The Clash of The Blue and The Gray

Transcription

1 THE KINKAID SCHOOL and present The Clash of The Blue and The Gray April 6-13, 2013 Hosted By Kinkaid Retired Faculty John & Caro Ann Germann

2 Dear Traveler, Not that long ago, or so it seems, with Frosch Travel s help I created and escorted an Interim Term trip which trailed the U. S. army s path across Europe in World War II. Caro Ann told me that there was no way I could turn down the offer to develop that program, given the many years that I have taught the subject in European and American History at Kinkaid. It was one of the best things that I have ever done. She and I have a similar, and in truth an even greater, fascination for the Civil War. It was our nation s crucible, and from it emerged nothing less than modern America. A love for the military story of that war colored my regular US History classes, not to mention decades of Blue and Gray Interim Term courses. Caro Ann shares that captivation with the war; in fact, she and I have visited every one of the major battlefields of that war. So when Kinkaid asked us about a week-long domestic trip for alums and parents to complement an international trip in 2013, the answer was an instantaneous: How about Civil War military history? Given the one-week parameter, it made sense to focus on one theater of the war. We chose, no surprise, the Virginia area, which was the key to the conflict from beginning to end. That would mean dealing first of all with a host of Union generals, culminating in one of the mega-generals of the war - Ulysses S. Grant, whose long overdue strategy won the war and preserved the union. At the same time, it meant centering on the Confederate mega-general who spent his life in that state and his entire time in that one theater - Robert E. Lee, considered by many to be one of the greatest military tacticians in world history. To that end we and FROSCH Travel have hand-crafted a program to try to capture the essence of the Civil War military experience by focusing on the battlefield engagements involving Lee s army. A one-week parameter restricted selection of the battlefields. The most obvious omission is the back-to-back Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House engagements. However, these battles were massive in scope and are very difficult to grasp. We will certainly discuss them en route. Yet all of the other biggies (ten in number) are included, ranging from two Seven Days Battles to the skirmish and dramatic surrender at Appomattox. They are done chronologically in order to get a better sense of the fortunes of the two sides as the war progressed. We have acquired the services of a highly respected guide to lead us through those battlefield sites. To get at least a little sense of what the North was fighting against and what the South was fighting for, we have incorporated visits to Lee s birthplace, home, and resting place. Please be forewarned that to accomplish all of this makes for a very busy and potentially tiring week, as the agenda attests. But Civil War Week will be a very special week absolutely unique, one to remember, one to brag about to grandchildren or envious friends or anyone who will listen. And all of this while traipsing around northern Virginia by bus in April! To us it doesn t get much better than this. Caro Ann and I eagerly look forward to having you join us in this exclusive Kinkaid family venture. We welcome any questions that you might have about the trip agenda; please feel free to us at jghist@comcast.net or caroge@comcast.net. We must respectfully defer questions about room/board, air, finances, etc. to FROSCH Travel, specifically to Jessica Sussman. Thank you very much John J. Germann Caro Ann Germann The Kinkaid School

3 GUIDE: JOHN V. QUARSTEIN John V. Quarstein is an award winning historian, preservationist, and author. John has served as the director of the Virginia War Museum since In addition to these duties, he oversees the management of the City of Newport News historic properties including Endview Plantation, Lee Hall Mansion, Young s Mill, and the Newsome House as well as serving as the historical advisor for the Mariners Museum s U.S.S. Monitor Center project. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the College of William and Mary, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Quarstein is the author of seven books including Fort Monroe: The Key to the South, C.S.S. Virginia: Mistress of Hampton Roads, Civil War on the Virginia Peninsula, and The Battle of the Ironclads. John V. Quarstein was the recipient of the National Trust for Historic Preservation s 1993 President s Award, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy s Jefferson Davis Gold Medal in Presently, he serves on the board of several national organizations including Virginia Civil War Trails and John Singleton Mosby Foundation, and as Chief Historical Advisor for the U.S.S. Monitor. ITINERARY MAP

