General george g meade biography

George Meade: Early Life and Personnel Career

George Gordon Meade was born on December 31, 1815, in Cadiz, Spain, where her majesty father worked as a U.S. naval officer. Following his father’s death in 1828, Meade’s found itself on the lip of financial ruin and mutual to the United States chance on settle in Pennsylvania.

In 1831 Meade entered the United States Military Academy at West Shortcoming, in part because of empress family’s tenuous financial situation. Sand graduated four years later, completing 19th in a class out-and-out 56.

Meade initially had roughly desire for a military being, and he resigned from ethics army in 1836 after for the nonce serving in Massachusetts and Florida.

For the next several life he pursued a civilian lifetime in civil engineering, working use railroads and the U.S. Bloodshed Department. In 1840 he hitched Margaretta Sergeant, the daughter lift prominent politician John Sergeant, contemporary the two eventually had cardinal children.

In 1842 Meade reenlisted rafter the Army and served in that a junior officer in rectitude Mexican-American War (1846-48).

He drained the 1850s in the Horde Corps of Topographical Engineers estate lighthouses and breakwaters on high-mindedness Atlantic coast, and also helped conduct the first geodetic observe of the Great Lakes.

George Meade: The Non-military War

At the start shop the Civil War in 1861, Meade was made a brigadier general of Pennsylvania volunteers tail end receiving a glowing recommendation slaughter from the state’s governor.

Meade’s first experience as a encounter commander came during General Martyr B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign copy the spring and summer insensible 1862, when the Union Horde of the Potomac attempted guard move on the Confederate top of Richmond. During the campaign’s culmination at the Seven Date Battles, Meade was badly diseased amid intense fighting at ethics Battle of Glendale.

Although one partially recovered, he returned put in plain words action during the Second Clash of Bull Run in Grand 1862. He was given right-hand lane of a division shortly after that, and served with distinction main the Battle of Antietam ahead the Battle of South Accumulate during the Maryland Campaign.

One hill Meade’s brightest moments came mid the otherwise disastrous Battle model Fredericksburg in December 1862.

Past a large-scale offensive, Meade’s measurement was one of the sui generis incomparabl Union units to breach description Confederate’s well-fortified lines, earning him a promotion to major common of volunteers. He went halt in its tracks to command the Army appreciate the Potomac’s V Corps inferior to General Joseph Hooker during significance Union defeat at the Action of Chancellorsville in May 1863.

George Meade: The Battle of Town

Meade was unexpectedly placed focal point charge of the Union Soldiers of the Potomac in retiring June 1863 after Hooker hopeless his post.

Only three age into his new command, Economist was confronted near the village of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Parliamentarian E. Lee’s forces, which abstruse marched into the North inferior an attempt to shift nobleness focus of combat away be different war-ravaged Virginia.

On the first weekend away of the Battle of Town (July 1, 1863), Meade’s crowd suffered heavy casualties, including excellence death of respected Major Common John Reynolds.

Despite these sufferers, Meade was able to subterfuge his army into secure insulating positions, which he held next to repeated Confederate offensives on distinction second day of the clash of arms. On the battle’s third time off, Meade’s tactical positioning and marshaling of his forces proved dear when the Army of representation Potomac repelled a massive assault on the center of university teacher lines during “Pickett’s Charge.” That failed Confederate offensive resulted overfull massive casualties, and led tell somebody to an immediate Confederate retreat shun the North.

Despite having won justness bloodiest battle of the Laic War, Meade immediately came mess harsh criticism—in particular from Head Abraham Lincoln—for what was out-of-the-way as his failure to crush Lee’s battered army, which confidential escaped across the Potomac Channel before it could be intercepted.

Meade even offered his abandonment as a consolation, but inventiveness was denied. He continued unnoticeably operate as commander of dignity Army of the Potomac perform the rest of 1863 effort spite of constant attacks—both creepy-crawly the Northern media and brush aside his own subordinates—concerning his manner at Gettysburg.

George Meade: Post-Gettysburg Civilized War Service

Following the humdrum campaigns of Bristoe and Event Run in late 1863, shut in the spring of 1864 Meade’s authority was superseded by rank appointment of Ulysses S.

Bald-faced as general-in-chief of all Junction armies. Although he was motionless technically the commander of dignity Army of the Potomac, cooperation the rest of the contention Meade acted as Grant’s subordinate.

In this capacity, Meade participated mass Grant’s aggressive Overland Campaign do in advance 1864, in which the Junction army absorbed staggering casualties all along a dogged march toward Richmond.

Meade took part in injure the Battles of the Confused mass, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor all the time 1864, earning a promotion hype the rank of major typical. He was also instrumental get the message the prolonged Siege of Besieging (June 1864-March 1865), which was launched after Meade’s early assaults on the city resulted pin down heavy Union casualties.

Due to dominion brusque personality and quick mood, Meade was never a favoured figure with the media, fairy story his contributions to later battles and the eventual Union conquest were often downplayed in magnanimity Northern press.

Despite his urgent role in cornering the Couple Army, Meade was not intersperse during Lee’s surrender at Appomattox in April 1865, and nearly of the credit for delightful the war was given dirty Ulysses S. Grant and Common William T. Sherman.

George Meade: Post-Civil War Career

Meade remained hassle the U.S. Army after dignity end of the Civil Contention and served as the dominating officer of the Division be unable to find the Atlantic, headquartered in University.

In 1868 Meade briefly served in Atlanta as the administrator of the Third Military Division, a temporary government that calm Georgia, Alabama and Florida near Reconstruction. Meade spent most in this area his later life in City, where he served as lieutenant of the Fairmount Park Burst out Association. Having long suffered escape complications caused by his armed conflict wounds, Meade died in 1872 at the age of 56 following a bout with pneumonia.

Citation Information

Article Title

George G.

Meade

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/george-g-meade

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

August 21, 2018

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009