The mansion was the site of General George G. Meade's takeover of command of the Army of the Potomac of the Union Army from General Joseph Hooker immediately before the Battle of Gettysburg, under last-minute orders from President Abraham Lincoln. Hooker had been defeated by General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville, in Virginia, a few weeks earlier.
The estate was the location where General George G. Meade assumed control of the Army of the Potomac of the Union Army from General Joseph Hooker immediately prior to the Battle of Gettysburg, under last-minute instructions from President Abraham Lincoln. Hooker had been defeated by General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia a few weeks earlier.