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Meade of Gettysburg
General George Gordon Meade is best known to history as the commander of the victorious Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, the greatest battle of the Civil War. In his own lifetime meager credit was allotted him for his achievement at Gettysburg, for his long pursuit of General Robert E. Lee into Virginia, and for the furious marches his men were forced into both before and after Gettysburg, until, finally, -in the vicinity of Appomattox Courthouse, he again held the upper hand. And since his death in 1872, frequent criticism has been meted out to him for not following up the victory his troops accomplished.
In this account of the man and his achievements, Freeman Cleaves has attempted to sift the truth from War Office archives and records, from private and public documents, to assess fairly the value of his services.
The fourth-ranking officer in the Federal Army at the end of the Civil War, Meade was one of that small corps of professional soldiers who ably conducted campaigns both North and South. A graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, he was a member of the far-famed Army Topographical Engineers, and served under General Taylor in the Mexican War. Plain-spoken, restless, and impatient, he was a familiar figure close to the front in many major Civil War battles, where his sound generalship won the respect of his troops and fellow officers, though Grant later, almost incomprehensibly, gave preferment to Sheridan.
Here, then, is not only a picture of the man in full round, but also a stimulating account of the strategies behind the important Civil War battles in which Meade distinguished himself: the Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness Campaign. Every student of Civil War history will want to meet the man who stopped Lee.
In this account of the man and his achievements, Freeman Cleaves has attempted to sift the truth from War Office archives and records, from private and public documents, to assess fairly the value of his services.
The fourth-ranking officer in the Federal Army at the end of the Civil War, Meade was one of that small corps of professional soldiers who ably conducted campaigns both North and South. A graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, he was a member of the far-famed Army Topographical Engineers, and served under General Taylor in the Mexican War. Plain-spoken, restless, and impatient, he was a familiar figure close to the front in many major Civil War battles, where his sound generalship won the respect of his troops and fellow officers, though Grant later, almost incomprehensibly, gave preferment to Sheridan.
Here, then, is not only a picture of the man in full round, but also a stimulating account of the strategies behind the important Civil War battles in which Meade distinguished himself: the Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness Campaign. Every student of Civil War history will want to meet the man who stopped Lee.
412 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
39 people want to read
About the author
Freeman Cleaves
4 books3 followersEducated at Bates College and the University of New Hampshire, Freeman Cleaves worked as a news reporter and financial writer for the weekly publication Financial World.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 12, 2019
Published in 1960, Freeman Cleaves’s book is practically the sole bio of a man who, at the head of the Army of the Potomac, turned back the Army of Northern Virginia and General Robert E. Lee at the high-tide of Southern advance in the American Civil War. I live near enough to Gettysburg to make occasional pilgrimages there, and thought I was reasonably educated about Meade before reading this book. I was wrong.
Meade was the least political General the North had. Unwilling to seek out publicity, he even shunned it when directed his way. His career suffered mightily as a result: newspapers colluded not to mention him, even in battles he won. It was always “Grant’s Army of the Potomac” (after Grant was promoted Lieutenant General and, in an amicable relationship, became his boss), or “Sheridan dashing charge” (Sheridan was in the Army of the Potomac only for four months!). After hearing everyone but Meade given credit for Gettysburg, a battle he won only two days after being given charge of the Army of the Potomac, Meade said “it would soon be proved that either he was not at Gettysburg at all or that his presence there had been a positive detriment.”
The initial sting was Lincoln’s disappointment Meade supposedly did not follow Lee’s army after his victory at Gettysburg and trap Lee before he could cross back over the rising Potomac waters to the South. Contrary to popular history, Meade—from the Corps of Engineers battling another Corps of Engineers foe in Lee—tried. He was slowed by the need to refresh food and ammunition (Lee, having traversed the same ground twice before made forage impossible, and anyway, ammunition and other stores had to come from Harrisburg), by lack of cavalry, so Meade wasn’t sure what route Lee took, and when his tired army finally found Lee, they faced dug-in fortifications that would have been senseless to attack. Yes, Lee got away. But the Southern army never again threatened Washington, and never again could feed itself.
