Bruce Venter
To paraphrase a famous depiction used to describe Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, I would have to say that our Fredericksburg tour leader, Frank O’Reilly was simply “superb.” I knew there was more to the battle of Fredericksburg than just the maniacal assaults at the Sunken Road. But Frank’s incredible expertise brought many other aspects of this campaign to a new, higher level of comprehension for me and our tour participants. Frank’s understanding of the campaign’s political, logistical, cartographic, and command and control problems made this tour unforgettable. He also included a good dose of personal valor stories, descriptions of the idiosyncratic personalities of various leaders on both sides and leadership questions for us to consider on different parts of the field. As Tom Lannon from Phoenix, Arizona put it, “From my point of view as a tour attendee three days with Frank O’Reilly on the Fredericksburg battlefield was a real treat. The guy has an amazing amount of knowledge about the history there and did an outstanding job of conveying what happened and why. I could not have asked for more. And all the things you did to make it comfortable with the accommodations, the lunches, snacks and transportation were just first rate. Thanks for everything and I am sure I will see you on another tour in the future.”
