Tour & Cruise Schedule  •   Terms & Conditions

Oct. 7–14, 2007

• Overview
• Historian Guide: James McPherson
• Itinerary 7 days / 6 nights
• Click to see PDF map
• Cost

To book this tour, call (800) 628-8542

  Overview

The pendulum of victory and defeat swung back and forth several times during the four years of the Civil War. Two of the most important swings from Confederat triumph to Union success occurred in September 1862 and July 1863. Led by Pulitzer Prizewinning author and Civil War historian James McPherson, we will visit those two battlefields where the pendulum swung most dramatically and desperate fighting turned back the tide of Confederate victory. We will lodge for five nights at the Gettysburg Hotel and spend the opening and closing nights at the Embassy Suites, Dulles Airport, Washington DC.

James M. McPherson

Professor of American History at Princeton, Jim is one of the premier Civil War Historians, widely respected and acclaimed and in heavy demand as a writer and speaker. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the war, including the classic Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1989.

  Day by Day

Sunday, Oct. 7 – Gather at the Embassy Suites, Dulles Airport in Washington, DC, for a welcome briefing and dinner hosted by Jim McPherson and HistoryAmerica.

Monday, Oct. 8 – South Mountain: Start in September 1862 at the battlefields of South Mountain – Fox’s, Turner’s and Crampton’s Gaps where the Army of the Potomac sought to break through and rescue the Union garrison at Harper’s Ferry. We will spend the next five nights at the Gettysburg Hotel.

Tuesday, Oct. 9 – Antietam – Head south today and see where repeated Union attacks from dawn to dusk on Sept. 17, 1862, pushed the outnumbered Confederates to the edge of disaster but failed to score a decisive victory.

Wednesday, Oct. 10 – Wartime Washington: Visit the acclaimed National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, MD, before proceeding on to Fort Stevens. Tour the Lincoln summer cottage on the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home.

Thursday, Oct. 11 – Gettysburg: We will walk the hallowed ground of the first two days of the battle of Gettysburg: the hills west of town where the two armies first collided, the Peach Orchard, the Wheatfield, Devil’s Den, and Little Round Top.

Friday, Oct. 12 – Gettysburg: Learn how fighting at East Cemetery Hill raged on the evening of July 2, and what took place at Culp’s Hill the next morning. We then tour East Cavalry Field before walking Pickett’s climactic charge.

Saturday, Oct. 13 – Lee’s Retreat: Follow the route of Lee’s retreat from Gettysburg to the Potomac River at
Williamsport where the Army of Northern Virginia was trapped by high water before finally crossing at Falling Waters. Our farewell dinner and final night will be back at the Embassy Suites, Dulles Airport.

Sunday, Oct. 14 – Depart at your leisure following breakfast.

  Cost ~ 8 days / 7 nights

Historian Guide James McPherson
Services of a professional tour director
Deluxe transportation
All admissions to included features
Seven nights hotel accommodations
Seven breakfasts, three lunches, four dinners
Taxes, baggage handling, and gratuities on included features
Suggested reading list

Per person, double occupancy: $2,165
Per person, single occupancy: $2,595