In commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, we present a ten-day tour highlighting the pivotal battles of the East in 1862. 

ITINERARY

May 22, Tuesday                                                                                       

Individual arrivals in Richmond, VA.  Join fellow travelers for a welcome dinner. O/N Marriott Courtyard Richmond Airport, Sandston, VA  (R,D)

May 23, Wednesday                           USS Monitor vs CSS Virginia         

We’ll drive to Newport News, VA this morning to learn about the Battle of Hampton Roads (March 8–9), the first battle between ironclad warships. We’ll see the remains of the USS Monitor at the Mariners’ Museum. En route back to Richmond, we will discuss the Siege of Yorktown (April  4-May 5) and the Battle of Williamsburg (May 5). O/N Marriott Courtyard Richmond Airport, Sandston, VA   (B,L)

May 24, Thursday                                 Peninsula Campaign    

Today’s focus is on McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign (March-July), the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater.  We’ll make stops in Williamsburg, West Point, Eltham’s Landing, and the Seven Pines battlefield.  This afternoon, we'll take a special behind-the-scenes of the Museum of the Confederacy.

O/N Marriott Courtyard Richmond Airport, Sandston, VA   (B,L,D)

May 25, Friday                         Seven Days Battles                 

We’ll spend the day learning how Robert E. Lee drove the McClellan's invading Union Army away from Richmond in the Seven Days Battles (June 25 to July 1).  Stops will include Oak Grove, Gaine’s Mill, and Malvern Hill. 

O/N Hampton Inn, Fredericksburg, VA (B,L,D)

May 26,  Saturday              Fredericksburg  

In mid-December the Union attempted to cross the Rappahanock River at Fredericksburg in another attempt to capture Richmond. But they lost the element of surprise and on December 13 made fifteen futile charges against entrenched Confederate defenders on Marye's Heights. It was one of the most one-sided battles of the American Civil War, with Union casualties more than twice as heavy as those suffered by the Confederates.

O/N Hampton Inn, Fredericksburg, VA (B,L)

May 27,  Sunday           Cedar Mt – Thoroughfare Gap  

We’ll begin the day with the Battle of Cedar Mountain (August 9), the opening battle of the Second Manassas Campaign.  Then learn how Stonewall Jackson captured the supply depot at Manassas and how Longstreet drove back Union forces at Thoroughfare Gap (Aug 28) enabling him to unite with Jackson.  This afternoon, we’ll begin discussing the Battle of Second Manassas (Aug 28-30) at Brawners Farm.

O/N Hampton Inn, Manassas, VA  (B,L)

May 28,  Monday                      2nd Manassas 

We will finish our tour of Second Manassas with stops at the Stone House, the Deep Cut, Chinn Ridge, Henry Hill and the Stone Bridge.  Time and weather permitting, we will visit a private farm located at White’s Ford where Lee’s army crossed the Potomac into Maryland in September 1862.  O/N Hampton Inn, Leesburg, VA (B,L,D)

May 29,  Tuesday                                   Battle of South Mountain 

We’ll begin our examination of Lee’s bold invasion of the North. We’ll stop in a field outside Frederick, MD where a copy of Lee’s famous Special Order 191 detailing his battle plan was discovered by a Union soldier.  Next we’ll trace the action of the Union Army’s three-pronged attack at the gaps of South Mountain (September 14). 

O/N Hampton Inn, Hagerstown, MD    (B,L,D)

May 30,  Wednesday                           Antietam   

Today is devoted to Antietam (September 17), the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history with about 23,000 casualties. 

O/N Hilton Washington Dulles Airport Hotel, VA (B,L,D)

May 31,  Thursday          Depart at your leisure.   (B)

EXPERT GUIDE:  Ed Bearss is scheduled to lead this tour.

Chief Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service, Edwin C. Bearss is an author, lecturer and America's foremost battlefield guide.  Ed's encyclopedic knowledge and unflagging energy is legendary; Ed brings history alive like no other.  Two of his recent best sellers are Fields of Honor and Receding Tide:  Vicksburg and Gettysburg – The Campaigns that Changed the Civil War.

GUEST HISTORIAN: Tom Clemens will join us for the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam. A history professor, Dr. Clemens has studied the Antietam campaign and the Civil War for more than 30 years. He co-founded the Save Historic Antietam Foundation, and serves as a licensed Battlefield Guide and a National Park Service volunteer interpreter. A regular contributor to several military and history magazines, Tom recently edited Ezra Carmen's long unpublished history of Antietam, The Maryland Campaign of 1862, Volume I: South Mountain.

NOTE Regarding Airline Reservations:  This tour starts in Richmond, VA and ends in Washington Dulles Hilton Hotel. When making your air reservations, select "multi-city" or "multi-destinations;" do not attempt to book two one-way tickets as the fare will be twice as high.

THIS "1862" PROGRAM INCLUDES:
* Services of an historian guide

* Guest historian, Tom Clemens for May 29 & 30
* Services of a professional tour manager
* 9 nights hotel accommodations
* one wine/beer welcome reception; 9 breakfasts, 8 lunches, 6 dinners
* all taxes, baggage handling and gratuities; pre-trip notes, reading list and map book

COST: 10 DAYS/9 NIGHTS
Double Occupancy:  $2,995
Single Occupancy:  $3,495

  To enroll on this tour, print & complete the attached registration form and mail it with a $200 per person deposit check to:   South Mountain Expeditions, P.O. Box 204, Keedysville, MD, 21756.  Or call us at (301) 988-1852 or toll free at 1 (866) 914-1862. We accept VISA, Mastercard and American Express.