One page, 8vo (215 x 125 mm), on United States Military Telegraph letterhead, some ink smudges, minor creases along edges, three vertical folds.

In full: "I regret that I can not be present to witness the presentation of a sword by the gallant Penn. reserve corps to one so worthy to receive it as Genrl. Meade."

General George G. Meade received command of the Army of the Potomac on 28 June 1863. Though not considered to be anyone's first choice, including President Lincoln's, during the Battle of Gettysburg, Meade proved himself to be more than a formidable adversary to Confederate forces as he took charge of his soldiers and spent all three days of the battle riding across the field giving orders and ensuring that they were carried out. Most famously, he outmaneuvered Confederate forces as they attacked the left and right sides of his column and thus forced Lee to attack the center, a disastrous assault now remembered as Pickett's Charge - a defeat so disastrous to the Confederate cause that it marked the furthest north that CSA forces would reach before their ultimate defeat less than two years later at Appomattox.

In recognition of Meade's victory, his old division, the Pennsylvania Reserves, purchased a presentation sword that was given to him during a ceremony on 28 August 1863. Though invited, President Lincoln was unable to attend the festivities and so sent along a telegraph message of congratulations. Meade was pleased with the sword, though in a letter to his wife, he would write, "The more I examine my sword, the more I am delighted with its beauty. It is really most chaste and artistic. It seems a pity, though, to waste so much money on an article that from its great value is actually rendered useless."