Battle of Brandy Station

Battle of Brandy Station. Center of the Army. Across the field on the knoll stood Union army commander Gen. George G. Meade's headquarters, the heart of the Army of the Potomac during the winter of 1863-1864. Appointed to the position just 19 days after the Battle of Brandy Station, Meade established his headquarters here with fresh water and a signal station nearby., Even though he engaged in normal military administration, attended formal balls in camp, and answered requests for autographs, the winter months were an especially anxious time for Meade. Despite his victory at Gettysburg, politicians and soldiers alike questioned his leadership and decisions during the grand battle. Meade occasionally traveled to Washington to defend himself before the Congressional Joint Committee on Conduct of the War. "It would be almost a farce" to be dismissed, he confided to his wife, Margaret. Meade ultimately retained his command., Meade spent the last part of the encampment planning operations with the new General-in-Chief, Ulysses S. Grant. Grant elected to accompany Meade for the upcoming spring campaign. Early on the morning of May 4, 1864, Mead and Grant departed Culpeper on a long road that ended eleven months later with the surrender of Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House.