Meade

He led his men to victory in one of the most famous battles in history, but Meade was soon embroiled in political battles with fellow generals and Washington politicians. Despite detractors’ efforts to question Meade’s judgment and smear his reputation—efforts often exacerbated by the general’s own volatile temper and undiplomatic behavior—he continued to put duty to his country and his men first. When Ulysses S. Grant was named lieutenant general in charge of all Union forces, Grant made his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac and soon overshadowed Meade. Sauers chronicles the tense relationship that developed between the two men and the effect it had on the crucial last days of the war. Sauers’s concise but authoritative biography sheds new light on one of the Civil War’s most significant leaders. His book, the only new biography of Meade to appear in over thirty years, should spark renewed study of this brave but overlooked general.