"Old Snapping Turtle"

This stretched penny with the image of General George G. Meade, nicknamed 'Old Snapping Turtle" for his sharp temper, is being released into the world very near the military installation named in his honor (Fort Meade, MD). He is dedicated to joecool, father figure of the Weatherston Zoo Crew and longtime military service member and who is retiring soon. We want 'Old Snapping Turtle' to travel the world and visit military-related places of interest: battlefields, cemetaries, museums, bases, etc.

(Information found from http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/getttour/sidebar/meadebio.htm)
General George Gordon Meade commander, Army of The Potomac
The son of Richard W. Meade and Margaret Coates Meade, George Gordon Meade was born in Cadiz, Spain, on December 31, 1815, where his father was serving as an agent for the United States Navy. The family moved to Philadelphia where George Meade attended Mt. Airy School but had to withdraw when his father suffered financial problems. For the next few years, the Meades moved between Baltimore and Washington, and George attended several different schools. Though he wanted to attend a regular college, Meade applied for West Point and became a cadet in 1831. Though Meade did not particularly relish military life, he performed well as a student and graduated nineteenth in his class of 1835. Lieutenant Meade was appointed to the 3rd US Artillery and transferred to Florida at the beginning of the Seminole Wars.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Captain Meade offered his services to Pennsylvania and was appointed as a brigadier general of volunteers. Like many American families during the Civil War, Meade's was also touched personally by sectional strife. His wife's sister was married to Governor Wise of Virginia who later became a brigadier general in the Confederate army.
Meade was assigned to command a brigade of Pennsylvania volunteers and it was during this time that he began a friendship with John Reynolds who was from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. General Meade and his Pennsylvanians built fortifications near Tenallytown, Maryland, which were part of the defenses of Washington. Nicknamed "The Old Snapping Turtle", Meade gained a reputation for being short-tempered and obstinate with junior officers and superiors alike. He especially disdained civilians and newspapermen. In March 1862, his command was assigned to the Army of the Potomac on the Peninsula, southeast of Richmond. His troops saw hard fighting at the battles of Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill and at Glendale where he was seriously wounded. A musket ball struck him above his hip, clipped his liver, and just missed his spine as it passed through his body. Another bullet struck his arm, but the feisty general stuck to his horse and continued to direct his troops. It was only after a heavy loss of blood that he was forced to leave the field.
The Battle of Gettysburg occurred just three days after General Meade's appointment to command. Using the most qualified of his corps commanders to act for him in the field, Meade arrived on the battleground late on July 1st where he learned the details of the death of his friend and mentor Reynolds. He decided to fight a defensive battle on the ground then held by the army south of the town. The following day saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the war as Lee's army attacked both flanks of Meade's line, but determined Union veterans threw Lee's equally determined army. That evening, Meade eagerly sought the advice of his most trusted officers during a "Council of War" at his headquarters. To a man, the officers encouraged him to stay and fight the battle out to a final conclusion. The last day of the battle may have been Meade's finest hour when an aggressive Union defense thwarted the last Confederate hopes for victory. Beginning on July 5, Meade ordered his exhausted army southward in pursuit of Lee's army, which was in retreat back to Virginia. Despite the possible entrapment of Lee near the Potomac River, no further significant fighting occurred and Lee's Army crossed the river into Virginia.
Despite the decisive results of the campaign, Meade was criticized for the caution he exercised in following Lee's retreat back to Virginia. Some controversial commanders accused Meade of wishing to retreat from the field of Gettysburg- a charge totally unfounded- while others said he was too cautious in following Lee to the Potomac. Yet the controversy did not diminish the significance of the victory at Gettysburg and President Lincoln expressed the gratitude of the nation for the victory. That fall, Meade led the Army of the Potomac through an endless, meandering series of skirmishes, later called the Mine Run Campaign, trying to outflank Lee's position in north central Virginia. Despite the best efforts of corps commanders and their commands, Meade was unable too get around Lee or bring him to a major battle. The army went into winter quarters along the Rapidan River and on January 28, 1864, General Meade received the official thanks of Congress for defeating Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg.