A career army officer, Major General George G. Meade had led a brigade in the Seven Days’ Battles and at Second Bull Run, and a division at Antietam and Fredericksburg, before becoming commander of the Fifth Corps in late December 1862. He wrote to his wife about the “Mud March” and its consequences for the Army of the Potomac.
Camp near Falmouth Va.
Jany. 23d. 1863
Dear Margaret—
I have not written to you for several days (my last being on the 18th) for the reasons that I have had no opportunity & that I was aware all letters from the camp were stopped, in Washington, so that there was no use in writing.—On the 19th in the night we received orders to move the next day. On the 20th the whole army moved from the camp to a position 4 miles up the river, where crossing places had been previously selected. Every thing went off very well up to about 8 P.M. of the 20th. The army reached its position—the pontoons, artillery & all other accessories were up in time, & we all thought the next morning the bridges would be thrown over and we should be at it. But man proposes & God disposes. About 9 P.M. a terrific storm of wind & rain set in, and continued all night. At once I saw the game was up. The next day the roads were almost impassible. The pontoons, in attempting to get them to the waters edge stuck on the bank and 100 men could not budge them. Instead of 6 bridges being thrown over by 8 A.M., it was found late in the day that the materials of one only could be got to the waters-edge. Burnside visited us, and soon saw the state of the case. Still in hopes something might happen, he directed we should remain in position. All that night 21st. & the next day 22d. it continued to rain & the roads to get in such a condition, that early yesterday the 22d. I had to turn out the whole of my corps 15,000 men, and go to work and bridge with logs, or corduroy as it is called nearly the whole road from our camp to the crossing place 8 miles. The men worked cheerfully at this which was accomplished by early this morning, and Burnside having recalled the army to its old camp we have been all day getting our artillery back & tomorrow the infantry will return thus consuming two days to get back what it took only a few hours to get there.
I never felt so disappointed & sorry for any one in my life as I did for Burnside. He really seems to have all the elements against him. I told him warmly when I saw him how sorry I felt, and that I had almost rather have lost a limb than that the storm should have occurred. He seemed quite philosophical. Said he could not resist the elements and perhaps it was as well, for that his movement had been most strongly opposed, & some of his Generals had told him he was leading the men to a slaughter pen. And I am sorry to say there were many men & among them Generals high in command who openly rejoiced at the storm & the obstacle it presented.—We were very much amused to see in the papers today flaming accounts of our crossing, of the battle & Hooker’s being mortally wounded. I hope you did not attach any importance to these absurd reports—which when I saw I feared you might have been anxious. I presumed the truth had been telegraphed and that you would know the storm had frustrated our plans. The plan was based on the presumption, that we would take the enemy unawares at least so far as the place of crossing was concerned and I believe but for the storm we should have succeeded in this.—What will be done now, I can not imagine. The mud is at present several feet thick wherever any wagons pass over a road, and if the weather from this time should at all resemble that of last year, it will effectively stop all operations for two months to come.—
On my return I found your letter of the 20th and two written by Markoe. I had written to Markoe, telling him it was useless for me to write to Halleck, and that my letter nominating him, was as strong an expression of my desire to have him, as any I could make, and that any further effort, would not only be unsuccessful but might bring from H— an answer that I should not like to receive.—I am very sorry for Markoes disappointment, and would have been very glad to have him, but the thing it seems can not be effected, and there is no use, in struggling against fixed facts, besides Markoe knows I doubted from the first the practicality of success, and gave him distinctly to understand, that he must overcome in Washington the difficulties I anticipated. I can not & will not write to Halleck, because I do not believe it would be of the slightest use & I do not choose to lay myself in the power of that gentleman when I feel so confident I should fail. You can tell this to Markoe on my part, and advise him to be resigned to what can not be helped. I did not see George during our fiasco, tho I was at one time bivouacked near a part of his regiment but his company was not with that part.____
Doubleday has been assigned to the Reserves, which is a good thing for me, for now they will think a great deal more of me than before.____
I am very glad to hear Mr. Meredith heard such good reports of me in Washington. I see my name has gone to the Senate, all the papers say the Senate will not repeal their limiting resolution in which case my nomination can not be confirmed. I presume however the President will reappoint me after Congress adjourns, as he has done in other cases, where the Senate have tried to hand him off. ____
It is very late & I am tired so I will bid you Good bye.