For the most part, Meade was a level-headed General, unlike McClellan, Sheridan, Hooker, and Burnside. He was most like Sherman: he didn’t complain; he did his job, however difficult. But he was contemptuous of subordinates not as competent as he; he famously criticized General Sykes, at the battle of Charlottesville, for retreating:
“Meade was more than disappointed—he was dismayed. Gazing toward the heights twice lost, he exclaimed to some officers near him, ‘My God, if we can’t hold the top of the hill, we certainly can’t hold the bottom of it!’”
Even after war’s end, Meade showed his mettle: Sent to trouble-shoot the Reconstruction South, Meade tried best to uphold the law, sometimes siding with Conservatives, other times with Radicals. Meade was a true moderate who believed in neutrality—save that he went out of his way to welcome his defeated Southern Brothers-in-Arms if they swore their loyalty to the Union. In retirement, Meade was the General pushed out of the limelight at Reunion galas—without public complaint. It took his premature death, at age 57, at his Philadelphia home for newspapers to realize “We have lost a man who did not know what it was to be false.”
Cleaves’s writing is no thriller, but no bore either. It’s just he had so little to work with. Military orders, to and from survive, but the only personal details are the letters Meade wrote to his wife during the War years. Everything else was destroyed. Cleaves had to rely on an early bio by Meade’s son and Civil War aide, Captain Meade, mostly nasty newspaper coverage, plus a handful of brief references—nearly all favorable—in diaries of men, famous and ordinary, who met him. This isn’t a book about battles; it’s an attempt to write about the man in his time.
Faced with the example of McClellan, silent George Meade disappeared from history without the credit he deserves. This 1960 work probably is the best there can be in re-installing his reputation as a Northern General who cared deeply about his men, wouldn’t risk their lives senselessly in battle, and was admired (if not loved) by all who served under him. Somehow, I never knew that. And, thanks to the egos of more political savvy Generals, the world never saw it either—unless they read Cleaves’s Meade of Gettysburg.
Meade was the least political General the North had. Unwilling to seek out publicity, he even shunned it when directed his way. His career suffered mightily as a result: newspapers colluded not to mention him, even in battles he won. It was always “Grant’s Army of the Potomac” (after Grant was promoted Lieutenant General and, in an amicable relationship, became his boss), or “Sheridan dashing charge” (Sheridan was in the Army of the Potomac only for four months!). After hearing everyone but Meade given credit for Gettysburg, a battle he won only two days after being given charge of the Army of the Potomac, Meade said “it would soon be proved that either he was not at Gettysburg at all or that his presence there had been a positive detriment.”
The initial sting was Lincoln’s disappointment Meade supposedly did not follow Lee’s army after his victory at Gettysburg and trap Lee before he could cross back over the rising Potomac waters to the South. Contrary to popular history, Meade—from the Corps of Engineers battling another Corps of Engineers foe in Lee—tried. He was slowed by the need to refresh food and ammunition (Lee, having traversed the same ground twice before made forage impossible, and anyway, ammunition and other stores had to come from Harrisburg), by lack of cavalry, so Meade wasn’t sure what route Lee took, and when his tired army finally found Lee, they faced dug-in fortifications that would have been senseless to attack. Yes, Lee got away. But the Southern army never again threatened Washington, and never again could feed itself.
For the most part, Meade was a level-headed General, unlike McClellan, Sheridan, Hooker, and Burnside. He was most like Sherman: he didn’t complain; he did his job, however difficult. But he was contemptuous of subordinates not as competent as he; he famously criticized General Sykes, at the battle of Charlottesville, for retreating:
“Meade was more than disappointed—he was dismayed. Gazing toward the heights twice lost, he exclaimed to some officers near him, ‘My God, if we can’t hold the top of the hill, we certainly can’t hold the bottom of it!’”
Even after war’s end, Meade showed his mettle: Sent to trouble-shoot the Reconstruction South, Meade tried best to uphold the law, sometimes siding with Conservatives, other times with Radicals. Meade was a true moderate who believed in neutrality—save that he went out of his way to welcome his defeated Southern Brothers-in-Arms if they swore their loyalty to the Union. In retirement, Meade was the General pushed out of the limelight at Reunion galas—without public complaint. It took his premature death, at age 57, at his Philadelphia home for newspapers to realize “We have lost a man who did not know what it was to be false.”
