best known for leading the army that defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Born: December 31, 1815
Birthplace: Cadiz, Spain
(His father, Richard Meade, was stationed in Cadiz, Spain as a United States Naval Agent at the time of his birth.)
Father: Richard Worsham Meade I 1778 – 1828
(Buried: Saint Mary’s Catholic Churchyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Mother: Margaret Coats Butler 1782 – 1852(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Wife: Margaretta Sergeant 1814 – 1886(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Married: December 31, 1840 at St. Peters Church, Philadelphia, PA.Children:
John Sergeant Meade 1841 – 1865
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Captain George Meade Jr. 1843 – 1897
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Margaret Butler Meade 1845 – 1905
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Spencer Meade 1850 – 1911
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Sarah Wise Meade Large 1851 – 1913
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Henrietta Meade 1853 – 1944
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
William Meade 1855 – 1891
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Signature: Education:
1835: Graduated from West Point Military Academy – (19th in class)
Occupation before War:
1835: Brevet 2nd Lt. United States Army, 3rd Artillery
1835 – 1836: 2nd Lt. United States Army, 3rd Artillery
1836: Resigned from United States Army on October 26th
1837 – 1838: Assistant Engineer, Survey of Mississippi Delta
1838 – 1840: Assistant Engineer of Texas Boundary
1840 – 1842: Assistant Engineer of Northeastern Boundary
1842 – 1851: 2nd Lt., United States Army Topographic Engineers
1846: Brevetted 1st Lt. for Gallantry at Battle of Monterrey Mexico
1851 – 1856: 1st Lt., United States Army Topographic Engineers
1856 – 1863: Captain, United States Army Topographic Engineers
Civil War Service:1856 – 1862: Captain, United States Army Topographic Engineers
1862 – 1863: Major, United States Army Topographic Engineers
1861 – 1862: Brigadier General, Union Army Volunteers Infantry
1861 – 1862: Commander of Pennsylvania Reserves Brigade
1861: Served in the Battles of Dranesville, Virginia
1862: Served in the Virginia, Peninsula Campaign
1862: Wounded during the Battle of Glendale, Virginia
1862: Commander of First Army Corps, Army of the Potomac
1862: Temporary Corps Commander during Maryland Campaign
1862 – 1864: Major General, Union Army Volunteers Infantry
1862 – 1863: Commander of Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac
1862: Corps Commander at Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia
1863: Corps Commander at Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia
1863: Major, United States Army Engineers
1863 – 1865: Commander of Union Army of the Potomac
1863: Union Army Commander at Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
1863 – 1864: Brigadier General, United States Army
1863: Union Army Commander during Bristoe, Virginia Campaign
1863: Union Army Commander during Mine Run, Virginia Campaign
1864: Offered his resignation to Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant
1864 – 1872: Major General, United States Army
1865: Not present when General Robert E. Lee Surrendered to Grant
Occupation after War:1864 – 1872: Major General, United States Army
1865 – 1866: Commander Military Division of the Atlantic
1865 – 1868: President of Board of Retiring Disabled Officers
1865 – 1872: Honorary Member Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati
1866: Member of Board for Recommendations for Brevets
1866 – 1872: Commissioner of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, PA.
1866 – 1868: Served in Department of the East Headquarters
1867: Member of Board to select depots for Army Clothing
1868 – 1869: Commander U.S. Army Department of the South
1869 – 1872: Commander of U.S. Army Military Division of Atlantic
Died: November 6, 1872
Place of Death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cause of Death: Pneumonia
Age at time of Death: 57 years old
Burial Place: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
FOR FURTHER READING
- Searching for George Gordon Meade: The Forgotten Victor of Gettysburg, by Tom Huntington, 2015
- Meade: The Price of Command, 1863–1865, by John G. Selby, 2018
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