Why was george meade important during th civil war?

Answer 1

He commanded the Army of the Potomac for nearly two years until the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. As it was this army that defeated Lee, some say it should have been Meade who took the surrender, even though Grant as General-in-Chief would be dictating the terms.

Meade earned enormous credit as victor of the decisive Battle of Gettysburg - only a few days after being promoted army commander. He was a solid, dependable leader, and generally a good appointment.

His worst error was to cause fatal confusion at Petersburg, when a regiment of Pennsylvania miners had blown the Confederates off their positions, leaving the way clear for the Union troops to break out and take Richmond. At the last moment, he told the ever-unlucky Burnside not to send his well-rehearsed black brigade, but select another one (unrehearsed). Apparently he thought the attack would fail, and he would then be accused of treating black troops as expendable. Instead it was the other brigade that got wiped out.

Grant must share some of the blame for endorsing this order.