General+George+Gordon+Meade

Back = Franklin County Main Page = Home Page General George Gordon Meade George Gordon Meade was born in Cadiz, Spain on Christmas in 1815. He was the son of a wealthy merchant who was serving as a naval agent in Spain. His father lost all of his wealth by means of supporting Spain and died when George was a young adolescent. Not too long after his father’s death Meade’s family moved back to the United States and into Pennsylvania. His family was impoverished and George wound up attending West Point (United States Military Academy) in order to get an education. He had no plans of joining the military but after graduating 19th in his class he served in the Seminole War in Florida. After the war, Meade retired from the army and married his wife Margaretta Sergeant. They had seven children. After some time Meade had difficulty procuring a job and rejoined the army to support his family. He then fought in the Mexican American War where he was promoted to captain. Once the war was over Meade began designing lighthouses in Florida and New Jersey.  Meade began the Civil War as a captain but after only a few short months he was promoted to brigadier general. When Joseph Hooker was wounded during the Battle of Antietam, Meade was chosen as his replacement. Later, after the Battle of Fredericksburg, Meade was promoted to major general. However, Meade’s most successful military endeavor was his prominent victory at Gettysburg. Meade is a highly influential figure in the Civil War, and in particular for the Union. This is primarily because of his victory at Gettysburg which is known for being the turning point for the North. Meade took over the army only three days before the battle but still managed to defeat Lee’s army. But Meade was criticized by President Lincoln for not advancing and attacking the retreating army. Gettysburg was the height of Meade’s military career, afterwards his success began to slide downhill.

Following the Battle of Gettysburg, Meade was placed under the order of General Grant with whom Meade shared mutual disdain. Meade found it difficult acting as Grant’s subordinate. Meade was known for his short temper and incidentally was not particularly liked by his army. He also had a poor relationship with the press who painted him as a surly, easily angered man. Meade died in early November of 1872 due to pneumonia and complications from numerous war wounds. He was outlived by his well known, poor footed horse named Old Baldy.