American Civil War – Eastern Campaign – June 2016

Unlike Europe, American Civil War battlefield sites are preserved as hallowed ground and presented as they were at the commencement of the battles in the early 1860s. Most are designated National Parks with an excellent visitor centre and museum, and often a theatrette showing recreated film footage (in the style of Ken Burns’ Civil War series). All have been upgraded over recent years in preparation for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. We will both walk and drive through the battlefields, stopping at the key sites where each of the regiments fought and the exact spots where generals were killed or mortally wounded. It was not unusual for 4 or more generals to be killed in the major battles. Our guides at every field will provide compelling and incisive commentary to maximise your understanding of the significance of each battle.
Superior standard accommodation (indeed the best available in all locations other than Washington) and specialist guides feature throughout the tour. To maximise your enjoyment, touring will not start earlier than 9.00 a.m. and we have included sufficient free time for individual exploring. Breakfast daily, plus welcome and farewell dinners are included, while other meals are not included to allow for flexibility of choice with regard to cuisine and budget.

Meet together this evening for a welcome drink and get together with fellow tour members before walking to a nearby Washington restaurant for dinner.
Accommodation – Henley Park Hotel, Washington (1 night)

During the Civil War, the North generally named a battle after the closest river, stream or creek and the South tended to name battles after towns or railroad junctions. Hence the Confederate named Manassas after Manassas Junction while the Union named Bull Run for the stream Bull Run.
Today we travel to Manassas, the scene of 2 major battles. The first, in July 1861, was a Confederate victory whereby General Thomas J Jackson became immortalised and thereafter known as “Stonewall” Jackson. The Union, with 2,900 casualties, retreated to the safety of Washington having inflicted 2,000 Confederate casualties.
Then in August 1862 the battle was significantly larger as evidenced by casualties of 14,000 on each side. Finally however, it was again a Confederate victory by General Robert E Lee over General Pope.
Accommodation – Marriott Courtyard Hotel, Fredericksburg, Virginia (3 nights)

If time permits, there will be some free time to look around the historic town of Fredericksburg.

Today we tour the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House battlefield parks, both of which form part of the greater Fredericksburg Battlefield Park. Significant battles were fought at both locations during 1864 as the Confederate forces under Robert E Lee were forced back towards Richmond by continuous flanking moves by the Union forces under overall command of Ulysses Grant.
Our day concludes with a 2 hour drive to the historic town of Shepherdstown in West Virginia, but a short 10 minute drive from the Antietam battlefield, located in Maryland.
There will be a tour dinner that evening at the Bavarian Inn. Accommodation – Bavarian Inn – Shepherdstown, West Virgina (1 night)

We will spend a full day with our expert guide visiting the battlefields of South Mountain and Harpers Ferry concluding with a full afternoon at the Antietam Battlefield Park.
Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers where the states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia meet, the now peaceful town of Harpers Ferry changed hands 8 times during the Civil War. In 1859, just prior to the Civil War, John Brown staged his famous raid on the Harper Valley armoury and subsequently many battles were fought in and around the town.
Following visits to South Mountain and Harpers Ferry, we will drive to and tour the extensive Antietam battlefield park and interpretive centre, located in the state of Maryland. This was the most bloody single day battle of the Civil War with 23,00 soldiers killed, wounded or missing after 12 hours of savage combat on 17 September 1862. The Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg as it is known in the Confederacy) ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia’s 1st invasion of the North and led to Lincoln’s famous issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.
We will stay in the most famous and certainly the oldest hotel in Gettysburg dating back to 1797. Accommodation – Gettysburg Hotel (3 nights)

The 3rd and final day of the Battle of Gettysburg saw 12,500 Confederate soldiers attack entrenched Union positions on Cemetery Ridge and suffer great casualties. This is forever known as Pickett’s Charge and here we’ll walk on that same ground.
In the total battle, the Army of Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia each suffered circa 23,000 casualties, losses that the Confederates could ill afford. It was a decisive turning point. The shattered Confederate forces then staged a successful retreat over the Potamac River back into Virginia.
This afternoon there will be free time to explore the town of Gettysburg on your own.

This morning, before driving to Richmond, we will visit Seminary Ridge Museum, the Soldiers National Cemetery (the place of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, when dedicating the cemetery) and the Field Hospital Museum . The Visitors Centre has an extensive bookstore, and there will be ample time to browse its shelves.
We will stay at one of the best hotels in all of the South and is a stand out location to spend our 4 nights in Richmond.
Accommodation – Jefferson Hotel, Richmond (4 nights)

As the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond was the target of numerous attempts by the Union army to seize the town and its treasure trove of munitions, weapons, supplies and manpower. The Union finally succeded in April 1865 and today we will tour the Richmond National Battlefield Park, site of the 1862 Seven Days Campaign and the 1864 Overland Campaign including Totopotomoy Creek and Cold Harbor.

Petersburg Battlefield park was the scene of the Confederate defeat at Five Forks and the resultant major assault by Grant on the thinning Confederate lines in early April 1865. After a morning visit at Petersburg we will drive to Pamplin Park, the site of the 2 April 1865 breakthrough. This ended the Petersburg campaign and led to the evacuation of the Confederate capital of Richmond.
Today we will also visit the highly rated Museum of the Civil War Soldier.

We will drive back to Washington late afternoon (2 hours) for our farewell tour dinner.
Accommodation – Henley Park Hotel, Washington (1 night)

Our tour ends officially after breakfast.

Participation Cost: US$5,200 pp twin share/US$1,250 single supplement

A completed reservation form is due at the time of deposit. Payment of your deposit and balance constitutes acceptance of these terms and conditions.

1. A non refundable deposit of A$2,500 per person is to accompany the booking form to secure your place on this tour. As the tour is subject to a minimum number of 10, if the tour does not proceed the deposit will be fully refundable. The final payment will be for the full tour price in USD converted to AUD based on the best USD sell rate from the Major 4 banks as at 10am on Wednesday 27 April 2016. The deposit will then be deducted from this to give the balance owing. No refunds are available after this date other than through your travel insurance policy.
2. Insurance is mandatory and each participant must have proof of insurance before commencing tour. It is strongly recommended that insurance cover is in place at time of booking to cover potential need to cancel.
3. While every effort will be made to operate the tour exactly as per the brochure, the organisers reserve the right to make changes, should these be deemed essential, due to changed conditions outside of our control, or in the best interests of the group as a whole.
4. Payment by credit card will be subject a merchant fee of 1.5% (VC/MC) and 3.1% (AX)

FOR BOOKINGS & ALL ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT
DAVID COOPER or ADRIENNE WITTEMAN
TRENDSETTER TRAVEL AND CRUISE CENTRE PTY LTD
2 KENNETH STREET, LONGUEVILLE NSW 2066
PH (02) 9428 5900
EMAIL: david@trendsettertravel.com.au or
adrienne@trendsettertravel.com.au