War is very uncertain in its results, and often when affairs look most desperate they suddenly assume a more hopeful state.

George Gordon Meade (31 December 1815 – 6 November 1872) was a career U.S. Army officer and engineer involved in coastal construction. During the American Civil War he served as a Union general, and is most famous for defeating Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Quotes

• War is very uncertain in its results, and often when affairs look most desperate they suddenly assume a more hopeful state.
  • Letter to his wife Margaretta (11 June 1863); published in The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade (1913)

• The country looks to this army to relieve it from the devastation and disgrace of a hostile invasion. Whatever fatigues and sacrifices we may be called upon to undergo, let us have in view constantly the magnitude of the interests involved, and let each man determine to do his duty, leaving to an all-controlling Providence the decision of the contest.
  • Address on Taking Command of the Army of the Potomac (June 28, 1863); published in The Civil War: Great Speeches and Documents (2006)

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