PRINTER'S NO. 4126
No. 556 Session of 1998
INTRODUCED BY JOSEPHS, READSHAW, PIPPY, WALKO, COWELL, BELARDI,
ARMSTRONG, OLASZ, LESCOVITZ, DALEY, McCALL, HERSHEY, SHANER,
CALTAGIRONE, ORIE, TIGUE, McNAUGHTON, CLYMER, B. SMITH,
CORRIGAN, MAITLAND, HERMAN, HESS, DENT, PESCI, C. WILLIAMS,
BELFANTI, E. Z. TAYLOR, BENNINGHOFF, SEYFERT, FAIRCHILD,
HENNESSEY, MARKOSEK, BAKER, ROSS, TANGRETTI, FORCIER,
SCHRODER, WOJNAROSKI, SCHULER, CAPPABIANCA, BEBKO-JONES,
BROWNE, KAISER, GIGLIOTTI, HALUSKA, GEIST, MELIO, BOSCOLA,
BISHOP, HARHAI, PISTELLA, MILLER AND DeLUCA,
NOVEMBER 17, 1998
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
NOVEMBER 17, 1998
A RESOLUTION
1 Commemorating the 183rd anniversary of the birth of General
2 George Gordon Meade.
3 WHEREAS, George Gordon Meade was born on December 31, 1815,
4 and was raised and educated in the City of Philadelphia; and
5 WHEREAS, Meade entered the United States Military Academy at
6 West Point, graduated in the class of 1835 and was assigned to
7 the 3rd United States Artillery which was fighting the Seminole
8 Indians in Florida; and
9 WHEREAS, During the Mexican War, Meade was promoted for
10 gallantry at the Battle of Monterey under General Zachary Taylor
11 and fought in the siege of Vera Cruz under General Winfield
12 Scott; and
13 WHEREAS, At the outbreak of the Civil War, Meade was promoted
1 to Brigadier General of Volunteers and assigned to command the
2 Second Brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves, a division destined
3 for hard fighting in numerous battles and a glorious record of
4 bravery and devotion to duty; and
5 WHEREAS, General Meade saw his first major action in the
6 Peninsula Campaign of 1862, serving in an exemplary manner at
7 Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill and Glendale, where he was severely
8 and almost mortally wounded; and
9 WHEREAS, General Meade continued his leadership and service
10 at the Second Battle of Bull Run, South Mountain and Antietam;
11 and
12 WHEREAS, As a reward for gallantry, General Meade was
13 promoted to command the Fifth Corps and lead General Hooker's
14 ill-fated assault at Chancellorsville in May 1863; and
15 WHEREAS, In June 1863, after General Hooker resigned his
16 command, General Meade was promoted to command the Army of the
17 Potomac on the eve of the most pivotal battle of the Civil War;
18 and
19 WHEREAS, Under General Meade's inspirational leadership, the
20 Army of the Potomac defeated General Lee at Gettysburg and
21 turned aside the Confederacy's dream of independence; and
22 WHEREAS, For distinguished service in the Civil War, General
23 Meade was promoted to the rank of Major General in the regular
24 army, ranked third in seniority, and received a gold medal from
25 Congress and a Doctor of Law degree from Harvard University; and
26 WHEREAS, On November 6, 1872, General Meade died of pneumonia
27 brought on by residual effects of his wound ten years earlier,
28 and he was laid to rest in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia;
29 therefore be it
30 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate the
19980H0556R4126 - 2 -
1 183rd anniversary of the birth of General George Gordon Meade.
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