Wednesday, October 31 (7:30PM) to Saturday, November 3, 2012 (5:00pm)
Led by Joshua Howard
Based in Charlotte, NC
Tour Cost: $475.00
When we started our American history tour company in 2009, our partner Dave Hinze had the idea for a “Great Commanders Series” which would pit two notable military commanders against each other during a campaign or series of battles. These commanders could be either army leaders or subordinate commanders like our highly successful George H. Thomas and Patrick Cleburne tour of Chickamauga and Chattanooga in 2010.
We have decided to honor Dave’s idea by continuing the “Great Commanders Series” this year with our Greene vs. Cornwallis in the Carolinas tour. Our tour will focus on the strategy and tactics associated with famous battles of Cowpens, Kings Mountain and Guilford Courthouse, along with some minor sites which always make our tours unique. This tour will cover the major engagements in depth and you can expect some walking of the battlefields.
The year 1780 was a pivotal turning point in British strategy as London renewed its effort to crush the American rebellion. The British high command decided to concentrate in the Southern colonies, where reinforcements from the local Loyalist population was anticipated. Charleston was captured in May, bagging an American army of 5,000 men. Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates’ army was routed at Camden in August. Lt. Gen Charles Lord Cornwallis, who succeeded Sir Henry Clinton in command in the South, thought the war should move north to Virginia, a source of men and supplies for the Rebels. Cornwallis’s strategy would trigger the battles of Kings Mountain, Cowpens, and Guilford Courthouse in late 1780 and early 1781. To meet the British threat, Gen. George Washington sent one of his most trusted subordinates, Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene to thwart Cornwallis. Two competent field commanders, therefore, were pitted against each other in the Carolinas.
Our three day tour in the Carolinas is planned to give you an in-depth look at the three battlefields. Kings Mountain, where the “Over-Mountain Men” caught British Maj. Patrick Ferguson’s 1,100 Loyalist troops atop a hill without fortifications, soundly defeating them, is a pristine setting. You will take the same attack route to the top of the mountain as the frontiersmen did on October 7, 1780. At Cowpens, where Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton was whipped by the famed Virginian rifleman, Dan Morgan with set piece battle tactics, you’ll see another excellently preserved landscape. Guildford Courthouse is considered the largest and most hotly-contested battles of the Southern Campaign. The March 15, 1781 battle was a Pyrrhic victory for Cornwallis who is credited with saying, “I never saw such fighting since God made me. The Americans fought like demons.” Josh Howard is the leading authority on Guildford Courthouse.
In addition to these three well-known battles, we will also be trekking to some lesser known, but interesting sites, like Trading Ford where Greene crossed the Yadkin, the New Garden skirmish site and Cowan’s Ford. You’ll hear about the story of Cornwallis’ buried gold near Lexington, North Carolina—allowing you decide if it’s fact or fantasy. Our tour leader will also present a PowerPoint orientation on Wednesday evening which will enhance your understanding of Greene, Cornwallis and the Southern Campaign of 1780-81.
Registration Fee: $475.00
What’s included: motor coach transportation, three lunches, beverage and snack breaks, a map and materials package, all admissions and gratuities, and the services of an experienced tour guides-historian. Our headquarters hotel will provide a complimentary breakfast buffet each morning. Tour participants are responsible for transportation to the headquarters hotel, and securing a room reservation, if necessary. Dinner is on your own. Tour goes out rain or shine. Please see our policy page for information about cancellations.
Hotel: We have arranged with the headquarters hotel for a group rate of $94.00 per night plus tax (double or single occupancy.) Please call the Holiday Inn Express, 805 Arrowood Road, Charlotte, NC 28217 at 704-971-8720 and ask for the America’s History LLC group rate. This rate will be guaranteed until October 3, 2012, so please make your reservations soon. This hotel is location near the Charlotte airport and America’s History will provide airport pick up and drop off, if you need it.
Our Tour Guides/Historians:
Joshua Howard is a military historian and co-author of two books on the Revolutionary War with Larry Babits: Fortitude and Forbearance: The North Carolina Continental Line in the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783 and Long, Obstinate, and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse, March 15, 1781. The latter book was recently awarded the 2010 United States Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award. The North Carolina Historical Review has called it:”… one of the best [books] ever written on the American Revolution.” Josh is a research historian for the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. He is currently completing research on another book on Greene’s 1781 South Carolina campaign and the Battle of Eutaw Springs.
Dr. Bruce M. Venter, president of America’s History, LLC is an experienced Revolutionary War tour leader. He led a Swamp Fox tour in 2009. His article, “Behind Enemy Lines: Americans Attack Burgoyne’s Supply Line” appeared in the May/June issue of Patriots of the American Revolution magazine.
Register Online (Pay in Full only. Please use the phone registration option to make other payment arrangements.):
Register By Phone:
Phone: 1-855-OUR-HISTORY (687-4478)
Register by e-mail:
info@AmericasHistoryLLC.com
Register by Postal Mail:
America’s History LLC, P. O. Box 1076, Goochland, VA 23063
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