Ever yours, Geo. G. Meade
Camp near Falmouth Va
Jany. 26./63—9 P.M.
Dear Margaret—
I wrote you a long letter today little thinking while I was quietly employed writing to you what momentous events were going on immediately around me. After writing to you I went out to ride for exercise & on my return at 6 P.M., found an order awaiting me announcing Maj. Genl. Hooker is in command of the Army of the Potomac & Maj. Genl. Meade in command of the Centre Grand Division. I then learned for the first time that this news arrived this morning Burnside having brought it down from Washington last night that he Burnside & all his staff had gone off this morning, and that Genls. Sumner & Franklin had both been relieved & ordered to Washington. You can readily imagine my surprise at all this, altho some such step had been talked about for some time back.—As to my commanding a Grand Division I consider it a mere temporary arrangement, as either some one of more rank will be sent or what is more likely the Grand Division organisation broken up altogether, as it was purely an invention of Burnsides, and has not I think been considered a good one. The removal of so many officers of rank however makes it certain I shall not go lower than a corps, and that is really all I particularly care for & is as much as I want.
You will doubtless be anxious to know what I think of these changes. With all my respect & I may almost say affection for Burnside, for he has been most kind & considerate towards me—I can not shut my eyes to the fact, that he was not equal to the command of so large an army. He had some very positive qualifications such as determination & nerve, but he wanted knowledge & judgement, and was deficient in that enlarged mental capacity which is essential in a commander. Another drawback, was a very general opinion among officers & men, brought about by his own assertions, that the command was too much for him. This greatly weakened his position.
As to Hooker you know my opinion of him frequently expressed. I believe my opinion is more favorable than any other of the old regular officers, most of whom are decided in their hostility to him. I believe Hooker is a good soldier. The danger he runs, is of subjecting himself to bad influences, such as Dan Butterfield & Dan Sickles who being intellectually more clever than Hooker & leading him to believe they are very influential, will obtain an injurious ascendancy over him & insensibly affect his conduct. I may however in this be wrong—time will prove. What we are now going to do remains to be seen. I have not seen Hooker since the news came & only write to tell you what is thus far known. Ever yours
Geo. G. Meade
Camp near Falmouth Va
Jany. 28. 1863
Dear Margaret—
Last evening yours of the 24th reached me. I am sorry to hear you have been sick, and still more sorry to know it has arisen from uncertainty & agitation, which it was not in my power to prevent. In the first place after the movement was determined on, I ascertained orders had been given to stop all letters at Acquia Creek. 2dly even if letters had been permitted to pass, it was impossible for me with my occupation & without materials to write. Again I relied on the agents of the Press to communicate the truth, at least sufficient to allay any unnecessary apprehensions, and never supposed Washington canards would be so greedily swallowed as the truth. Next time I will try & smuggle to you definite information.