Cleaves’s writing is no thriller, but no bore either. It’s just he had so little to work with. Military orders, to and from survive, but the only personal details are the letters Meade wrote to his wife during the War years. Everything else was destroyed. Cleaves had to rely on an early bio by Meade’s son and Civil War aide, Captain Meade, mostly nasty newspaper coverage, plus a handful of brief references—nearly all favorable—in diaries of men, famous and ordinary, who met him. This isn’t a book about battles; it’s an attempt to write about the man in his time.
Faced with the example of McClellan, silent George Meade disappeared from history without the credit he deserves. This 1960 work probably is the best there can be in re-installing his reputation as a Northern General who cared deeply about his men, wouldn’t risk their lives senselessly in battle, and was admired (if not loved) by all who served under him. Somehow, I never knew that. And, thanks to the egos of more political savvy Generals, the world never saw it either—unless they read Cleaves’s Meade of Gettysburg.
January 7, 2019
I’m sitting here staring at my computer screen wondering how to start a review on Freeman Cleaves book; “Meade of Gettysburg”. This book was first published in 1960 and my copy is a first edition that I purchased second hand from a library. Its been sitting in my own library for a few years, laying unread in my Civil War section until I was spurred to read it.
I regret not reading it early, as even though it’s an old book and some research may be dated, it was a very enjoyable and interesting read. The book provides a fairly decent overview of the life and military career of George Gordon Meade. It’s not an in-depth military history and some of the battle accounts are fairly slim but it does supply the reader with an insight into the man and at times I found it hard to put down.
I came to the conclusion upon finishing this book that George Meade was an unappreciated Civil War commander who always put his country's needs first, his career second. Through no fault of his own, his career and achievements have been overshadowed by others, some deserving but many not.
I really enjoyed reading about George Meade and his leadership of the Army of the Potomac and his role is helping to defeat Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia, and in this regard he deserves more credit than is normally given.
As I mentioned previously some of the accounts of the battles are not as in-depth as I would prefer and there are only a number of basic maps to assist the reader (6 in number) but overall I really enjoyed this book and believe its a good start for further reading on this great soldier of the Republic which I now intend to do with a number of newer books on the subject.
I regret not reading it early, as even though it’s an old book and some research may be dated, it was a very enjoyable and interesting read. The book provides a fairly decent overview of the life and military career of George Gordon Meade. It’s not an in-depth military history and some of the battle accounts are fairly slim but it does supply the reader with an insight into the man and at times I found it hard to put down.
I came to the conclusion upon finishing this book that George Meade was an unappreciated Civil War commander who always put his country's needs first, his career second. Through no fault of his own, his career and achievements have been overshadowed by others, some deserving but many not.
I really enjoyed reading about George Meade and his leadership of the Army of the Potomac and his role is helping to defeat Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia, and in this regard he deserves more credit than is normally given.
As I mentioned previously some of the accounts of the battles are not as in-depth as I would prefer and there are only a number of basic maps to assist the reader (6 in number) but overall I really enjoyed this book and believe its a good start for further reading on this great soldier of the Republic which I now intend to do with a number of newer books on the subject.
October 6, 2017
Good biography. Unfortunately, the book has only a few (poor) maps reprinted from the Battles and Leaders series.
March 16, 2021
A thoughtful biography of an underappreciated man who was roused at 3 am in the morning and given the responsibility of saving the Union just three days before the battle of Gettysburg. It went a long way towards helping me understand George Meade as a man and as a General.
September 10, 2022
An all-encompassing military biography of one of the most underrated (in my opinion) Civil War generals.
I found this book to be an interesting look at Meade, and for the most part I found it to be an easy read. I did think some of the battle descriptions were dry, but I think that was mostly due to my own fault of being more well-versed in some battles versus others.
Though everyone has their faults, I walked away from this with the impression that Meade was one of those one-in-a-million, truly good men, albeit on the stoic side.
A worthy addition to Civil War non-fiction!
I found this book to be an interesting look at Meade, and for the most part I found it to be an easy read. I did think some of the battle descriptions were dry, but I think that was mostly due to my own fault of being more well-versed in some battles versus others.
Though everyone has their faults, I walked away from this with the impression that Meade was one of those one-in-a-million, truly good men, albeit on the stoic side.
A worthy addition to Civil War non-fiction!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews