Summary Of Lincoln's Letter To Meade

The Army of the Potomac went through a series of command changes throughout the Civil War (Johnson, 150). Lincoln replaced generals of the Army of the Potomac a lot throughout the war; Lincoln appointed aggressive generals, such as McClellan, Pope, Burnside, Hooker, and Meade, to ensure the Union’s military victories and quickly end the war (Johnson, 149). In 1863, Lincoln appointed General George G. Meade as commander of the Army of the Potomac (Johnson, 151). In a letter to Meade, Lincoln stated, “I do not believe you appreciate the magnitude of the misfortune involved in Lee’s escape. He was within your easy grasp, and to have closed upon him would…have ended the war” (Johnson, 155). Despite Meade’s unwillingness to counterattack Lee’s forces at Gettysburg, Lincoln never replaced him because of his victorious deeds at this battle.

Nevertheless, Lincoln never sent this letter to Meade and so, why did Lincoln decide not to send this letter? Lincoln did not to send this letter because it sent the message that while Meade did his best, it was not enough. Moreover, Lincoln’s tone suggested that Meade failed at Gettysburg and extended the length of the war (Johnson, 154). However, even though Meade did not pursue Lee’s army, he still succeeded in Lincoln’s mission to fight and win battles. Therefore, Lincoln did not send this letter because Meade fulfilled his duty as a general. Lincoln’s letter proposed what he could have done if he wanted, not necessarily should have done. Instead, Meade felt that if he counterattacked Lee’s army, he would have made the same military mistake that Lee made by assuming the status of the opponents army without any concrete proof of its status (McPherson,