Your anxiety lest I should be placed in command of the Army causes me Dearest to smile. Still I must confess when such men as Gibbons say it is talked about, it really does look serious & alarming. Yet when I look back on the good fortune which has thus attended my career I can not believe so sudden a change for the worse, can occur as would happen if I were placed in command. I think therefore we may for the present dismiss our fears on that score.—Genl. Hooker has been two days in Washington. I am looking anxiously for his return to hear what will be the result.—Before he was placed in command he was open-mouthed and constant, in his assertions that he did not want to command and that he would not command unless he was perfectly un-trammelled and allowed in every respect to do exactly as he pleased.—Now I am quite confident no such conditions will be acceded to in Washington—hence either “Fighting Joe” will have to back down, or some one else will be sent to take the command. From my knowledge of friend Hooker, I am inclined to surmise the former will be the case.—But even supposing they give him carte-blanche his position is any thing but enviable. This army is in a false position both as regards the enemy, and the public. With respect to the enemy we can literally do nothing, and our numbers are inadequate to the accomplishment of any result even if we go to the James river. On the other hand, the wise public, are under the delusion, that we are omnipotent, and that it is only necessary to go ahead to achieve unheard of success. Of course under such circumstances neither Cæsar, Napoleon, or any other mighty genius could fail to meet with condemnation, never mind what he did, and Hooker I fancy will find in time, his fate, in the fate of his predecessors—in, undue & exaggerated praise before he does any thing, and a total absence of reason & intelligence in the discussion of his acts, when he does attempt any thing and a denial of even ordinary military qualifications unless he achieves impossibilities.—Such being the case, he certainly is not to be envied, and we may well be satisfied that there is no chance of my being his successor.—I think when his head is cut off the admn. will try a General of their own kidney, either Fremont, Hunter &c
Of course so long as Hooker is absent I continue in command of the Centre Grand Division, but I am more & more inclined to believe that his visit to Washington will result in the abolition of the Grand Division system altogether, and the return to corps alone. In this case I infer I am bound to have a corps for since the departure of Sumner & Franklin there are at present only Six (6) generals ranking me viz Hooker, Couch Sigel Slocum Smith W. F. & Sedgewick. As Hooker is in command of all & there are 8 corps, it will make me the 6th corps commdr. Should Reynolds be confirmed & appointed, I suppose he will rank me which would give me the 7th corps rank. The only danger of my being reduced lower would be the promotion of Stoneman on the same date as myself (Nov. 29).
This is not likely, his name not being on the list sent in, but he has gone to Washington to try & have it done, and he will undoubtedly have Hooker’s influence in his behalf. Per contra there is another probability, which is that Sigel will decline serving under Hooker particularly if the Grand Divisions are broken up, of which he has now one. So—should he leave & both Stoneman & Reynolds be put over me I would still have a corps. I therefore look with confidence to my not getting lower than this. And I hope I shall retain the 5th corps as it is one of the best including as it does the Regulars.—Humphreys has gone to Washn to try & be made a Maj. Genl swearing he will resign if they do not accede to his claim.
I believe I wrote you, he behaved with distinguished gallantry at Fredericksburg. It appears soon after the battle Burnside told him both the President & Secy. assured him solemnly that Humphreys should be immediately promoted. He now finds a long list sent to the senate including such names as Butterfield Sickles, Berry & others who have really done nothing, while his name is omitted, and he can not hear that there is any record in the Dept. going to shew he has ever, even been thought of. Under these circumstances he is naturally very indignant and swears he will quit the service altogether if justice is not done him. This is all entre-nous. Just as I had gotten this far I heard Hooker had returned, and notwithstanding it is storming & snowing violently, I rode 3 miles to his Hd. Qtrs. to see him, and have just returned.—He seemed in excellent spirits, said they had treated him en Prince in Washn. & told him he had only to ask & he should have what he wanted. He did not tell me his plans but intimated that as soon as the weather & the roads permitted he was prepared to try something. He did tell me however, as I suspected that he had Stonemans name put on the list of Maj. Genls thus putting another one over my head. At the same time he said my commission ought to be antedated to South Mountain tho’ he said nothing about asking this for me. Well I am satisfied to take things as they are. There seems to be no justice and I am really tired of scrambling & pushing for it.
I have received your delightful letter of the 26th describing your happy relatives in the BG. & other members of your family. Pon my word I am glad I am here altho I stand a chance of being shot, than in such a position as you describe yours. Seriously why do you pay any attention to such weaknesses. Woodruff I trust in a few days will send you a soothing check, and as soon as my Decr. acct. can be paid you will be all right. Love to all. Keep up your spirits & take care of your health. Ever yours
G. G. Meade