Thursday, April 14, 2016 – 8am to 5pm
(Leaving from the Hilton Dulles Hotel – Herndon, VA)
Led by: General John “Jack” Mountcastle, U.S. Army (ret.)
Registration Fee: $145
America’s History’s bus tour for the Company of Military Historians’ annual meeting will focus on the Civil War’s first major campaign in the East. The call was “On to Richmond” when Union and Confederate armies collided near Manassas Junction, the battle that became known as First Manassas or First Bull Run as it was known in the North.
We have designed this tour so it will not duplicate any other activities planned for the CMH annual meeting.
This tactical tour will include the major sites associated with the battle at First Manassas such as Henry House Hill where Col. Jonathan T. Jackson acquired his immortal sobriquet, “Stonewall,” Matthews Hill where Union artillery blasted away at the Confederates on Henry House Hill, the Stone House which was used as a field hospital for Federal wounded, the famous Stone Bridge over Bull Run where the Yankee withdrawal turned into a rout and other significant sites on the battlefield. We have included in our itinerary the rarely visited Blackburn’s Ford site which saw action on July 18, prior to the main engagement.
Our tour this summer will continue the study of Benedict Arnold as one of the foremost combat commanders of the Revolutionary War. Last year we investigated Arnold’s career in Connecticut as both a patriot and a traitor. This year’s tour will follow his career in the first two years of the war when he excelled on land and water. We will also learn about his enterprising relationship with the wily Ethan Allen during their joint venture to capture Fort Ticonderoga and how he handled Horatio Gates when he served under the Northern army commander on two separate occasions during the war.
America’s History is proud to continue its partnership with Fort Ticonderoga by again offering a special one-day Revolutionary War tour. This tour will complete Burgoyne’s 1777 campaign by concentrating on the battles at Saratoga. Led by Eric Schnitzer, historian at the Saratoga National Historical Park and Bruce Venter, we will spend the entire day on the battlefield exploring the first battle at Freeman’s Farm, the second battle at the Wheatfield, Burgoyne’s fortifications, Gates’ line at Bemis Heights, the surrender area and much more. One of the foremost experts of the Saratoga campaign, Eric Schnitzer, will review the strategy and tactics of the opposing leaders in a comprehensive narration, including some new information on Arnold’s conduct based on a recently discovered letter written by an officer serving in the American army. This is a rare opportunity to understand the actions at Saratoga from a leading authority on the campaign. We will return to Fort Ticonderoga in time for you to attend the opening session of Fort Ticonderoga’s American Revolution Seminar.
Many of us will remember the stirring adventures of the “Swamp Fox” portrayed by Leslie Neilson in Walt Disney’s episodic series in the late 1950’s. Again in 2000, Mel Gibson starred in a fictionalized version of a composite Swamp Fox character in the movie “The Patriot.” The real Swamp Fox story, however, is even more exciting than either of its modern day adaptations.
