Following the victory at the battle of Gettysburg, General George Meade decided not to pursue the defeated Confederate army led by Robert E. Lee. He thought his men were too tired. He likely could have ended the Civil War. When President Abraham Lincoln heard of this, he was furious. He immediately penned a three-page, scathing letter to General Meade. His disappointment, anger, and frustration with the general is strongly evident throughout. Lincoln wrote, “He was within your easy grasp, and to have closed upon him would . . . have ended the war. As it is, the war will be prolonged indefinitely.” This letter was found among Abraham Lincoln’s personal belongings following his death. Neatly folded and placed in an envelope, on the front was written: “To Gen. Meade, never sent, or signed”[1].
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