I had a very quiet journey back, arriving at my headquarters about 10 p.m. I found that important despatches had been sent to me at 4 p. m., indicating a probable movement on the part of the enemy; so that it was very well that I returned. This information, brought by a scout, does not seem up to this moment to have been confirmed, and the stampede produced by it has pretty nearly passed away. I hope you had a pleasant journey to Philadelphia, and found them all well at home.

The manner in which I was received and treated in Washington by all with whom I came in contact was certainly most gratifying to me. I really believe I have the confidence of all parties and will continue to retain it, unless some great disaster should overtake me, which I ought not to anticipate. It will be best for both of us to look upon the future in the most favorable light, and trust to that kind Providence which hitherto has so signally blessed and protected us.

Meade’s correspondence taken from The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Major-General United States Army, Vol. 2, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1913), p.143. Available via Google Books.