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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Civil War Talk > Other Civil War Talk > A Great Civil War Trip |
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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Civil War Talk > Other Civil War Talk > A Great Civil War Trip |
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| A Great Civil War Trip | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Tue Apr 12th, 2011 03:40 pm |
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1st Post |
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TimK Member
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A recent trip to Vicksburg reminded me of one of the best Civil War trips I took a few years ago. I flew into Memphis and headed east to Shiloh. I spent three days at Shiloh and Corinth. I personally think Shiloh is the best of the CW battlefields to visit (not that the others aren't - they are) for several reasons. Corinth, I think gets overlooked a lot. Besides being the location of the railroad crossing that was the reason for the battle of Shiloh, there is a wonderful interpretive center and a very interesting walking tour. From there, I headed south through Brices Crossroads and Tupelo. In Tupelo, I got on the Natchez Trace Parkway (fascinating and worth a trip in itself). I took the Trace to just outside Jackson and then headed west to Vicksburg. After a few days in Vicksburg, I drove north up to Cleveland, MS, the birthplace of the Delta Blues. I would suggest that people take their time passing through this place. Plenty of great music and food. Getting back to Memphis, I took the time to visit the National Museum of Civil Rights, the Gibson guitar factory, Beale Street, the Peabody Hotel, and caught a minor league baseball game. I passed on the Elvis stuff in both Tupelo and Memphis, but would have understood completely if I was with somebody that needed to see his sites. It was a great trip. Of course I told my wife I needed to make this trip in the name of Civil War research, but understandably, I don't think she fully believed me. I would really like to read about other people's great CW trips, or read any comments on stuff I may have missed on this one.
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23rd, 2011 05:05 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Captain Crow Progressive Southerner 
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That's a cool idea. I'll share my 2010 trip. I left Oklahoma City on a Friday afternoon, made it to Wilson's Creek battlefield in MO. Walked the battlefield with my camera and a guide book most of the next day. http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z116/jackrox_2007/Wilsons%20Creek%202010/ made it up to Terre Haute IN by Sat. eve. Luckily I had a reservation ,the Indy 500 was happening the next day so rooms were scarce. I was up before the sun and on the road by 7A.M. I arrived in Gettysburg by early afternoon via the same route as Heth's boys. I spent the next 5 days touring the surrounding area...all of Gettysburg (with the help of J. David Petruzzi's "The Complete Gettysburg Guide", Antietam, and Harper's Ferry W.V. http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z116/jackrox_2007/Gettysburg%202010/ http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z116/jackrox_2007/Antietam%202010/ http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z116/jackrox_2007/Harpers%20Ferry%202010/ After 5 wonderful days in Gberg I made my way down to Manassas VA. for a 2 day stay. I absolutely hated driving there...too congested for this open prairie kinda guy. Toured the Manassas battlefields for a couple of hours that eve. returned early the next morning to get a few pics and finish the tour. http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z116/jackrox_2007/Manassas%202010/ After Manassas I headed to Virginia Beach for some sun and sea air. Got a room right on the beach, filled my cooler full of cold brews, and kicked back on the balcony to enjoy the view. http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z116/jackrox_2007/Virginia%20Beach%20VA/ The next day-Sunday- I decided to head to Norfolk to take a harbor tour. http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z116/jackrox_2007/Norfolk%20Harbor/ after 2 great days by the ocean it was time to head inland a bit...first off a trip to Appomattox....... http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z116/jackrox_2007/Appomattox%202010/ and finally, a couple of days in Lexington VA. A stop which included a walking tour of the town with stops at the Stonewall home, VMI-where I was pleasantly surprised to be able to take a guided tour of the campus accompanied by a VMI cadet!- a tour of Washington and Lee university-including of course the beautiful Lee chapel- a lastly a visit to Jackson's grave. I had 2 days of hard driving ahead of me to get home so the next morning I headed west. I can think of no better way to spend two weeks of vacation. http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z116/jackrox_2007/Lexington%20VA%202010/ Last edited on Sat Apr 23rd, 2011 05:32 pm by Captain Crow |
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25th, 2011 12:33 pm |
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3rd Post |
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j harold 587 Member 
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That sounds like a great trip Captain! For me on a personal level my best battle field trip was last June to Gettysburg. My wife and I tool our son's kids (2), my daughter and her husband and 2 kids to the friends annual work day. On Friday we went to the museaum/cyclorama and picked up a jr ranger book for the kids. It had a scavenger hunt at the museaum and other fill in the blank and drawing related activities which were a good match for the age span (13-7) that we had. We got one book and everyone worked on the items that were age appropriate to them. Grandma had also made a battle field scavenger hunt list so we went to the field. I did not want overpower the kids with what grandpa wanted to do so we used the tape tour to get started. We had dog biskits for the kids to leave for the dogs on momuments, climbed all the towers, and ended the day on top of the Pa monument with a narative from Grandpa on the field from that view. With the tree cutting that has been done it was great. Saturday we scraped and painted fence with the friends. Sunday after church at the civil war chapel we did the down town shopping thing thing went to the diorama (we got free admission because of where we camped). The kids really enjoyed it because they understood the geography from the view from the Pa monument. Then I asked if anyone wanted to go back to the field, and was pleasently suprised when they wanted more detail of the first and last days fighting. So we went to Oak Hill (tower again) and the life size mural near the brick yard, The kids all have pictures of their heroic defense and death at the fence. Then back to Picket's charge and another tower.Then Monday it was on to Washington D.C. and Ford's Theater, Arlington, bus tour, foot tour and Sleep. Our last day we went to Hersey Park and rode bumper cars 10 times straight! The lines were short and everyone seemed to enjoy crashing into me. I must not have burned them out as the oldest and youngest already want to go again. Sorry to be long winded, but for me this was my best trip.
