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.,

"It really looks like the beginning of spring ... here at Headquarters the only sounds are the distant car-whistles and the drums and trumpets sounding the calls; except, indeed, the music of the band, which is hardly a noise and is very acceptable." , Lt. Col. Theodore Lyman, USA

, (captions:) , An 1835 West Point graduate, George Meade served in the Mexican-American War and performed with distinction at Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. After the Civil War, Meade headed the Division of the Atlantic. He died on March 6, 1872. This March 1864 image depicts Meade with other officers at the Brandy Station encampment. Meade stands tallest at right center. Standing dapper in the long coal at left center is Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, Union commander at the Battle at Brandy Station. Courtesy Library of Congress, The 1863 campaigns of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station and Mine Run exacted an immense toll upon the Army of the Potomac. Union Gen. George G. Meade deemed it vital to rest his command, replenish his ranks and bolster the army's hemorrhaged logistical infrastructure. During the second week of December 1863, Federal troops began building the vast winter camp that was home to more than 150,000 men and beasts.