Born 31 Dec 1815 in Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain

Ancestors

Husband of Margaretta (Sergeant) Meade — married 31 Dec 1840 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 6 Nov 1872 at age 56 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

George Meade is Notable.

Maj. Gen. George Meade served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: 1842
Mustered out: Nov 6, 1872 (DMS)
Side: USA
Regiment(s): 2nd Brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves; Army of the Potomac

1st LT George Meade served with the United States Army during the Mexican-American War
Service Started: 1846
Unit(s): Corps of Topographical Engineers
Service Ended: 1848

Maj. Gen. George Meade was Wounded in Action during the United States Civil War.

Summary

George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 ? November 6, 1872) was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer involved in coastal construction, including several lighthouses. He fought with distinction in the Second Seminole War and the Mexican-American War. During the American Civil War he served as a Union general, rising from command of a brigade to the Army of the Potomac. He is best known for defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. ^[1]

He was severely wounded while leading his brigade at the Battle of Glendale during the Seven Days Battles, but recovered and went on to perform admirably at the Battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. ^[2]

Early Years

Meade was born in Cadiz, Spain, eighth of eleven children of Richard Worsam Meade (1778?1828) and Margaret Coats Butler (1782?1852). His brother, Richard Worsam Meade II, was a future naval officer. His father, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant serving in Spain as a naval agent for the U.S. government, was ruined financially because of his support of Spain in the Napoleonic Wars and died in 1828 while Meade was not yet a teenager.

Family

On December 31, 1840 (his birthday), he married Margaretta Sergeant, daughter of John Sergeant, running mate of Henry Clay in the 1832 presidential election. They had seven children together: John Sergeant Meade; George Meade (who became a colonel in the US Army); Margaret Butler Meade; Spencer Meade; Sarah Wise Meade; Henrietta Meade; and William Meade.

Spouse: Margaretta (Sergeant) Meade (1814 - 1886)

Children:

1. John Sergeant Meade (1841 - 1865)
2. George Gordon Meade (1843 - 1897)
3. Margaret Butler Meade (1845 - 1905)
4. Spencer Meade (1850 - 1911)
5. Sarah Wise Meade Large (1851 - 1913)
6. Henrietta Meade (1853 - 1944)
7. William Meade (1855 - 1891)

Military Career

For a year, he served with the 3rd U.S. Artillery in Florida, fighting against the Seminole Indians, before resigning from the Army, a career he had not intended to pursue, even while attending West Point.

Finding steady civilian employment was difficult for the newly married man, so he reentered the army in 1842 as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers. Meade served in the Mexican?American War, assigned to the staffs of Generals Zachary Taylor, William J. Worth, and Robert Patterson, and was brevetted to first lieutenant for gallant conduct at the Battle of Monterrey.

George Meade went from captain to a rank of brigadier general of the volunteers in 1861. This was done due to the recommendation of then Pennsylvania governor, Curtin. His assignment was to command the Second Brigade of the reserves in Pennsylvania. When Hooker resigned as commander for the Army of the Potomac, Lincoln informed Meade that he was to be the replacement in the position Hooker had left. Meade led the battle that is seen by historians as one of the turning points of the Civil War when during the Battle of Gettysburg he confronted General Lee and won. After the win in Gettysburg the Confederate Army under General Lee went back to Virginia. When Meade did not pursue the Confederacy during their retreat he was criticized for not doing so. ^[3]

Death

General Meade died in Philadelphia, while still on active duty, from complications of his old wounds, combined with pneumonia, on November 6, 1872. He was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery. ^[4]

Burial

Cemetery: Laurel Hill Cemetery

Location: Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA

Note: Plot: Section L, Lot 1-7 ^[5]

Time Line

December 31, 1815 - George G. Meade is born in Cadiz, Spain.

1835 - George G. Meade graduates from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, finishing nineteenth in his class.

1861 - As the American Civil War begins, George G. Meade, a Mexican War veteran, is given command of a brigade of Pennsylvania troops.

June 27, 1862 - Union general George G. Meade sees combat action for the first time in the Civil War at the Battle of Gaines' Mill in Hanover County, Virginia.

' June 30, 1862 - While fighting at the Battle of Glendale in Henrico County, Union general George G. Meade is seriously wounded, though he recovers within the year.

December 13, 1862 - The only Union success at the Battle of Fredericksburg comes when Union general George G. Meade achieves a breakthrough against Confederate general A. P. Hill's division.

June 28, 1863 - General Joseph Hooker, commander of the Union Army of the Potomac, resigns after a dispute with Union general-in-chief Henry W. Halleck. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln hands the job of defending Pennsylvania from Confederate invasion to General George G. Meade. His troops are massed near Frederick, Maryland.

July 1?3, 1863 - Union general George G. Meade defeats Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg, forcing the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to retreat toward Virginia.

March 1864 - During his first meeting with Ulysses S. Grant, the Union army's new general-in-chief, George G. Meade offers to resign. His request is denied.

November 6, 1872 - George G. Meade dies of pneumonia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Legacy

• Meade County, Kansas and Meade County, South Dakota were both named in Gen. Meade's honor.
• Fort George G. Meade in Fort Meade, Maryland is named after him.

George was born in 1815. He passed away in 1872.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia: Wikipedia:Major General George G Meade
2. ↑ History.com: General George Meade
3. ↑ History Net: Tom Huntington is the author of Pennsylvania Civil War Trails: The Guide to Battle Sites, Monuments, Museums and Towns. George Meade
4. ↑ Eicher, p. 384; "The Soldier's Rest.; Obsequies of Gen. Meade in Philadelphia.". New York Times. November 11, 1872.
5. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 16 September 2019), memorial page for George Gordon Meade (31 Dec 1815?6 Nov 1872), Find A Grave: Memorial #702 , citing Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .

• Kent Masterson Brown, Meade at Gettysburg: A Study in Command , (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2021): 464.
• Allen C. Guelzo, Gettysburg: The Last Invasion, First edition, (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013): 623.
• Cory M. Pfarr, Longstreet at Gettysburg: A Critical Reassessment, (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2019): 204.
• Cory M. Pfarr, Righting the Longstreet Record at Gettysburg: Six Matters of Controversy and Confusion, (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2023): 203.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Meade