This paper examines practical issues related to the use of compact-di erence-based fourth-and sixth-order schemes for wave propagation phenomena with focus on Maxwell's equations of electromagnetics. An outline of the formulation and scheme optimization is followed by an assessment of the error accruing from application on stretched meshes with two approaches: transformed plane method and physical space di erencing. In the ÿrst technique, the truncation error expansion for the sixth-order compact scheme conÿrms that the order of accuracy is preserved if a consistent mesh reÿnement strategy is followed and further that metrics should be evaluated numerically even if analytic expressions are available. Physical space-di erencing formulas are derived for the ÿve-point stencil by expressing the coe cients in terms of local spacing ratios. The order of accuracy of the reconstruction operator is then veriÿed with a numerical experiment on stretched meshes. To ensure stability for a broad range of problems, Fourier analysis is employed to develop a single-parameter family of up to tenth-order tridiagonal-based spatial ÿlters. The implementation of these ÿlters is discussed in terms of their e ect on the interior scheme as well as in a 1-D cavity where they are employed to suppress a late-time instability. The paper concludes after demonstrating the application of the scheme to several 3-D canonical problems utilizing Cartesian as well as curvilinear meshes.