George Meade (1815–1872) was a career military officer from Pennsylvania who is best known for his role as a Union general during the Civil War. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1835 and briefly served in the Army during the Second Seminole War. He began working as a civil engineer for railroad companies and the Department of War until reenlisting in the army in 1842. Meade fought in the Mexican–American War and was promoted to first lieutenant for his heroic actions at the Battle of Monterrey. From the 1850s until the onset of the Civil War in 1861, Meade was involved in coastal surveying and designing lighthouses, mainly for the Corps of Topographical Engineers. He was promoted to brigadier general at the beginning of war, but was badly wounded at the Battle of Glendale in 1862. He recovered and led forces during major battles, including Antietam and Fredericksburg. In June 1863, Meade replaced General Joseph Hooker as commanding officer of the Army of the Potomac, and fought his greatest battle only days later at Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the war. He succeeding in defeating General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate forces, but was criticized by President Abraham Lincoln for allowing Confederate forces to retreat to Virginia. Meade continued to serve as the Army of the Potomac's commanding officer until the end of the war, though Ulysses S. Grant was appointed general-in-chief of all Union armies, superseding Meade's authority.