“He Did His Work Bravely And Is At Rest:” The Final Years of General George Gordon Meade (Winter Lecture Series)

Featuring some of the best Rangers, historians, and authors from across the country, this popular eight-week Winter Lecture Series returns to the Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) Museum and Visitor Center in 2026!

The Winter Lecture Series is held at 1:30 p.m. on weekends in the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center from January 10 through March 8, 2026. Seating is available on a first come – first serve basis. Free tickets are available day of at the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center. Schedule is subject to change.

Sunday, January 18 – “He Did His Work Bravely And Is At Rest:” The Final Years of General George Gordon Meade
Ranger John Hoptak, Gettysburg National Military Park

For General George Gordon Meade, service to the country did not end at Appomattox. Instead, it continued until his dying day, which occurred on November 6, 1872, just seven-and-a-half years following the end of the Civil War and less than ten years after his triumph at the Battle of Gettysburg. Join Ranger Hoptak for a look at the oftentimes glossed-over post-Civil War career of George Meade, which, among other things, included his efforts to deter the Fenian Brotherhood from invasions of Canada, his role in Reconstruction, and his July 1869 return visit to Gettysburg to help dedicate the recently constructed Soldiers’ National Monument in the National Cemetery.