General George G Meade CDV and Signature with Rank as Major General. Matted to 8” X 10”. Meade graduated from West Point in 1835, serving briefly in the Seminole War before resigning in 1836. Rejoining the army in 1842 as a second lieutenant in the Topographical Engineers, he served in the Mexican-American War, earning a brevet to first lieutenant at Monterrey. By 1861, Meade was a captain, promoted to brigadier general of volunteers after the Civil War began. He led a brigade in the Peninsula Campaign and at Second Bull Run, then a division at Antietam and Fredericksburg, where he earned praise. Promoted to major general in November 1862, he took command of the Army of the Potomac in June 1863, leading it to victory at Gettysburg, a turning point in the war. Despite criticism for not pursuing Lee aggressively, Meade commanded through the Overland Campaign and Appomattox. Post-war, he served in various military districts until his death from pneumonia in 1872.