joined McClellan's army, and forming part of the right wing, occupied the neighborhood of Mechanicsville. When the famous flank attack was made on the 26th of June, 1862, by "Stonewall" Jackson, General Meade especially distinguished himself by the firmness of his resistance. At the battle of Gainesville, next day, he also did so well that he was nominated for the brevet of lieutenant-colonel in the regular army, having previously been promoted to a majority in the Engineer Corps.

At the battle of New Market Cross Roads, General Meade was wounded, and on his recovery he took command of the division until the return of Generals McCall and Reynolds, who had been taken prisoners at the battle of Mechanicsville.

On the invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania by Lee, after the defeat of Pope, General Meade was placed in command of the division of Pennsylvania reserves, and led them in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. When General Hooker was carried from the field wounded, Meade became, temporarily, the commander of the ninth corps.

In the battle of Fredericksburg, on the 13th of December, 1862, General Meade greatly distinguished himself with the Pennsylvania division, which lost, during that disastrous conflict, 1,624 men.

On the 15th of December, 1862, General Meade was appointed to the command of the fifth army corps, formerly under Fitz John Porter. In

January, 1863, the President having previously appointed him a major-general of volunteers, his name was laid before the Senate. His appointment, however, was not confirmed until the following March, but his commission was dated November 29, 1862.

When General Hooker assumed the command of the Army of the Potomac, Meade was retained as the commander of the fifth corps, which, in the advance upon Chancellorsville, formed part of the right wing. In the severe battles which ensued, Meade's corps was among the firmest to resist the enemy's repeated attacks, and finally covered the retreat of Hooker's whole army. The skill with which General Meade handled his troops on this occasion marked him out as an able commander, and led to his appointment as the successor of General Hooker in the chief command of the Army of the Potomac.

The victory he so soon after won at Gettysburg was especially creditable to him as a commander, for he had assumed charge of the Army of the Potomac when in the face of the enemy and on the eve of a great battle, both of which were circumstances singularly unfavorable for a new leader. The issue, moreover, was one of the grandest ever hazarded on the field, and fixes the success. of the arms of the Union on that occasion among the most memorable events in its history.

The invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania by General Lee, if it had not been checked by the victory won by General Meade at Gettysburg, might

not have perhaps, as has been conjectured by some, led to the permanent dissolution of the Union, but it would have undoubtedly prevented its early restoration. The enemy had never, during the war, concentrated such powerful means of offence, and the North was never, apparently, so ill-prepared for resistance. The Army of the Potomac had been dispirited by successive defeats, and bewildered by a sudden change in the chief command. The country, moreover, was agitated by political dissension, and depressed by a momentary distrust of its leaders.

When it was first discovered that the invasion of Pennsylvania and Maryland was the design of General Lee, great alarm arose throughout the North. The necessity of effort was at once recognized, but the excited state of public feeling perplexed the general action. Consequently, it was not until the enemy had marched into the heart of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and so concentrated their forces as to render the issue dependent upon the hazard of a single battle, that the people arose in their might. They were thus finally able to bear a part, though a subordinate one, when it should have been the principal, in driving back the invaders. Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, had been among the first to anticipate the design of General Lee, and strove

to arouse the people of Pennsylvania to a timely defence; but trusting to the protecting power of the Army of the Potomac, they were slow to When the invaders, however, came, the citizens throughout the State became greatly alarmed. The people finally mustered in great strength. The chief cities, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Harrisburg, Carlisle, and others, responded enthusiastically to the warm appeals of their Governor, and offered their arms and treasure for the defence of the State. A large force of militia was at last gathered in Pennsylvania, and was being rapidly organized under General Couch, the commander of the Department of the Susquehanna, when General Meade marched to meet the enemy at Gettysburg. The President of the United States called out 100,000 militia, conjointly from the States of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Western Virginia. The Governors of these States promptly exercised their official authority and personal influence and energy in arousing their fellow-citizens to efforts worthy of the occasion. The neighboring States of New Jersey and New York, though not called upon by the President, volunteered their aid, and sent a considerable force of militia with such promptitude, that it was ready to take the field as soon as, if not before, the aroused citizens of Pennsylvania and Maryland.