Wednesday, September 12 (7:00pm) – Saturday, September 15, 2018 (5:00pm)
Tour Leaders: Edward G. Lengel
HQ: Rockhill, South Carolina
Tour Registration: $495
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.
At our opening “meet and greet” on Wednesday evening, Ed Lengel will provide a brief lecture on the August 16, 1780 Battle of Camden, which shattered—for a time, at least—the military reputation of General Horatio Gates and seemed to forever destroy patriot hopes in the Carolinas. As our bus departs the following morning, Ed will set the stage for the unlikely series of battles that completely reversed the course of war in the south.
On Day One we explore some lesser known but nonetheless important battle sites from the late summer and autumn of 1780 that began to turn the tide. Our day begins at Musgrove’s Mill. In August 1780 this site formed an important loyalist redoubt. Not yet aware of the Camden defeat, patriot militiamen from Georgia and South Carolina joined Tennessee Over Mountain Men under Colonel Isaac Shelby to try and capture the redoubt. On August 19, the patriots lured loyalist forces away from Musgrove’s Mill and dealt them a stinging defeat. Next, we proceed to Fishdam Ford, where British redcoats under Major James Wemyss attempted a surprise attack against General Thomas Sumter’s South Carolinians on the early morning of November 9, 1780. American victory here boosted patriot recruiting throughout the south. Next, we visit Blackstock’s Plantation battlefield, where on November 20 Sumter followed up his victory at Fishdam with a stunning victory over Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton, but left the field severely wounded. [Read more…]
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. 
One of the most overlooked campaigns of the Civil War may be General Ambrose E. Burnside’s successful amphibious expedition to capture New Bern, North Carolina in March 1862 and the subsequent capture of Fort Macon in May. New Bern also became the staging area for Brig. Gen. John G. Foster’s strategic raid on Goldsborough nine months later. Another understudied battle is the March 1865 action at Wise’s Forks, the second largest battle fought in North Carolina during the war. This tour will remedy both of these shortcomings for Civil War enthusiasts who want to visit outstanding sites on newly preserved land along with some on private property.
The astute observer of 18th century events and British Whig politician, Horace Walpole observed, “The volley fired by a young Virginian in the backwoods of America set the world on fire.” Walpole’s words ring true. The Virginian he was referring to was a 22-year old militia major named George Washington. Washington’s actions in western Pennsylvania are credited with starting the French and Indian War in America. Besides Washington, Braddock’s Campaign of 1755 will introduce many personalities who became famous during the American Revolution: Daniel Morgan, Daniel Boone, Thomas Gage, Charles Lee, Adam Stephen and Horatio Gates.
New Jersey has been called the Cockpit of the Revolution, with more battles and encampments occurring here than in any other state. Trenton, Princeton, and Monmouth are familiar names of New Jersey battlefields. This tour will provide an opportunity to visit some of the other important, but less well known, sites in this state. This is not a campaign tour as such, but rather a survey of important places and critical events that impacted both the state and the Revolution.
The Sullivan-Clinton campaign against the Iroquois in 1779 has been described as implementing a “scorched earth” policy for no useful purpose other than eradicating Indians, or a failed attempt to capture Fort Niagara. No campaign of the American War for Independence has been more inaccurately described or remains more controversial than the Continental Army’s invasion of the Iroquois Confederacy in 1779. This tour is designed to follow the main effort of that offensive as conducted by troops commanded by Major General John Sullivan. Sullivan’s troops took the war to the very heart of the territory controlled by the Six Nations of Iroquois who had allied themselves with the British Crown. At the tour’s end you’ll decide if the campaign was a success or a well-executed failure.