Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Margaretta SERGEANT
She was the wife of Major General George Gordon Meade, the "Hero of Gettysburg".
She was one of the ten children born to United States Congressman John Sergeant and his wife, Margaretta Watmough Sergeant. Her father gained national prominence when he was the 1832 National Republican Vice Presidential candidate, running with Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky. The ticket lost to Andrew Jackson that year.
She married George G. Meade on December 31, 1840 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (a date that also happened to be George Meade's 25th birthday). Together they had seven children, and the union was a devoted one from beginning to end. During his Civil War service General Meade often vented his frustrations to her sympathetic and knowing ear, saying things in private that his sense of honor, duty and integrity prevented him from saying in public. In turn she threw her full support to her husband, which his letters revealed were a great source of inspiration and comfort to him.
During wartime not only did she endure the worry about her husband in a combat zone, she also had the added worry about the safety of their son, George Jr., who served as an aide to General Meade, and was frequently under fire as well.
The couples devotion was such that when the war was concluded, General Meade, as now commander of the Division of the Atlantic, made his headquarters in Philadelphia to be with his family. Mrs. Meade survived her husband by fourteen years.
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