“I feel quiet and determined, satisfied I have ever striven to do my
duty to the best of my ability.” -George G. Meade
George Gordon Meade
1815–72
USA
Born in 1815, George Meade was named after his grandfather, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant who during the Revolutionary War, helped finance George Washington’s Army. Meade went to West Point and graduated 19th in the 1835 class of 56 cadets. Like many others, his family was divided between the Union and the Confederacy. Meade stayed with the Union while his sister sided with the Confederacy. Meade wasn’t a brilliant general, and he admitted he wasn’t the best. Despite this, Lincoln placed General Meade in command of the Army of the Potomac.