After the Battle of Chancellorsville, the latest of a desolate string of defeats delivered by General Robert E. Lee and his gifted commanders and soldiers, General Joseph Hooker was replaced as commander. When informed that he would replace Hooker in command, the acerbic—some might say grouchy—General George Meade is said to have replied:

I feel as though I have been condemned without a trial.

An able, though short-tempered, commander, Meade presided over the stunning Union victory at Gettysburg, ending Lee's dream of an offensive war against the North. Probably unfairly, he fell quickly out of Lincoln's good graces through his lack of energy in following up his victory. Lincoln confided to his secretary, "This is a dreadful reminiscence of McClellan." When Meade telegraphed the President that "the enemy has been driven from our soil," Lincoln exploded. "Will our generals never get that idea out of their heads? The whole country is our soil!"

Word of Lincoln's displeasure reached Meade, a testy man on the best of days, and he bristled at the presidential criticism, offering to resign. Lincoln apologized and later said, "I am very grateful to Meade for the great service he did at Gettysburg."