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15th, 2012 03:36 am |
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4th Post |
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LoyaltyOfDogs Member 
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Sounds like a wonderful trip to Gettysburg! (I especially like the biscuits for the dogs on the monuments. It's touching to see Sallie, in particular, being remembered by a new generation of visitors.) Here are two great presentations you may want to consider taking in whenever you have a chance to visit again. "An Evening With the Painting" is a lecture and extended viewing of the restored Cyclorama that includes a behind-the-scenes, close-up look at the construction of its massive framework and the diorama that provides its 3D appearance. This program is held only a few times throughout the year, after the museum closes for the day, but if it is offered while you're in town it's well worth the price of admission, which I seem to recall was about $20 or maybe a bit more. The other program is "Songs and Stories of a Civil War Hospital," presented free of charge on Saturday evenings during the summer at Christ Lutheran Church on Chambersburg Street, which was a hospital during and after the battle. The musicians and historical interpreters are first-rate, and the stories they tell give a dramatic sense of the experiences of the soldiers, their families, and the nurses and townspeople who cared for the wounded. Just recalling the reading of Walt Whitman's poem "Come Up From the Fields, Father" still brings tears to my eyes. Here's a link to the Civil War hospital program's Web site: http://www.candlelightatchrist.org.
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| Posted: Wed Oct 17th, 2012 03:43 pm |
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5th Post |
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sgtredleg Life NRA, CW Trust, VFW member 
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Great idea for a thread. I've only had the opportunity to view a handful of Battlefields back east. My fav would be our 2007 trip to Gettysburg. We were able to see the re-enactment, did the battlefield self tour and toured around town. During this same trip I was able to do self-tours of Antietam, the Richmond 7 days battles and a quick stop off at Manassas. Of course being in the area, we spent time in Washington DC and Busch Gardens. All was great fun! I'm really looking forward to another go-round for the Gettysburg 150th!
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21st, 2012 03:43 pm |
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6th Post |
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sgtredleg Life NRA, CW Trust, VFW member
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This one was a small battle fought in 1862. The California Column was fighting the Chiricahua Apaches while trying to secure Apache Spring for the Union troops. It is known as the battle of Apache Pass. It made for a fun day trip yesterday! Attachment: IMG_0150.JPG (Downloaded 9 times) Last edited on Sun Oct 21st, 2012 03:47 pm by sgtredleg |
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21st, 2012 04:10 pm |
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7th Post |
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Captain Crow Progressive Southerner
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Nice! Love the far west stuff. Been to Glorietta pass, NM?
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21st, 2012 05:21 pm |
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8th Post |
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sgtredleg Life NRA, CW Trust, VFW member
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Captain Crow said: Nice! Love the far west stuff. Been to Glorietta pass, NM? No, not yet. I have been studying Picacho Pass, Stanwix Station, Dragoon and Apache Pass for awhile now. I have just made a trip to Pinos Altos in New Mexico and I'm hoping to expand into Valverde and Glorietta Pass in New Mexico next year. I'm looking forward to it! Last edited on Sun Oct 21st, 2012 05:22 pm by sgtredleg |
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21st, 2012 05:37 pm |
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9th Post |
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Captain Crow Progressive Southerner
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Val Verde is mostly on private land....unfortunately. Fort Craig is about as close as you get. Glorietta pass is definitely worth the trip. Fort Union is really cool as well. This is a great time of year to see them btw. Most of the Rattle snakes should be holed up by now. Pecos national park visitors center handles GP as well.
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21st, 2012 05:56 pm |
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10th Post |
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sgtredleg Life NRA, CW Trust, VFW member
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Thanks for the info captain. Speaking of snakes, this pesky little critter surprised me yesterday. (3 to 4 feet away). Attachment: IMG_0153.JPG (Downloaded 7 times) Last edited on Sun Oct 21st, 2012 05:57 pm by sgtredleg |
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| Posted: Sun Oct 21st, 2012 06:08 pm |
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11th Post |
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Captain Crow Progressive Southerner
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Eeeek! Man I am NOT a fan of snakes.
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