Civil War Heritage (Multi-Day Tour)
This tour can be combined with Baltimore / Annapolis and Washington, DC travel packages
Tour package includes educational Step-On-Guides

It was the greatest war in American history.  Three million fought – 600,000 died.  It was the only war fought on American soil by Americans and for that reason we have always been fascinated with The Civil War.  The purpose of this tour is to bring students the best and most comprehensive information available regarding this American conflict including its causes and effects.  The Great Battles of the Civil War were waged all across this great country.  From New Mexico and Tennessee to Vermont and Florida, hundreds of thousands of Americans died in this struggle for freedom.  Here, the major battles and stories of the Civil War in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC and West Virginia are studied.  Welcome to Civil War Heritage.

ANTIETAM NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD (MARYLAND)

Intense fighting here in cornfields and woods, along creeks and roads, and around a tiny country church on September 17, 1862, resulted in the bloodiest day of the war.  Federal losses were 12,410 and Confederate casualties totaled 10,700.  A guided driving tour takes students to key parts of the battlefield including the Dunker Church, the Mumma Farm, the Sunken Road and the Burnside Bridge.  It covers the three phases of the battle from the initial Federal attacks early in the morning through the North Woods, into midday at the Roulette Farm and then the final afternoon phase along Antietam Creek.  A National Cemetery holds the remains of more than 4,500 Union soldiers.  The Visitor Center offers a film outlining the battle of the first southern invasion of the north.

CHAMBERSBURG (PENNSYLVANIA)

This small city endured more than its share of hardships during the war.  The most destructive was a fire set on the orders of Confederate General John McCausland after the city failed to raise a ransom on July 30, 1864.  Much of the Confederate infantry was in Chambersburg when A.P. Hill and Robert E. Lee met in the city square and turned toward Gettysburg in June, 1863.  Your guided tour will include the interpretation of these events and memorials located in the city's town square.  A stop at the Chambersburg Heritage Center highlights the area's history, including the Civil War and Underground Railroad.

FREDERICKSBURG & SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK (VIRGINIA)

Significant areas of four major battlefields plus a handful of historic buildings are maintained in this 5,500-acre park.  More than 100,000 men became casualties in the fighting in and around Fredericksburg, making it perhaps the bloodiest piece of ground in the country.  Start at the main Visitor Center for a short audiovisual presentation, maps and exhibits.  Park highlights include the following:

• Fredericksburg Battlefield – The Visitor Center is just steps away from the famous stone wall at Marye's Heights that was successfully defended by Confederates on December 13, 1862.  Short self-guided walking tours along the wall and up to Confederate positions on the heights are available.  The National Cemetery is located just above the center.  A guided driving tour with several stops takes students through the lesser-known Prospect Hill area of the battlefield on the Federal left.
• Chancellorsville Battlefield – The Visitor Center has information about this site – scene of intense fighting in early May, 1863.  Stonewall Jackson was severely wounded on May 2nd at a spot marked near the Visitor Center.  The famous general died about a week later.  This battle is regarded by many as Robert E. Lee's greatest victory.  A guided driving tour highlights significant areas.
• Wilderness Battlefield – An exhibit shelter helps explain the action here May 5-6, 1864 as Federal soldiers pushed forward in what would become the Overland Campaign.  A short guided walking tour from the shelter routes students through Saunders Field – one of the most fought-over areas in the battle.  Ellwood, a plantation home, became a Federal headquarters during the battle and is available for guided tours.  It's also the burial place of Stonewall Jackson's arm.  A guided driving tour includes significant areas of the battlefield.
• Spotsylvania Battlefield – Another exhibit shelter highlights the fighting as the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia slugged it out in mid-May, 1864.  Among the short walking tours in this park includes the exploration of the Confederate salient that became known as the ‘Bloody Angle.’
• Stonewall Jackson Shrine – See where General Jackson died on May 10, 1863 following his wounding at Chancellorsville.
• Chatham – Tour the Federal position during the 1862 fighting.  Restored rooms in a Georgian mansion and exhibits tell the story here.
• Old Salem Church – This 1844 church was the site of fighting during the Chancellorsville campaign and a refuge for Fredericksburg citizens in 1862.  Enjoy a guided tour and learn the significance of this historic landmark.

GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK (PENNSYLVANIA)

One of the best-known and most studied battlefields in the world is visited by more than one million students a year.  Many believe the three-day battle here July 1-3, 1863 decided the outcome of the war.  Students will begin at the main Visitor Center which also houses a vast museum of Civil War relics and items.  Close by is the Soldiers' National Cemetery, dedicated by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863.  Your guided tour includes discussions and hands-on activities that focus on the three days of battle, the National Cemetery, the Gettysburg Address, soldier life and Civil War medicine and living history demonstrations.  Finally, a licensed battlefield guide will narrate your driving tour which includes stops at Little Round Top, Cemetery Ridge, Pickett's Charge and Culp's Hill.

The goal of the education programs at Gettysburg National Military Park is to educate and involve students in different human aspects of the Civil War experience.  Students are given an opportunity to see first-hand what the Civil War meant to the people who lived it and what it means to our national heritage today.  Educational goals are not to instruct students in tactics and strategy but to delve into the human aspects and tragic consequences of the war that not only tore America apart but also put it back together again.

HARPERS FERRY NATIONAL PARK (WEST VIRGINIA)

The story of Harpers Ferry is more than one event, one date or one individual.  It involves a diverse number of people and events that influenced the course of our nation's history.  Harpers Ferry witnessed the first successful application of interchangeable manufacturing, the arrival of the first successful American railroad, John Brown's attack on slavery and the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War.  Located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, this restored 19th century industrial village and its surrounding natural setting offers many opportunities for students to enter history in a unique and personal way.  John Brown's 1859 raid (and subsequent hanging) and Civil War activities are interpreted throughout the restored lower town area which also features information about all periods of the town's history and residents.  Trails on Maryland and Loudoun Heights also offer wartime interpretation and views.  An interactive interpretation center with a film is offered in the town’s historic district.  Ranger guided education programs, self-guided history searches, living history hands-on classroom experiences, science field studies, civic leadership workshops, pre-visit and post visit curriculum materials and guided hikes are just a few of the many learning opportunities that you find at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

JOHN WILKES BOOTH ESCAPE ROUTE (WASHINGTON, DC TO VIRGINIA)

After shooting President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater on April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth fled across the Potomac River into Maryland, then headed toward Virginia.  His leg broken in a fall at the theater, Booth met up with accomplice David Herold before stopping at the Surratt House and Tavern for supplies and guns stashed there earlier at about 4:00 AM April 13th.  Booth and Herold then stopped at the farmhouse of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd who splinted the assassin's leg.  In the early morning hours of April 26th, two weeks after the assassination, Union cavalry surrounded a tobacco barn where Booth was sleeping.  They set fire to the barn.  Booth was shot while trying to escape the flames and died shortly thereafter.  Students will enjoy an interpreted driving tour along Booth's escape route from Ford's Theater in Washington, DC to the location of his capture and death in Virginia 12 days later.  Nine Civil War Trails signs mark stops on the route.  The signs complement established museums at Ford's Theater and the Peterson House in Washington, DC and the Surratt House and Tavern and Mudd House in Maryland.

MANASSAS NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK (VIRGINIA)

Park boundaries encompass key sites associated with the First (July 21, 1861) and Second (August 28-30, 1862) Battles of Manassas (Bull Run).  The first Manassas is remembered as the first major land battle of the war won by inexperienced Confederates who routed an equally raw Union force.  Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson became ‘Stonewall’ for his role in the fighting.  The second battle, also a dramatic Confederate victory, was much bloodier.  More than 3,000 soldiers were killed during the battle.  Your tour begins at the newly-remodeled visitor center which offers an audiovisual program, interactive displays, a book store and a 45-minute introductory film.  Your guided tour will include stops at Henry Hill, Stone Bridge (a key spot in the first battle as Union attacks spilled across Bull Run and served as the Union line of retreat during both battles), Stone House (battlefield landmark that served as the Union headquarters during the second battle and as a field hospital during and after both battles) and the Unfinished Railroad Cut (Jackson defended this position against strong Union attacks during the second battle; the railroad grade is still visible).

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