The Great Debate of 2024

Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg?

The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2024, All Rights Reserved


The January 2024 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate. The topic for debate was the question: “Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg?” Meade was criticized, including by President Abraham Lincoln, for not being sufficiently aggressive in pursuing Lee’s defeated Army of Northern Virginia after the Battle of Gettysburg. The 2024 Dick Crews Memorial Debate examined this question. Four debaters presented arguments in support of their stance on this question. Two debaters argued in favor of Meade, and two debaters argued against him. Below are the texts of those four arguments, along with moderator William Vodrey’s opening remarks.

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The Great Debate of 2024: Opening Remarks

Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg?

By William F.B. Vodrey – debate moderator
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2024, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate at the January 2024 Roundtable meeting was: “Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was the opening remarks made by the moderator of the debate.


We’re here tonight for the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate, named after my longtime predecessor as moderator. Dick once told me that the debate got its start as a Roundtable tradition because of the difficulty of finding speakers who were willing to travel to Cleveland in January. In moderating again tonight for, God help me, my 20th year, I stand on the shoulders of giants, including Dick.

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Evaluating George Gordon Meade’s Leadership in the Aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg – Caution, Hesitancy, and Timidity

Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg? No

By Gary W. Taylor
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2024, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate at the January 2024 Roundtable meeting was: “Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was one of those four presentations.


Meade’s cautious pursuit of Lee instantly and energetically following the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863 was one of the greatest errors and misfortunes of the Civil War. Let’s consider some facts following Meade’s successful defense of Cemetery Ridge on July 3rd:

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Evaluating George Gordon Meade’s Leadership in the Aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg – Skill, Vigor, and Wisdom

Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg? Yes

By William J. Toler
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2024, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate at the January 2024 Roundtable meeting was: “Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was one of those four presentations. The argument on this web page was written by Bill Toler, who was one of the debaters. Because of illness, Bill was not able to present his argument at the debate. Lily Korte substituted for Bill, and the information that Bill compiled and organized was used by Lily to present Bill’s argument at the debate. The essay on this web page was written by Bill from that information and presents Bill’s argument as he would have done had he been able to participate in the debate himself.


The question before us this evening is: “Was Meade aggressive enough in chasing Lee after Gettysburg?” How we define “aggressive enough” will certainly matter, and the consideration of “aggressive enough for whom” has mattered since July 1863.

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Evaluating George Gordon Meade’s Leadership in the Aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg – A Letdown to the Army, to the Country, and to George Meade

Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg? No

By Steve Pettyjohn
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2024, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate at the January 2024 Roundtable meeting was: “Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was one of those four presentations.


While not trying to be anti-climactic, the title of this debate suggests the answer. If Meade had been aggressive enough, we probably would be having a far different topic for our debate. Perhaps the topic would be something along the lines of “was poor U.S. Grant the forgotten hero of the Civil War?” We would be discussing the question of whether Grant’s contributions in the West were far overshadowed by “MEADE OF GETTYSBURG!” We would note that Meade eclipsed all other Civil War generals. We would laud Meade and praise how he had conducted a very skillful defense at Gettysburg for three days and then followed up with a series of counterattacks and overall pursuit of Lee’s army that resulted in Lee being trapped against the raging floodwaters of the Potomac River a week later. We would be celebrating Meade and the Army of the Potomac’s twin victories at Williamsport and Falling Waters, where the Army of Northern Viriginia was crushed and crippled as it attempted to cross the Potomac and flee into western Maryland. This would be followed by Meade’s triumphant march to Richmond where he ended the rebellion.

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Evaluating George Gordon Meade’s Leadership in the Aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg – As Much or More Than Could Be Expected

Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg? Yes

By Chris Howard
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2024, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate at the January 2024 Roundtable meeting was: “Was George Gordon Meade aggressive enough in chasing Robert E. Lee’s army after the Battle of Gettysburg?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was one of those four presentations.


I stand for the proposition that “Meade WAS aggressive enough in pursuing Lee after Gettysburg.” Let me first summarize some key issues, and then I will describe some aspects of Meade’s pursuit of Lee in more detail.

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The Best Political General of the Civil War: Benjamin Butler – Actions that Altered the Course of the War

Who was the best political general of the Civil War?
Benjamin Butler

By Paul Burkholder
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate at the February 2023 Roundtable meeting was: “Who was the best political general of the Civil War?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was one of those four presentations.


Who was the greatest political general of the Civil War? If measured by their contribution to ultimate victory, there’s just one, indisputable answer to that question: Benjamin Butler.

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The Best Political General of the Civil War: John C. Breckinridge – A Great Military Leader

Who was the best political general of the Civil War?
John C. Breckinridge

By Kent Fonner
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate at the February 2023 Roundtable meeting was: “Who was the best political general of the Civil War?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was one of those four presentations.


“. . . Breckinridge demonstrated that a man did not need to go to West Point to be an excellent general . . .”

–Civil War Historian Albert Castel

Facts

John C. Breckinridge (1821-1875) in 15 years (1850-1865) served as a Kentucky legislator, congressmen, U.S. senator, vice president of the United States under President James Buchanan, presidential candidate in 1860, brigadier general and then major general CSA, and secretary of war CSA, all before he was 45 years old. Well educated with a degree from Center College, a semester of graduate work at Princeton, law study under Governor Owsley of Kentucky, and an LL.D. from Transylvania University, he had no formal military education. But as a major in the 3rd KY Volunteers in 1847 in Mexico, he did have some military experience before the Civil War.

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The Best Political General of the Civil War: John A. Logan – Through the Merits of his Performance

Who was the best political general of the Civil War?
John Alexander Logan

By Bob Pence
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate at the February 2023 Roundtable meeting was: “Who was the best political general of the Civil War?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was one of those four presentations.


What is a political general?

A political general is a general officer or other military leader without significant military experience who is given a high position in command for political reasons, through political connections, or to appease certain political blocs and factions.

The most important reason for appointing political generals was to appease important blocs of voters. President Lincoln used such appointments as a way to get the support of moderate Democrats for the war and for his administration (“War Democrats”). The first three volunteer generals whom Lincoln appointed, John Adams Dix, Nathaniel Prentice Banks, and Benjamin F. Butler, were all Democrats.

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The Best Political General of the Civil War: Edward Ferrero – “Meritorious Service”

Who was the best political general of the Civil War? Edward Ferrero

By Charles Patton
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate at the February 2023 Roundtable meeting was: “Who was the best political general of the Civil War?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was one of those four presentations.


I was in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania at the Lincoln Forum, and we went over to tour the cemetery and the battlefield. I saw some USCT reenactors in uniform with a regimental flag showing their colors with the name of the commanding officer, General Edward Ferrero, proudly displayed. I had a conversation with one of the reenactors, who gave me a brief history of what action the 51st New York saw during the Civil War. When I saw the topic for this evening’s discussion, I recalled my visit to Gettysburg and the conversation with some of the reenactors.

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