At long last, the day when the Pennsylvania Reserves give Meade his presentation sword is almost here!

To-morrow is the grand presentation day. I have not made the slightest preparation in the way of a speech, and have not the slightest idea what I shall say. Governor Curtin, I understand, is to make the presentation address; so, of course, I shall be overwhelmed with his eloquence and perhaps dumfounded. On reflection, I thought it absurd for me to make any labored effort; that it being entirely out of my line, I should most likely do worse than if I just trusted to luck and said what at the time seemed to me pertinent and suitable.

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.145. Available via Google Books.