CWRT April 2022 Meeting: Jeffrey Hunt on Meade and Lee at Rappahannock Station and Mine Run"  

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The Civil War in the Eastern Theater during the late summer and fall of 1863 was anything but inconsequential. Generals Meade and Lee continued where they had left off, executing daring marches while boldly maneuvering the chess pieces of war in an effort to gain decisive strategic and tactical advantage. Cavalry actions crisscrossed the rolling landscape; bloody battle revealed to both sides the command deficiencies left in the wake of Gettysburg. It was the first and only time in the war Meade exercised control of the Army of the Potomac on his own terms.  That fall, Meade launched a risky offensive to carry Lee’s Rappahannock defenses and bring on a decisive battle. The dramatic fighting included a stunning Federal triumph at Rappahannock Station—which destroyed two entire Confederate brigades—that gave Meade the upper hand and the initiative in his deadly duel with Lee, who retreated south to a new position behind the Rapidan River. The inconclusive Mine Run Campaign followed.  Jeffrey William Hunt is Director of the Texas Military Forces Museum, the official museum of the Texas National Guard, located at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas, and is an Adjunct Professor of History at Austin Community College, where he has taught since 1988. Prior to taking the post at the Texas Military Forces Museum, he was the Curator of Collections and Director of the Living History Program at the Admiral Nimitz National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas for 11 years. He holds a Master's Degree in History from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Hunt’s writing credits include his book, The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch, and his three volumes on the aftermath of the Gettysburg Campaign, Meade and Lee After Gettysburg: From Falling Waters to Culpeper Court House, Meade and Lee at Bristoe Station, and his latest book, Meade and Lee at Rappahannock Station.