George Meade

**George Gordon Meade** (1815-1872) was one of the few Union Army generals in the American Civil War who was born and began his career in a  country. He was born in Cadiz, Spain on December 31, 1815. He came to the United States after his family was financially ed during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Civil War he stayed in the army, serving in the South during the Reconstruction. Meade served as commissioner of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia until his death in 1872.

## Early life 
Meade was born in Cadiz, Spain to American parents, Richard W. Meade and Margaret Coates Meade. His father was an  for the United States Navy. He was an artillery officer for a year before resigning in 1837 to become a civil engineer. He reentered the army in 1842 after having difficulty in finding jobs. Meade was a second lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers when the Mexican–American War broke out in 1846. He was given the task of building several fortifications near Tenallytown, Maryland. He moved the army towards Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to stop Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Meade sent out skirmishers to  the Confederate lines. But no order was given to attack. His army held its position while the more than 10,000 wounded men were moved by wagon train  to Williamsport, Maryland. The train of wagons and ambulances with the wounded was some  long. Meade discovered Lee's army had left the morning of July 5. Meade then ordered his nearly exhausted army to pursue Lee. Since the Potomac River was flooded, Lee's army was delayed in crossing. But by the time Meade's forces reached the Potomac, Lee had already escaped back into Virginia.

While Meade was proclaimed the "hero of Gettysburg", President Lincoln wasn't satisfied. He had expected Meade to follow and destroy Lee's army, which could have ended the war. Meade offered Lincoln his resignation but Lincoln refused to accept it. On July 7, 1863, Meade was promoted to brigadier general in the regular army. Both the battles of Bristoe Station and Mine Run were un for the Union army under Meade. In the spring of 1864, Meade again offered his resignation when General Ulysses S. Grant became general-in-chief of all Union forces and made his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac. While Meade remained in command, nearly all command decisions were made by Grant. This continued through the Siege of Petersburg after which Meade was promoted to major general. A week later, when Lee surrendered his army to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Meade was not present.

## After the war 
Meade commanded several military departments. One of these was the Department of the South.  In the fall of 1872, he came down with pneumonia. He died on November 6, 1872. His funeral became a state affair with President Grant attending. Thousands of people in Philadelphia lined the route of his funeral to say goodbye to the "hero of Gettysburg". On July 18, 1917, by order of the United States Department of War, Camp Meade, Maryland was named in honor of George G. Meade. In 1929, to differentiate it from Fort Meade in South Dakota, the camp was renamed Fort George G. Meade.

## Notes 
## References 
## Other websites
* 
* Official Home Page of Fort George G. Meade, Maryland