As the V Corps headed north with the rest of the Army of the Potomac in pursuit of the Army of Northern Virginia, Meade sent short notes to his wife to keep her informed of developments. Sometimes there wasn’t much to tell.

We reached here last evening, on our way to Leesburg. The enemy, as far as we can learn, are in the Valley of the Shenandoah, occupying the line they did when McClellan crossed the Potomac last fall. We cannot learn that any great force has crossed into Maryland or Pennsylvania. Should this prove true, we shall have to go to the valley after them.

Meade’s letter taken from The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Major-General United States Army, Vol. 1, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1913), pp. 386. Available via Google Books.