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George G. Meade collection
This collection is made up primarily of the papers of General George G. Meade, but also includes papers collected by his wife Margaretta and his son George Meade. Meade's letters to his wife Margaretta, which he wrote during the Mexican-American and Civil wars, make up the bulk of his personal...
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| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Collection: | George G. Meade Collection |
| Collection Number: | 0410 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects and Genres: | |
| Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
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| LEADER | 10098ntc a2200493 u 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | ead-0410 | ||
| 008 | 131002i18111897xx eng d | ||
| 040 | |e dacs | ||
| 041 | 0 | |a eng | |
| 099 | |a 0410 | ||
| 100 | 1 | |a Meade, George Gordon |d 1815-1872. |e creator | |
| 245 | 1 | |a George G. Meade collection |f 1811-1897, undated |g 1845 - 1872 | |
| 300 | |a 9.0 Linear feet |f 11 boxes, 36 volumes, 29 flat files | ||
| 351 | |b This collection is arranged into four series: Series 1. Correspondence, 1845-1872; 0.6 Linear feet Series 2. Family, 1862-1897; 2.3 Linear feet Series 3. Maps, 1811-1884; 1.1 Linear feet Series 4. Military, 1831-1878; 5 Linear feet | ||
| 500 | |a Processing Information: This collection merges two groups of Meade family papers (formerly Collections 410 and 1407) into one (Collection 410). While there is a distinct group of George Meade (son of George G. Meade) materials, most of it relates to the life of his father, and so the decision was made to combine the collections and arrange the papers about General Meade into a series called Family. Some items that were formerly housed in scrapbooks were removed and placed into folders to improve ease of access and care of materials. In particular, the Mexican War letters scrapbook was transferred to Correspondence, but was labeled to reflect the previous grouping. Similarly, Colonel George Meade's scrapbook on Gettysburg was transferred to folders in the Family series and labeled "George Meade letters on Gettysburg." These materials should now be more accessible due to their greater stability. | ||
| 520 | |a This collection is made up primarily of the papers of General George G. Meade, but also includes papers collected by his wife Margaretta and his son George Meade. Meade's letters to his wife Margaretta, which he wrote during the Mexican-American and Civil wars, make up the bulk of his personal correspondence, though they contain as much military information as private discussion. These letters elucidate his thoughts about his experiences in the military and reveal aspects of Meade's personality and family relationships. The Family series provides additional context for understanding Meade's relationships with his wife and children. Included in the Family series are letters responding to Margaretta Meade's call for autographs and photographs for the Sanitary Fair in 1864, correspondence to both Margaretta and George Meade upon the death of General Meade, and letters addressed to George Meade while he was compiling information for his father's biography, The Life and Letters of General Meade, the manuscript of which is also contained in this collection. The maps and drawings that make up Series 3 of the Meade collection offer a rich perspective on nineteenth century military surveying and cartography. Beginning with Meade's student drawings of fortifications and architectural elements, this series illustrates his growing skill in mapmaking. There are representative maps and drawings from his work on the United States coastal survey, his service on the topographical team during the Mexican-American War, and his service as commanding officer of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. The maps created to track troop movements during the Civil War make up the deepest group of materials in this series. These maps focus on the conflicts in Virginia; some of the campaign maps are printed, but a large number of them have notations in watercolor, ink, or pencil, which illustrate movements of the Union and Confederate forces. The majority of the collection documents the military career of George G. Meade, from his education as a cadet at West Point through his death in 1872. Meade's military papers include appointments, assignments, commissions, correspondence, orders, field reports, official telegrams, surveys made in Mexico, and excerpts from Meade's diary. In addition to the 31 volumes of official military correspondence and reports, there are also several volumes that document military hearings--one concerns a meeting in St. Louis to discuss promotions of high-ranking military personnel; the other is Meade's testimony about the Battle of Petersburg. | ||
| 520 | |a George G. Meade's career in the military began during his student years at West Point, where he studied topographical engineering. He served in the Mexican-American War and went on to become a celebrated Union general in the Civil War, where his son George served under his command. This collection covers all aspects of Meade's career, including his student work, his work as a cartographer while working for the U.S. coastal survey and during the Civil War, and his service as commander of the Army of the Potomac. In addition to his military papers, there are a significant group of letters to Meade's wife Margaretta and their children, which document his family relationships and his feelings about his military service during the Mexican-American and Civil wars. Also included in this collection are letters compiled by Meade's son George while he was writing a biography of his father, titled The Life and Letters of General Meade. The manuscripts for this work make up part of the family papers in the Meade collection. | ||