4 ITINERARY: DAY ONE Saturday, April 6, 2013 En Route/Arlington House & Arlington Cemetery Morning arrivals to Washington (Dulles Airport). Meet coach and historian and transfer to Arlington, VA. Visit the Arlington House and Arlington Cemetery. A welcome dinner is spent along the Potomac River. Continue to Fredericksburg, VA. Overnight: Courtyard by Marriott Historic Downtown Fredericksburg Arlington House Arlington House was the home of Robert E. Lee and his family for 30 years and is uniquely associated with the Washington and Custis families. George Washington Parke Custis built the house to be his home and a memorial to George Washington, his step-grandfather. It is now preserved as a memorial to General Lee, who gained the respect of Americans both Northern and Southern. Arlington Cemetery

5 ITINERARY: DAY TWO Sunday, April 7, 2013 Stratford Hall Plantation, Gaines Mill & Malvern Hill Day is spent at Stratford Hall Plantation and in Richmond, VA. Enjoy lunch at Stratford Hall. Continue to Richmond, VA for an afternoon at Gaines Mill and Malvern Hill. Return to Fredericksburg, VA for dinner at the historic Inn at Olde Silk Mill. Overnight: Courtyard by Marriott Historic Downtown Fredericksburg Stratford Hall Plantation Stratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, was the home of four generations of the Lee family of Virginia, including two signers of the Declaration of Independence. Robert Edward Lee in was born there in Gaines Mill In this, the third of the Seven Days Battles, General Lee ordered his Army of Northern Virginia to attack Fitz John Porter s Union Fifth Corps on June 27, With daylight fading, the newly reinforced Southerners assaulted Porter s anemic defensive line and sent the Northerners fleeing toward the river. Only the approaching darkness prevented Porter s corps from complete disaster. During the night, the Federals limped across the Chickahominy and burned the bridges behind them. Gaines Mill was the bloodiest of the six Seven Days engagements. Malvern Hill In this the sixth and last of the Seven Days Battles, July 1, 1862, Lee launched a series of disjointed assaults on the nearly impregnable Union position on Malvern Hill. The Confederates suffered more than 5,300 casualties without gaining an inch of ground. Despite his victory, General George B. McClellan withdrew to Harrison s Landing on James River, where his army was protected by gunboats. This ended the Peninsula Campaign.

6 ITINERARY: DAY THREE Monday, April 8, 2013 Second Bull Run & Antietam National Battlefields Trail the Second Bull Run and Antietam National Battlefields. Return to Fredericksburg, VA late afternoon for an evening at leisure. Overnight: Courtyard by Marriott Historic Downtown Fredericksburg Second Bull Run A second encounter with the Confederates at Manassas occurred just over a year after the first (August 1862). The Union s Army of the Potomac, with its newly appointed commanding general, John Pope, fared little better than the first time around. The battle featured a counter-attack by James Longstreet s wing of 28,000 men in the largest, simultaneous mass assault of the war, crushing the Union left flank. This was the decisive battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign, and led to the CSA army s first invasion of the North. Bull Run Antietam National Battlefields On September 16, 1862, Gen. George B. McClellan confronted Lee s Army of Northern Virginia on Union soil at Sharpsburg, Maryland. It became the single bloodiest day in American military history. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill. Lee, however, had to order the battered Army of Northern Virginia to withdraw across the Potomac into the Shenandoah Valley. President Abraham Lincoln s Emancipation Proclamation followed shortly thereafter.

7 ITINERARY: DAY FOUR Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Fredericksburg & Chancellorsville Enjoy this day in Fredericksburg, VA and Chancellorsville, VA. Continue to Gettysburg, PA, stopping en route for dinner at The Carriage Inn, built in Overnight: Gettysburg Hotel Fredericksburg In December of 1862, Ambrose P. Burnside, now in command of the Army of the Potomac, ordered an assault on the town of Fredericksburg and on Lee s army overlooking the town. It resulted in staggering Union casualties. Burnside initiated a new offensive in January 1863, which quickly bogged down in the winter mud. No great surprise, Burnside was replaced in January 1863, by Fightin Joe Hooker. Chancellorsville At the end of April 1862 General Joseph Hooker led his massive army to face Lee at Chancellorsville, Virginia. Although heavily outnumbered, Lee at great risk split his forces and sent General Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson on a stealthy march around Hooker s right flank, which was reported to be hanging in the air. At 5:20 pm on May 2, Jackson s line surged forward with its rebel yells in an overwhelming attack that crushed the Union XI Corps. While making a night reconnaissance, Jackson was mortally wounded by his own men and carried from the field. On the next day the Confederates attacked with both wings of the army and broke the Federal line. Many historians consider this to be Lee s greatest victory, albeit accompanied by the devastating loss of Jackson. General Lee and Traveller

