Meade rises to the occasion

Thick, low fog at dawn fills the low ground at the base of Cemetery Ridge, where the Codori barn (rebuilt since the war) sits in front of the Union line and the monument to Major General George Meade. The new commanding general - only days before the battle began he rose from corps to army control - deftly countered Lee's moves at Gettysburg. His handling of the pursuit of Lee's retreat, however, has been unfairly criticized since President Lincoln lamented, upon learning of the rebel army's escape across the Potomac 11 days later: "We had only to stretch forth our hands and they were ours." (Click image for larger view).