| 524 | 8 | |a Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], George G. Meade collection (Collection 410), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. | |
| 540 | 1 | |a This collection is open for research. | |
| 544 | |a J.C. Duane letterbooks, 1864-1865, (Collection 1182), University of Virginia, Tracey W. McGregor Library. Ulysses S. Grant papers, 1840-1885, U.S. Military Academy Library, Special Collections. | ||
| 544 | |a Andrew Atkinson Humphreys papers, (Collection 304). Edward Carey Gardiner collection, H.C. Baird series, (Collection 227A). | ||
| 545 | |a George G. Meade was born in 1815 in Cadiz, Spain to an American merchant and naval agent. Meade's family returned to the United States after financial problems made it impossible for them to remain in Spain. Meade graduated from West Point in 1835 and enlisted in the 3rd U.S. Artillery regiment, with which he served in Florida during the Second Seminole War. Meade's service with the 3rd U.S. Artillery was short; for several years after his resignation, he worked as a civil engineer on survey teams that were scouting new railroad routes. His marriage to Margaretta Sergeant in 1840, and their growing family, encouraged Meade to seek steadier and better paying employment. He reinlisted in the military in 1842, joining the Corps of Topographical Engineers. He served in the Mexican-American War, surveying borders and battle sites in Texas and Mexico from 1845 through 1847. After the war, he designed and built lighthouses along the eastern coast of the United States, including New York, New Jersey, and Florida. He later went on to survey Lake Huron as part of the Great Lakes survey during the 1850s until the Civil War began. Meade's military career was moved to greater heights when he began to distinguish himself as a soldier in battles at Gaines' Mill and Frazier Farm (Glendale), and later at South Mountain and Antietam. He commanded the Pennsylvania Reserves and the Fifth Corps before he was nominated to command the Army of the Potomac in 1863, a post he held until the end of the Civil War. Meade's most famous victory was at the Battle of Gettysburg, where he won both praise for defeating Lee's forces and blame for not acting aggressively enough. His reputation was not always a positive one, as he had many quarrels with the press and with the men under his command. After the Civil War, Meade went on to act as the governor of the Reconstruction Third military district in Atlanta, Georgia. He commanded the military departments of the East and the South. In Philadelphia, he also served as a Fairmount Park commissioner, a position he held until his death in 1872. George G. Meade is buried at Laurel Hill cemetery in Philadelphia. After General Meade's death, his son George, who served under his father during the Civil War and rose to the rank of Colonel, took on the task of rehabilitating his father's reputation with a biography that highlighted Meade's talents and triumphs. While not fully successful in changing the public perception of George G. Meade, the biography The Life and Letters of General Meade offered another perspective on Meade's strengths as a military commander. | ||
| 555 | |a Finding Aid Available Online: | ||
| 561 | 1 | |a This collection was a gift of George Meade. At least a portion of the collection was donated in 1945. | |
| 600 | 1 | 7 | |a Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson) |d 1822-1885. |e Correspondent (crp) |2 NACO Authority File |
| 600 | 1 | 7 | |a Humphreys, A.A. (Andrew Atkinson) |d 1810-1883. |2 NACO Authority File |
| 600 | 1 | 7 | |a Lincoln, Abraham |d 1809-1865. |2 NACO Authority File |
| 600 | 1 | 7 | |a Meade, John Sergeant |d 1840-1863. |2 Local Sources |
| 600 | 1 | 7 | |a Meade, Margaretta Sergeant |d 1815-1886. |2 Local Sources |
| 600 | 1 | 7 | |a Taylor, Zachary |d 1784-1850. |2 NACO Authority File |
| 650 | 0 | |a Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Mexican War, 1846-1848--Campaigns--Maps. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Spouses--Correspondence--19th century. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Topographical surveying--United States. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a United States. Army of the Potomac. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a United States. Army. Corps of Engineers--History--19th century. | |
| 651 | 0 | |a United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns & battles--Virginia. | |
| 651 | 0 | |a United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Maps. | |
| 651 | 0 | |a United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Military tactics--Union. | |
| 651 | 0 | |a United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865. | |
| 655 | 7 | |a Correspondence. |2 Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloging | |
| 700 | 1 | |a Meade, George |d 1843-1897. |e creator | |
| 852 | |a The Historical Society of Pennsylvania |b George G. Meade Collection |l 0410 | ||
| 856 | 4 | 2 | |y Link to finding aid |u http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/m/Meade410.html |