8 ITINERARY: DAY FIVE Wednesday, April 10, 2013 Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Strategize in Gettysburg, PA, the former headquarters of General Robert E. Lee. Dine at the Fairfield Inn, location of Lee s last meal in Pennsylvania. Retreat to Fredericksburg, VA. Overnight: Courtyard by Marriott Historic Downtown Fredericksburg Gettysburg Battlefield Gettysburg The Confederacy s second invasion of the North advanced all the way into Pennsylvania. On July 1, 1863, Confederate forces converged on the town of Gettysburg from west and north, driving Union defenders back through the streets to Cemetery Hill. On July 2, Lee attempted to envelop the Federals on that ridge, first striking the Union left and later the Union right, but Union General George Meade s men in blue repulsed both attempts, with great loss of life. In the afternoon, after a preliminary artillery bombardment, Lee desperately attacked the Union center head-on in Pickett s Charge, but the advance was driven back with severe casualties. The Union had won the bloodiest engagement of the war and on July 4, Lee began withdrawing his army. His train of wounded stretched more than fourteen miles. The Army of Northern Virginia would never be the same.

9 ITINERARY: DAY SIX Thursday, April 11, 2013 Cold Harbor & Petersburg Travel through the trenches to Cold Harbor and Petersburg, VA, site of the Battle of the Crater. Proceed to Richmond, VA for dinner in Shockoe Slip. Overnight: The Jefferson Cold Harbor With Ulysses S. Grant now in charge of the entire Union army and accompanying Meade s Army of the Potomac in the field, the Union forces doggedly pursued Lee s army. East of the Confederate capital at Richmond the two armies opposed each other along a seven-mile front. On June 3, 1864, Grant ordered an assault on the Confederate line at Cold Harbor; the assault was slaughtered. Grant commented in his memoirs that this was the only attack he wished he had never ordered. Abandoning the well-defended approaches to Richmond, Grant shifted his army to the railroad hub of Petersburg south of Richmond. Petersburg After a series of only partially successful Union victories against General P. G. T. Beauregard s Confederate forces at Petersburg, the opportunity to capture Petersburg without a siege was lost. Nine months of trench warfare ensued, with the Union trench lines extending for thirty miles and severely reducing the CSA s supply lines. Among the engagements in this siege was the infamous Battle of the Crater, in which Union miners without detection tunneled under the Confederate lines and with explosives blew a huge gap in the Southern line, only to result in what Grant called the saddest affair I have witnessed in the war. Ulysses S. Grant

10 ITINERARY: DAY SEVEN Friday, April 12, 2013 Appomattox & Lee Chapel Spend the final day at Appomattox Court House and Lexington, VA/Lee Chapel. Continue to Staunton, VA for a farewell dinner at the historic Stonewall Jackson Hotel. Overnight: Stonewall Jackson Hotel Appomattox Court House In early April, desperate for supplies for his army, Lee abandoned both Petersburg and Richmond and attempted to get around the Union left flank. The arrival of Union infantry, however, stopped the move in its tracks. Lee s army was now surrounded on three sides. Rather than waste his men in a lost cause Lee surrendered to Grant in a very dramatic face-to-face ceremony at Wilmer McLean s home in Appomattox Court House on April 9, Lexington and Lee Lee hoped to retire to a farm of his own, but he was too much a regional symbol to live in obscurity. He accepted an offer to serve as the president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia, and served from October 1865 until his death in While president he had requested the construction of a chapel on campus; he was laid to rest beneath that chapel. His famous horse Traveller, by Lee s side from 1862, still lies close by. ITINERARY: DAY EIGHT Saturday, April 13, 2013 Shenandoah Valley/En Route Transfer to Washington, DC (Dulles Airport) via the Shenandoah Valley for departure.

