Draw the Sword

Location: North Hancock Avenue opposite the Angle.

Commanded: Army of the Potomac

Monument Specifications: An equestrian portrait of General Meade looking out over the battlefield where the Union army under his direction won one of its greatest battles. He holds a pair of binoculars in his proper right hand and his hat in his proper left hand. A sword hangs from the left side of his saddle. The monument cost $37,500.

Dedication Date: 1895. Dedicated June 5, 1896.

Sculptor/Artist/Company: Bush-Brown, Henry K., 1857-1935, sculptor. Bureau Brothers, founder.

Main Inscription: MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE GORDON MEADE/UNITED STATES ARMY/COMMANDER OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC/BORN DECEMBER 31 1815 DIED NOVEMBER 6 1872

Other Monuments and Memorials: Meade is honored by a statue on the Pennsylvania State Monument.
Additionally, Meade’s taking command of the Army of the Potomac is honored with a monument in Federick, Maryland. Created from a boulder taken from Devil’s Den, this monument in Frederick, Maryland outside Prospect Hall denotes where General George Meade took command of the Army of the Potomac on the morning of June 28, 1863. The monument was dedicated on June 28, 1963 — the one hundredth anniversary of Meade’s taking command of the Army of the Potomac. It was erected by the Frederick County Civil War Centennial Association. The Meade marker is on Himes Ave. near the East entrance to Prospect Hall.

Brief Bio: George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer involved in coastal construction, including several lighthouses. He fought with distinction in the Seminole War and Mexican-American War. During the American Civil War he served as a Union general, rising from command of a brigade to the Army of the Potomac. He is best known for defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

Details: Additional Close Up Photographs of this monument.