"A Civil War Witch Hunt: George Gordon Meade, the..." Topic

… Retreat from Gettysburg, and the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War.

"My two most recent posts dealt with the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War's attempt to crucify George Gordon Meade for allegedly deciding to retreat from the battlefield at Gettysburg. Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles made those allegations in an attempt to deflect criticism from his disobedience to Meade's orders at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863 and also because he was angry at Meade for rebuffing his attempts to return to command of the III Corps in the fall of 1863. Sickles' disobedience subjected his III Corps to near destruction at the hands of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's sledgehammer attack up the Emmitsburg Road. After days of testimony, Sen. Benjamin Wade, a Radical Republican from Ohio and the chairman of the Joint Committee, was forced to admit that there was insufficient evidence to condemn Meade. Despite that fact, Wade's clear bias against Meade—whom he thought was too timid—shone through. Wade hoped to find sufficient evidence to force the removal of Meade from command of the Army of the Potomac, and must have been bitterly disappointed about not finding sufficient evidence to support his plan.

Wade, however, was not finished with George Meade. Sounding an all-too-common theme, Wade also accused the commander of the Army of the Potomac of being unduly cautious in his pursuit of the beaten Confederate army after Gettysburg, thereby allowing the Army of Northern Virginia to escape, rather than attacking it on the north side of the rain-swollen and impassable Potomac River. As we are approaching the anniversary of the events in question, it seems appropriate to examine this question and to determine whether Wade's report came to the proper conclusion…"
Full text here
civilwarcavalry.com/?p=4262

Part 2 here
civilwarcavalry.com/?p=4269

Amicalement
Armand

Nice find.

Meade was also hated by the press corp. You never want to get into a fight with people who by ink by the barrel.

Supposedly, when first approached by the messenger delivering the news of his promotion of command the Army of the Potomac, Meade assumed he was being arrested on some trumped-up charge or another by his political enemies.

Monday morning quarterbacking at its worse.

Glad you enjoyed the article my friend!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

The report was ridiculous. Totally biased.

Part 3…

"In part two of this series, we examined the impact of the heavy losses sustained by the command structure of the Army of the Potomac on its ability to bring the Army of Northern Virginia to battle again before it could cross the rain-swollen Potomac River after the Battle of Gettysburg. In this part, we will examine the operating orders and operating environment that greatly hindered Meade and kept him tied to Gettysburg for three days after the end of the battle.

At all times pertinent, Meade was under orders to ensure that his army remained interposed between Lee's army and Washington, D.C. This mandate severely limited Meade's ability to operate. Lee's army began its retreat late on the day on July 4, and it had largely abandoned the battlefield by the afternoon of July 5. However, it was unclear whether Lee intended to retreat across the Potomac River and to the safety of Virginia, or whether he intended to find a strong defensive position in the mountains of central Pennsylvania, hole up there, and wait for Meade to attack him on ground of Lee's own choosing. Lee's intentions did not become obvious until the failed attempt of Brig. Gen. John Buford's First Cavalry Division to seize and hold the Potomac River crossings at Williamsport, Maryland on July 6 that Lee intended to use to get across the flooded river. Buford's report that all of the Army of Northern Virginia's wagons and elements of its infantry were present in Williamsport that night finally provided Meade with the proof he needed to set the Army of the Potomac in motion since he no longer had to worry about Lee holing up in the mountains to the west of Gettysburg or his trying to take Washington.

However, Lee's retreat provided a different set of problems for Meade. Still constrained by the orders to keep his army interposed between Lee and Washington, Meade had to use a longer route to advance on Lee. Rather than simply following Lee along the same roads that the Southern army had used, Meade had to follow along the eastern spine of South Mountain, keeping Washington covered at all times. This added distance—and time—to the route of march and prevented the Army of the Potomac from arriving at Williamsport as quickly as it otherwise might have. Mix in the head start enjoyed by the Army of Northern Virginia and the flanking route forced upon Meade meant that not only would Lee enjoy the initiative, it also meant that Lee and his engineers would have plenty of time to choose and develop a strong defensive position along the northern bank of the Potomac River…"
Full text here
civilwarcavalry.com/?p=4272

Amicalement
Armand

I once read something about Meade which illustrated his personal integrity. When Grant took supreme command of the Union army, Meade told him that if Grant saw fit to relieve Meade of his duties as commander of the Army of the Potomac, Meade would accept his decision without complaint. Grant was impressed with his humility and truthfulness, and kept Meade in command.

Meade had a tough time of it with the Committee and that lying weasel Sickles, who made is life hell long after the war was over.