The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1872-11-15

10 1850, he joined the army as brew
at second lieutenant of the Sd Artiller,
h and at the end of the year became
= foil second lieutenant but in II
r. October following he resigned ai
II position, snd retired from the servict
II becoming civil engineer His prir
/ cipal survey was on the North Easter
o boundary line. In 1842, he wa
q reappointed to the army with th
4 rank of Second Lieutenant of Topo
a graphical Engineers, and when wa
# was declared against Mexico he wa
4 ordered to the field, and served wit
!. credit, receiving in 1926 the rank O
h first lieutenant by brevet for gallantr
: at the siege of Monterey. Whel
. peace was concluded, he employe,
J himself in supervising river ant
barber improvements, and in con
D structing lighthouses on Delawar
. Bay and off the coast of Florida. H
, became first lieutenant in 1851, cap
tain in 1856, and major in 1862.
!, At the outbreak OF the Rebellion
i Major Meade was at Detroit, slich.
, engaged in the national survey of tn,
. lakes. He was ordered to report q
Washington; and, on the 31st o
August, 1861, he received the ap-
pointment OF Brigadier-General o.
Volunteers, with command of the
Second Brigade of the Pennsyl-
vania Reserve Corps. He took part
in McClellan's advance on Rich
mond, and during the seven days
fight was struck by ball, which
caused q severe and painful wound.
He soon recovered, aad September,
1862, took command of a division in
Reynolds First Army Corps, which
ha conducted with great skill and
bravery during the Maryland cam
paign. At Antietam his Reserves
were in the hottest and thickest of the
fight, and when Gen. Hooker was
wounded, Gen. Mcclellan placed the
General in command of the corps
which had just been deprived of its
gallant leader. During the action he
received q slight confusion, and had
two horses killed under him. He re-
ceived the appointment of Major
General of Volunteers on the 29sh of
November, and took part in the bat
tie of Fredericksburg December,
1862, and displayed courage and
GOODNESS during the engagement.
During the same month he was placed
in command of the Fifth Corps,
which, after being engaged through
out the battle of Charlottesville,
covered the retreat of the beaten
army, and guarded the crossings un-
til the whole army was safely over
the river
In June, 1868, when Lee was ad-
vancipg up the Shenandoah Valley to
invade Maryland and Pennsylvania,
Gen. Meade was suddenly and unex
pectedly called to succeed Gen.
Hooker in the command OF the Army
of the Potomac, numbering 100000
men. He advanced through Mary
land on parallel lines with Lees
army, which finally, marching east
ward, struck (July l the head Of
Mead's column under Gen. Reynolds,
near Gettysburg. The fight for
position which occurred, and which
resulted in the defest and death Of
Reynolds, and the retirement of his
column through Gettysburg to q
strong position south OF the town, is
genearlly spoken of as the first days
fight Of the great battle which ensued
at Gettysburg. The whole army ad-
vsnced to this position during the
night, and the next day Sickle's corps
went into action and was driven back,
the day closing with the advantage
on the side of the Confederates. The
third day opened with an advance OF
the Union right under Slocum, who
retook ground he had lost and rested
upon it. Soon sfter the Confederate
artillery opened and plowed the I'm
ion lines for two hours, when the
orest Confederate column of assault
emerging from behind the batteries
pressed swiftly toward the Union
lines, and was repulsed with great
slaughter. l
This reverse decided the day, and
when the Confederstes regsined their
lines the battle had been won by the
Union forces. Gen. Meade, who
displayed mastery ability through
out the engagement, reported his loss
in these three bloody days at 1884
killed, 1900 wounded, and 6,64S
missing
He took Is, ,62l prisoners and a.
97S smsll arms. Lee promptly re
treated, and escaped before the de
tachments sent by Meade in pursuit
could arrest his progress.
Gen. Meade was promoted to be a
Brigadier- General Of the regular army
by a commission dated July 8, 1863.
About the 18th of July he moved bis
army across the Potomac into Vir
ginia, where he had several sklrmish-
es with the enemy in October and
November, 1868. He was second in
command of The army of the Potomsc
in its operations against Richmond
in 1864. 81 tried as far ss possible"
observed Gen. Grant, "to leave Gen.
Meade in independent command OF
the Army OF the Potomac My in
structions for that army were all
through him, and were general in
their nature, leaving all the details
and the execution to him. The cam
paigns that followed proved him
to be tie right man in tbe right
place" The army OF which he had i'm |
mediate command fought great bat
ties at the Wilderness, Spotsylvanis
Courthouse, and Cold Harbor, and
was employed many months in the
siege OF Petersburg. In August,
1864, be was appointed Major-
General OF the Third Military Dis
trict, comprising Georgia, Florida,
and Alabams, in 1867, and was sub
sequently appointed commander OF
the Atlantic Military Division, hav-
ing its headquarters at Phiiadelphia-
Gen. Meade was tall, and soldierlike
in bearing ami general appearance.
He was held in his ID esteem BY his
fellow citizens in Philadelphia, and
was popular ameDg his former COM
panions in arms.
MASSACHUSETTS has repudiated
Chss. Summers ideas OF duty in the
canvass just closed. In q most en-
phatio manner she has indorsed Gen
eral Grant and the policy Of his ad-
ministration. Sumner counted on
defeating the President by his iDfla-
ence with the colored people, who
he claimed, were his wards. In this
he wss mistaken, and they have CIV
en- him and all other renegades from
I II