The Life and Letters of General George Gordon Meade Two Volumes, 811 pp., hc, Index, 24-page Map insert.

The Life and Letters of General George Gordon Meade; Volume I

Edited by his son George Meade

Now that the fiftieth anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg is approaching, and the lesson of that great struggle and the far-reaching effect of its result are to be brought to every mind, it has become a duty to place before the people this life of General Meade.

This work was compiled and written by George Meadeís son, Colonel George Meade, and is edited by Colonel Meadeís son.

The volumes contain two sets of heretofore unpublished letters written by General Meade to his wife during his absence from home, while actively engaged in the Mexican and Civil Wars, and a narrative of General Meadeís life during the periods not covered by his own writings, together with an account of the battle of Gettysburg.

The letters take the form of a diary, and relate his personal experiences, his views on men and affairs, and describe the operations of the army under Generals Taylor and Scott in the Mexican War, and the Army of the Potomac in the Civil War. Such matters as do not bear in any way upon the purpose of this work have been omitted. These letters are from one who was a loving husband, a professional soldier in the highest sense, and a man who never truckled to the public. They are written to a devoted wife, who had a remarkable understanding in all matters, military and personal, that related to him and to whom alone he wrote with perfect freedom.

The narrative opens with his genealogy and early life up to the time of his departure for the Mexican War. Continuing, it takes up his career from the time of his return from the Mexican War until he again leaves for the field in the Civil War, covering his services in the building of light-houses on the Atlantic coast, the Seminole Indian trouble in Florida, and the survey of the Great Lakes. Again, it carries on the story from the time of his return from the Civil War until his death, describing the part he played during the reconstruction period and the last days of his life. The account of the battle of Gettysburg appears in connection with the Civil War letters, beginning at the time when General Meade was placed in command of the Army of the Potomac.

This work was compiled and written at the time when the petty, jarring interests of the Civil War were having their day, and history was being distorted by unscrupulous military and political aspirants.

Colonel George Meade, the second son of General Meade, was born at Philadelphia, Pa., November 2, 1843. He attended as a cadet, the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., for two years, and subsequently entered the service as a private in the Eighth Pennsylvania (Militia) Infantry, September, 1862, in which capacity he served during the emergency caused by Leeís invasion of Maryland in 1862. In October, 1862, he received a commission as second lieutenant, Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry, ìRushís Lancers,î and served with that regiment in the Army of the Potomac, taking part in the Fredericksburg campaign, December, 1862, and in Stonemanís cavalry raid, April and May, 1863. In June, 1863, he was promoted to captain and aide-de-camp, United States Volunteers, on the staff of General Meade, commanding the Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, and served continuously with him as his aide until the death of General Meade on November 6, 1872, with the exception of nine months from April to December, 1870, during which time he served with his regiment in Dakota Territory during an Indian outbreak. He was commissioned first lieutenant United States Army in November, 1865, and captain United States Army in July, 1866, and subsequently was brevetted major United States Army ìfor gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Gettysburg, Pa.,î and lieutenant-colonel United States Army ìfor gallant and meritorious services in the campaign ending in the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.î On October 1, 1874, he resigned from the army, entered into business in Philadelphia, Pa., and so remained until his death, February 2, 1897.

Colonel Meade, at the time of his death, had not prepared his account of the battle of Gettysburg beyond the morning of July the 3rd, and the narrative of the subsequent events of the battle has been written by the editor, who has also compiled the Gettysburg maps and added the foot-notes, the appendices, the official communications on pages 312,313, vol. I, and pages 138, 139, 140, 193, 196, 237, 272, vol. II.

Philadelphia, Pa., April, 1913.

G.G.M.