11 To the Kinkaid Community, Travel has long been an important part of the Kinkaid education. These trips, whether they are over the summer or during Interim Term, provide a wide range of valuable lessons and insights for our students. In response to many parents and alumni who have expressed interest in going on such trips, The Kinkaid School and Kinkaid Alumni Association are pleased to begin offering a regular series of travel opportunities with faculty hosts. FROSCH Travel, a firm that has coordinated many student trips for Kinkaid over the years, has worked closely with retired faculty members John and Caro Ann Germann, the tour s hosts, to plan this educational weeklong trip exclusively for Kinkaidians. We know that anyone who took an American History course or Interim Term class from Mr. Germann or who has a fascination with the Civil War will enjoy this trip. We are pleased to share this trip with you. Sincerely, Donald C. North Headmaster Stephen T. Dyer 85 President, Kinkaid Alumni Association FOR RESERVATIONS OR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT JESSICA SUSSMAN JESSICA.SUSSMAN@FROSCH.COM LAND ONLY TOUR PRICE: $4,065.00/person SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $ Prices quoted are based on a specific number of participants traveling together in the group on land rates in effect at the time of printing. They are subject to change. DEPOSITS & PAYMENTS DEPOSIT $ per person ($ of which is nonrefundable; additional cancellation fees will apply, see details under cancellation penalties ). Submit with registration form to reserve space. FINAL PAYMENT due Friday, January 4, 2013 WHAT IS INCLUDED» 7 day sightseeing by first class motorcoach» 7 nights accommodation at hotels listed» Historian John Quarstein throughout tour» Services of onsite Tour Manager» Meals per itinerary: 7 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 6 dinners» Entrance fees per itinerary» Baggage handling at hotels» Tour Mobile in Arlington Cemetery» Gratuity to tour staff WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED» Air transportation CANCELLATION PENALITIES Land arrangements non-refundable at final payment on Friday, January 4, TRIP CANCELLATION INSURANCE IS RECOMMENDED & AVAILABLE THROUGH FROSCH. When a travel insurance plan is purchased within 14 days of making the initial trip deposit, a pre-existing medical condition waiver is included, and $25,000 flight insurance. An insurance brochure will be included with your deposit receipt. Contact Jessica Sussman at (212) or jessica.sussman@frosch.com for further assistance. RESPONSIBILITY This tour is arranged by FROSCH, One Greenway Plaza, Suite 800, Houston, Texas and Kinkaid School. All tickets and coupons governing transportation and other services and facilities furnished are issued by FROSCH, only as agents for such other companies furnishing such services and facilities, and neither they nor their subagents shall be held liable for loss or damage to property or injury to person caused by reason of any defect by any transportation company, agent, or any such party providing such services. In addition and without limitation, FROSCH, Kinkaid School and its sub-agents are not responsible for any injury, loss, death, inconvenience, delay, or damage to person or property in connection with the provision of any goods or services whether resulting from, but not limited to acts of God or force majeure, illness, disease, acts of war or civil unrest, insurrection or revolt, animals, strikes or other labor activities, criminal or terrorist activities of any kind, physical activity (to include walking, hiking, climbing) participated in by tour participant, overbooking or downgrading of accommodations, mechanical or other failure of airplanes or other means of transportation, or for any failure of any transportation mechanism to arrive or depart on time. The airlines concerned are not to be held liable for any act, omission, or event during the time the passengers are not on board their planes or conveyances. The passage contract in use by the airlines concerned, when issued, shall constitute the sole contract between the airlines and the purchasers of this tour. FROSCH, Kinkaid School and its subagents reserve the right to withdraw services and make changes and alterations in the itinerary or trip component at any time and for any reason as may be necessary in their judgment for the proper handling of the tour with or without notice and/or to substitute airlines, hotels of a similar category and FROSCH shall not be liable for any such changes. The right is reserved to decline to accept prospective participant or participant as a member of this trip at any time. In any such event FROSCH s sole obligation is to refund any unused accommodation or other unused trip component. Participant certifies not to have any mental, physical or other condition or disability that would create a hazard for himself/herself or other passengers. As being informed by the above information, you are advised to purchase the trip cancellation and interruption insurance offered by FROSCH and there will be no misunderstanding before, during or after your trip.

12 The Kinkaid School 201 Kinkaid School Drive Houston, Texas NON PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID HOUSTON, TX PERMIT NO FOR RESERVATIONS OR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT JESSICA SUSSMAN