Sunday, October 2 (1:30pm CST) – Friday, October 7, 2022 (10:00am CST)
Led by: A. Wilson “Will” Greene HQ: Birmingham, AL
**All Hotel Accommodations & All Meals are Included in the Cost of This Tour**
Tour Registration: $2095.00 (Cash, Check or Credit Card)
Ron Chernow’s award-winning biography, Grant, focused renewed literary attention on the man most responsible for leading Union forces to victory during the American Civil War. Ulysses S. Grant rose from obscurity in 1861 to become a national hero by 1865 and three years later, president of the United States. America’s History, LLC is proud to announce the second of a projected four-year study of this pivotal figure, the armies he commanded, and the brave men he opposed: Grant Takes Command, Cairo to Corinth.
As our tour historian, Will Greene has said, “I am very excited to be working with Bruce and Lynne Venter and America’s History, LLC on this program. This year’s tour will follow Vicksburg and Chattanooga Campaigns, all with an eye on Grant’s role in these critical engagements as well as an analysis of the Southern generals who opposed him. I hope you will join me on this year’s trip and look forward to sharing five days of fellowship, good food, and fascinating history with you.” The twelve months between November 1862 and November 1863 marked a critical period in the military history of Ulysses S. Grant. That year witnessed his rise from army commander first to department commander and then overall commander in the Civil War’s western theater. During that time, Grant conducted two of his most famous operations: The Vicksburg Campaign and the Battles for Chattanooga. The second of our four-part series exploring Grant’s Civil War career will examine these two complex campaigns that laid the groundwork for Grant’s eventual promotion to general-in-chief of all United States armies.
The tour will begin and end near Birmingham, Alabama, a good midway point for travel between Vicksburg and Chattanooga. Our headquarters hotel is the Fairfield Inn & Suites, 4980 Academy Court, Bessemer, Alabama, at Exit 108 off Interstate 20. We will depart the hotel at 1:30 (Central Daylight Time) on the afternoon of Sunday October 2, so make your travel plans accordingly. Those driving to the tour may leave your car at the hotel free of charge for the duration of the tour. Those flying to Birmingham, please plan to arrive no later than noon on October 2. Bruce Venter will arrange complimentary transportation to the hotel from the airport and back to the airport on Friday October 7. Please let Bruce know your flight plans (arrival time and airline) so that he can communicate with you regarding the shuttle to the hotel.
We will drive to Vicksburg on Sunday afternoon and check into our hotel, the Comfort Suites, Vicksburg and enjoy our first dinner together.
On Monday October 3 we will begin with an overview of the campaign at the Vicksburg National Military Park visitor center. We’ll then visit the unmarked December 1862 battlefield at Chickasaw Bayou, see the remnants of Grant’s Canal on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi River, and stop at Louisiana Circle for a spectacular overview of the river—as it runs now and as it did in 1863. After lunch we will drive south to Grand Gulf Military Park to discuss the Confederate victory there against the Union navy and then proceed to the iconic Port Gibson Battlefield, one of the most pristine and haunting battlefield landscapes in all Civil War America. Along the way we’ll stop at historic Bethel Church and the remarkable ruins of Windsor Plantation, the largest antebellum mansion ever built in Mississippi. Dinner that night is in Vicksburg.
Tuesday October 4 we’ll pick up the route of Grant’s inland march through Mississippi with several stops along the way, culminating that morning with a walking tour of the recently enhanced Raymond Military Park. After lunch in Raymond, we will continue to Champion Hill and a walk to the infamous “Hill of Death,” where the battle was decided. We will drive through the battlefield at Big Black River Bridge before going to dinner at beautiful Anchuca plantation.
After checking out of our hotel on Wednesday October 5, we will take our tour of Vicksburg National Military Park with stops along the Graveyard Road and Railroad Redoubt to discuss Grant’s unsuccessful attacks on May 19 and 22 as well as visiting the spot where Grant and Pemberton met to discuss the surrender of the city and its defending army. We will also stop at the USS Cairo, the restored gunboat that is, in my opinion, the finest of all Civil War artifacts. After lunch, we head for dinner in downtown Gadsden, Alabama, then push on to the Hampton Inn in Lookout Valley, our headquarters for Chattanooga.
Thursday October 6 will be our day to visit Brown’s Ferry, where the Union army ended the siege of Chattanooga by opening the “Cracker Line,” Lookout Mountain and the Battle Above the Clouds, Orchard Knob, and finally Missionary Ridge, the culminating battle of the Chattanooga Campaign. Dinner that night is at the oldest restaurant in Alabama, near our hotel in Bessemer.
Individual check outs will be on Friday October 7. There are no tour activities that day, although those needing transportation to the airport will be accommodated on our tour bus. I will prepare a reading list to be sent after each reservation is received.
As always, the tour includes all meals, admissions, and all hotel accommodations during the dates of the tour. Vicksburg and Chattanooga are two of the most interesting and geographically complex campaigns of the entire war. Will Greene is looking forward to sharing his knowledge of and passion for these historic places. See you in October!
What’s included: motor coach transportation, hotel accommodations for five nights (single or double occupancy), five dinners, four lunches, five breakfasts, beverage and snack breaks, a map and materials package, all admissions and gratuities; and the services of an experienced tour guide/historian. Tour goes out rain or shine. Please see our policy page for information about cancellations.
Hotel: If you would like to stay at the headquarters hotel on dates before the tour, you may reserve a room at the group rate of $99.00 per night plus tax (double or single occupancy) which includes a complimentary hot and cold buffet breakfast. Our headquarters hotel will be the Fairfield Inn, 4980 Academy Way, Bessemer, Alabama, at Exit 108 off Interstate 20. To make a reservation, please call the hotel at 205-277-1700 and mention America’s History’s group rate for the Grant Civil War tour. This rate is guaranteed until September 1, 2022. Please be advised that this is a football weekend for the Alabama Crimson Tide so this hotel (and most area hotels will be sold out on Friday night. If you have any problems making a reservations prior to the tour or you need an airport transfer before or after the tour, please contact Bruce Venter at 703-785-4373.
Our Tour Guide/Historian: A. Wilson Greene was executive director of the Pamplin Historical Park and a very popular leader of Civil War tours for our company. In his early career, Will was a historian at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Battlefields Military Park. He is the author of more than 20 published works on Civil War military history, including Final Battles of the Petersburg Campaign: Breaking the Backbone of the Rebellion. His newest book, A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg, was published in 2018 by the University of New Carolina Press as the first volume of a trilogy of the Petersburg campaign. It has won numerous awards, including the Society for Military History’s Annual Book Award.
Register Online: $2095.00
Register by phone, e-mail or postal mail:
- Phone: 1-703-785-4373
- Email us at: info@AmericasHistoryLLC.com
- Postal mail: America’s History LLC, P. O. Box 1076, Goochland, VA 23063
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