Tour Schedule  •   Terms & Conditions

Nov. 2–9, 2008

• 8 DAYS / 7 NIGHTS
• Historian Guide: James M. McPherson
• Services of a professional tour director
• Deluxe motorcoach transportation
• All admissions to included features
• Seven nights hotel accommodations
• Seven breakfasts, two lunches, and four dinners
• Welcome briefing
• All taxes, baggage handling, and gratuities on included features
• Suggested reading list

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

  Overview

The enchanting coast of the two Carolinas served as the setting for the beginning and the end of the Civil War.

On April 6, 1861, President Lincoln sent a message to Jefferson Davis stating “an attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumter with provisions only....” On April 12, the newly formed Army of the Confederacy thwarted this attempt by an attack from James Island on Fort Sumter. The nation was at war!

The war was nearly over in 1865 when Sherman marched his troops out of Savannah into North Carolina to join Grant’s Army of the Potomac. After his two last battles at Averasborough and Bentonville, where he met General Johnston for the last time, Sherman’s army was resupplied by another Union force that had captured Fort Fisher and Wilmington. This dealt a fatal blow to the Confederacy by closing off the last blockade-running port.

Leading this tour to all of these stirring sites will be master historian, James M. McPherson, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. For an entire week he will entertain and enlighten HistoryAmerica travelers from the depths of his encyclopedic knowledge of the fighting in this critical theater of the war.

James M. McPherson

Professor Emeritus of American History at Princeton, Jim is a premier Civil War historian, widely respected and acclaimed, and highly sought after as a writer and speaker. He is the author of the Pulitzer Prize winning classic Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. In 2007 he was awarded the Ford’s Theater Lincoln Medal.

  Day by Day

Day 1, Sunday, November 2 Gathering day at the Renaissance Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, for a welcome briefing and dinner hosted by Jim McPherson and HistoryAmerica.

Day 2, Monday, November 3 Spend this first day at Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie where the Civil War began. Then you’ll take a walking tour of this fascinating city with local experts in history and culture.

Day 3, Tuesday, November 4 Visit the site of the Hunley restoration project and Magnolia Cemetery where the crew of the Hunley is buried. Then on to James Island, from which the first shot of the war was fired and where Union troops a year later tried to assault Charleston and failed.

Day 4, Wednesday, November 5 Forts Pulaski and Jackson in Savannah, Georgia, are the first two stops of the day. Then on to Port Royal Sound and beautiful Beaufort, South Carolina. Known for its Southern hospitality and casual seaside charm, Beaufort reigns as the “Queen of the Carolina Sea Islands.” It was here in November 1861 that a Union naval squadron drove the Confederates out.

Day 5, Thursday, November 6 Today will be spent in Wilmington, North Carolina, and at Fort Fisher, the last major seaport and stronghold of the Confederacy, which fell to the Union in January 1865. This disabled the last supply line to Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Day 6, Friday, November 7 You will travel to Fort Macon in Beaufort, North Carolina, and then to New Bern, both overrun by Union General Ambrose Burnside in March 1862.

Day 7, Saturday, November 8 You will end your tour at Averasborough and Bentonville where the Confederate Army under General Johnston made two final attempts to halt Union General Sherman’s march through the Carolinas.

Day 8, Sunday, November 9 After breakfast you will bus from Wilmington to Charleston for your return home. Plan flights from Charleston after 3 p.m.

  Cost ~ 8 days / 7 nights

$2,895 per person double occupancy
$3,495 per person single occupancy