I can't imagine what was going through his mind as he galloped towards Gettysburg on this night 147 years ago.
Meade was a decisive thinker and rapid planner, and (people here should like this) saw his reputation suffer after the war because he (figuratively) bitch-slapped some journalists. Heh. Go George!
The matchup was just good enough (and Lee’s reputation for unexpected, often risky, and very often decisive adaptations) that Meade couldn’t bring sufficiently overwhelming force to bear, but he had the high ground. That matchup was just good enough that Lee decided to fight it out right there, before Union reinforcements could be brought up.
On what would have been day four, Meade didn’t want to blow what was obviously a victory by launching an attack, having seen how effective his own strategy had been against Lee’s three main attacks. Lee braced for it, it never came, and he had his entire surviving force slip out under cover of darkness. Meade didn’t pursue. Meade’s apparent timidity showed he wasn’t the quite enough the guy to finish the job, and Lincoln made Grant commander of the whole works. Meade remained at Grant’s side for the duration.