Wednesday, May 1 (7:00 pm) – Saturday, May 4 2019 (5:00pm)
Led by: A. Wilson “Will” Greene
HQ: Colonial Heights, Virginia
Tour Registration: $495.00
With the release of A. Wilson Greene’s A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg Volume 1, America’s History LLC is proud to offer a companion tour led by the author. Will Greene’s book covers the Petersburg Campaign from its inception on June 15 through the Battle of the Crater. This period entails the first three Union offensives against the Cockade City and will roughly coincide with the outline of the tour.
The First Offensive, June 15-18, involved wide-ranging attacks that pushed back two Confederate defense lines. On Day 1 our tour will cover those four bitter days of fighting, including the preliminary engagement at Baylor’s Farm. Prepare for extensive walking through seldom seen portions of Petersburg National Battlefield, far removed from the tour road.
The Second Offensive, June 22-24, encompassed movements across the Jerusalem Plank Road toward the Petersburg (& Weldon) Railroad. Little of this ground is preserved, but we will make a couple of stops to explain the course of the combat. The bulk of our second day will be spent following the massive Wilson-Kautz cavalry raid, including visits to battlefields at Staunton River Bridge, Sappony Church, and Reams Station.
The Third Offensive unfolded on both sides of the James River. The First Deep Bottom operation north of the James preceded the infamous Battle of the Crater, both of which we will visit on Day 3.
Parts of the tour will involve a good deal of walking, some of which is off trails, so attendees who wish to participate in all of the tour stops should be prepared with the appropriate footwear. [Read more…]
West Point was a major fortified installation during the American Revolution. Its purpose was to prevent the British from controlling the Hudson River and dividing New England from the rest of the country. Benedict Arnold’s plot to sell West Point in 1780 is undoubtedly the most famous story associated with New York’s lower Hudson River Valley region. But many other events occurred during the period 1777 thru 1783 in this area.
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 its efforts in the Southern colonies, where reinforcements from the local Loyalist population was much 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 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.
America’s History LLC is proud to continue its partnership with Fort Ticonderoga by again offering a special one-day Revolutionary War tour prior to Fort Ticonderoga’s American Revolution Seminar. This tour will explore sites in the Mohawk Valley during the Revolutionary War; sites that are less frequently visited or on private property. We’ll stop at Fort Johnson for an overview of Sir John Johnson’s exploits as an important Loyalist leader in the Mohawk Valley. We’ll also see Guy Park, home of Col. Guy Johnson, superintendent of Indian affairs during the Revolution and hear about the efforts to reopen it as a historic site. We’ll visit the Fort Plain Museum to understand how the Patriots used forts and fortified homes to defend the valley. After lunch we’ll walk the Stone Arabia battlefield where Col. John Brown gave his life during Johnson’s Burning of the Valleys campaign in 1780. We’ll follow Johnson’s retreat to Klock’s Field where the British forces were forced across the Mohawk and eventually back to Canada. We will return to our departure location by 4 p.m. to allow you to participate in Fort Ticonderoga’s Friday evening program.