General Meade and His Staff

The victor at Gettysburg, George Meade (1815–1872), seated center, ended the war with a sense that he had been overlooked and dealt with unfairly. Abraham Lincoln’s criticism that he had failed to vigorously pursue Robert E. Lee after Gettysburg still rankled. And while Meade retained command of the Army of the Potomac, Ulysses Grant’s decision to serve in the field meant that Meade would always be overshadowed by the Union’s commanding general, both in day-to-day decision-making and by reputation. Meade served faithfully and punctiliously under Grant, and Grant testified to Meade’s character in his Memoirs.