#17: Meade’s Leniency vs. Grant’s Relentlessness

Following the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union held over 12,000 Confederate captives. The Confederate army, battered and diminished, retreated into Virginia. Their lengthy, vulnerable procession was a missed opportunity for Union General Meade, drawing criticism for not seizing the decisive moment.

Dissatisfied with Meade’s passivity, President Lincoln sought a leader with an aggressive edge. Enter Ulysses S. Grant on March 10, 1864, whose determination and strategic aggression ultimately crushed the Confederates, securing the Union’s victory in the Civil War.