A photograph of the country courthouse in Warrenton, Virginia, taken in August 1862 (Library of Congress).

When he writes home to his wife on October 21, Meade has returned to Warrenton, Virginia. The pendulum is swinging back the other way and this time it is Lee who is retreating. Meade is realistic about how he reacted to the Army of Northern Virginia’s flanking maneuver.

Lee has retired across the Rappahannock, after completely destroying the railroad on which I depend for my supplies. His object is to prevent my advance, and in the meantime send more troops to Bragg. This was a deep game, and I am free to admit that in the playing of it he has got the advantage of me.

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. 154. Available via Google Books.