George Meade was a United States Army officer and civil engineer who, while commanding the Army of the Potomac, earned a decisive victory over Confederate Army led by Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg, turning the tide of the American Civil War. Early on in his career, he had proved his worth in the Second Seminole War and the Mexican-American War. However, he was a civil engineer for a large portion of his adult life, during which period he worked for railroad corporations, helped in the construction of lighthouses and conducted surveys of the Great Lakes. Returning to military service during the Civil War, he participated in several major encounters, both before and after the Gettysburg Campaign, and swiftly rose to the rank of major general. However, his contributions to the later campaigns were downplayed by the media due to his poor relationship with the press.