George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Major-General United States Army
George Gordon Meade, Ed.

[267] at City Point with the gold medal voted him by Congress, and I went to City Point to the presentation. To-day Pendleton Watmough and young Parker (Cortlandt's nephew), both of whom command gunboats in the James, came to see me, and I took them around the lines. Your brother Willie came in whilst they were here, looking very well and in good spirits.

We are quiet and nothing going on.

I wish you would think favorably of my proposition to take a trip to the army. I think it would arouse you and distract your mind.

You do not do justice quite to the court of inquiry. The finding is a complete vindication of my part in the operation. I enclose a slip from the Army and Navy Journal, which gives in full the ‘Finding of the Court,’ the papers having only published that portion in which individual officers are censured by name.¹ On reading this you will see the court states that, had my orders been carried out, success was certain, and that failure was due to the neglect of my orders by Major General Burnside and others. It is true the court might have amplified this much more than it did, and not ignored altogether Burnside's extraordinary course, in the withdrawal of his command, which was the cause of our great loss. The Richmond papers say Hampton has whipped Kilpatrick, and we have a despatch from Sheridan reporting the occupation of Charlottesville and destruction of the James River Canal.

To-day Mr. Stanton and lady, with a select party, among whom was the French Minister, visited the army and went the rounds, witnessing among other things a review of Warren's Corps. Yesterday we had a party of Senators, with their families, so that we have had junketings almost every day for a week past.

Your visit seems so like a dream I can hardly realize you have been here.

The orderly who took Meta McCall's saddle down says he arrived just in time to put it on board, so I presume you started soon after