Major General George Meade, "Old Snapping Turtle" - 05008
In November of 1862 Meade was promoted to Major General. Just days before the start of the battle of Gettysburg he was given command of Army of the Potomac (at the time the highest ranking position in the army). So surprised was he about the appointment he wrote his wife later that he thought he was being arrested when the aide came to give him the news.
Two days later Gettysburg started and Meade managed to beat Lee, but did not purse Lee as aggressively as Lincoln would have liked.
In March of 1864 Grant was given command of all Union armies and Meade offered to resign. Grant declined and helped restore Meade’s reputation which had been tarnished in the months following Gettysburg. With Grant making his headquarters with Meade the two worked closely together for the rest of the war.
