Park Service visitor center.

The next day drive to Fort Moultrie which has a long history from Revolutionary War to World War II.  Major Anderson abandoned this for when he moved the garrison to Fort Sumter. 

Take a trip out of town to visit Drayton Hall, Boone Hall Plantation, and/or Middleton Place Plantation.

Spend a morning at The Old City Market/Daughters Of The Confederacy Museum and Charleston Museum.  Visit the HL Hunley which was the first successful combat submarine in world history when eight men entered an experimental vessel with a mission to sink the USS Housatonic. You might also want to take a Civil War Walking Tour of Charleston.

Take your time to enjoy this historic city and its many fine restaurants.

Please check out the following guides:

Return to Battlefield Road Trip listings.

have several options here including hiring a guide and purchasing a audio tape or CD.  The National Park Service provides suggestions for planning your visit.

If you can arrange it, the Gettysburg Reenactment will be held on July 4,5 and 6, 2008.

Please check out the following guides:

Return to Battlefield Road Trip listings.

On a warm July day in 1861, the Union and Confederate armies fought for the first time on the fields overlooking Bull Run.  The First Battle of Manassas was fought by 60,000 inexperienced but enthusiastic volunteers. Both sides were confident that their enemy would run at the first shot and the new recruits were thankful that they would not miss the only battle of what would be a short war. 

On July 16th, 1861, the untried Union army under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell marched from Washington against the Confederate army, which was drawn up behind Bull Run beyond Centreville. On July 21st, McDowell attacked the Confederate left flank on Matthews Hill. Fighting raged throughout the day as Confederate forces were driven back to Henry Hill.  Late in the afternoon, Confederate reinforcements extended and broke the Union right flank. The Federal retreat rapidly deteriorated into a rout. Although victorious, Confederate forces were too disorganized to pursue.

Ten hours of heavy fighting swept away any notion the war's outcome would be decided quickly. The Union and Confederate soldiers were shocked by the violence and destruction of the battle.  At the end of July 21st, nearly 900 young men lay lifeless on the fields of Matthews Hill, Henry Hill, and Chinn Ridge.

In August 1862, Union and Confederate armies converged for a second time on the plains of Manassas. In the three day battle General Robert E. Lee defeated Union Major General John Pope and brought the Confederacy to the height of its power. The Second Battle of Manassas was fought by seasoned veterans.   On August 28th, Major General Thomas Jackson ordered an attack on a Federal column that was passing across his front on the Warrenton Turnpike to draw Pope’s army into battle. The fighting at Brawner Farm lasted several hours and resulted in a stalemate.  Pope became convinced that he had trapped Jackson and  concentrated the bulk of his army against him. On August 29th, Pope  attacked Jackson’s position along an unfinished railroad grade. The attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties on both sides. At noon, Longstreet's forces arrived on the field from Thoroughfare Gap and took position on Jackson’s right flank.  On August 30th, Pope renewed his attacks, seemingly unaware that Longstreet was on the field. When massed Confederate artillery devastated a Union assault by Fitz John Porter’s command, Longstreet’s wing of 28,000 men counterattacked in the largest, simultaneous mass assault of the war. The Union left flank was crushed and the army driven back to Bull Run. The battle resulted in a another Confederate victory at the cost of over 24,000 casualties.

The Manassas National Battlefield Park is operated by the National Park Service.  The battlefield's website contains extensive information to plan your visit. You can reach the park located 15 miles southwest of Dulles Airport and can be reached from Washington, DC via Route 66.  The site contains directions to the battlefield.

The park features a mile self guided walking trail of Henry Hill with four push button tape recorded messages and interpretive signs tells the story of the First Battle of Manassas. The park also has two longer trails : A five mile long loop trail covers the ground that was contested at  First Manassas and a five mile long loop trail crosses the key terrain of the three day long battle of Second Manassas.  A 45 minute Ranger walking tour around Henry Hill covers the events of the First Battle of Manassas.  There is also a 13 mile self guided driving tour of Second Manassas that covers 11 sites that figured prominently in the second battle.

Start your tour at the Henry Hill Visitor Center and see the film "Manassas: End of Innocence."  The center also has a museum and bookstore. 

Tour the Visitor Center and the First Manassas battlefield in the morning and go on the self guided driving tour of Second Manassas in the afternoon.

Please click on link below for map.

Please check out the following guides:

Return to Battlefield Road Trip listings.

Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers

The trip begins at Fort Donelson, TN the scene of Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's victory and his demand for "unconditional surrender."  Please click on link below for map.  Fort Donelson National Battlefield, Dover, Tennessee, United States

After capturing Fort Henry on February 6, 1862, Grant advanced cross-country to invest Fort Donelson. On February 16, 1862, after the failure of their all-out attack aimed at breaking through Grant’s lines, the fort’s 12,000-man garrison surrendered unconditionally. This was a major victory for Grant and a catastrophe for the South. It ensured that Kentucky would stay in the Union and opened up Tennessee for a Northern advance along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers.

From Fort Donelson drive southwest on route 79 to route 45 bypass to Jackson. Jackson was the site of a minor engagement between Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry and Union forces  From Jackson drive south to route 64 and head east to the National Park Service Shiloh, TN Battlefield.  Please click on link below for map. Shiloh National Military Park (national military park), Tennessee, United States

After the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, the commander in the area, was forced to fall back, giving up Kentucky and much of West and Middle Tennessee. He chose Corinth, Mississippi, a major transportation center, as the staging area for an offensive against Grant and his Army of the Tennessee before the Army of the Ohio, under Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell, could join with Grant. In response to the Confederate move, Grant led his 40,000 men toward Pittsburg Landing. Grant received orders to await Buell’s Army of the Ohio at Pittsburg Landing.  The Confederates attacked the Union troops on the morning of the 6th and routed many of them.  Some Federals made determined stands and by afternoon, they had established a battle line at the sunken road, known as the “Hornets Nest.” Repeated Confederate attacks failed to carry the Hornets Nest, but massed artillery helped to turn the tide as Confederates surrounded the Union troops and captured, killed, or wounded most.  Johnston had been mortally wounded earlier and his second in command, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, took over. The Union troops established another line covering Pittsburg Landing, anchored with artillery and augmented by Buell’s men who began to arrive and take up positions. Fighting continued until after dark, but the Federals held. By the next morning, the combined Federal forces numbered about 40,000, outnumbering Beauregard’s army of less than 30,000. Beauregard was unaware of the arrival of Buell’s army and launched a counterattack in response to a two-mile advance by William Nelson’s division of Buell’s army at 6:00 am, which was, at first, successful. Union troops stiffened and began forcing the Confederates back. Beauregard ordered a counterattack, which stopped the Union advance but did not break its battle line. At this point, Beauregard realized that he could not win and, having suffered too many casualties, he retired from the field and headed back to Corinth.

Visit the Shiloh, TN battlefield and learn more about the battle. 

From the Shiloh battlefield drive south on route 22 and route 45 to Corinth, MS.

Explore the Corinth, MS battlefields (Corinth, MS I - April 29-June 10, 1862 and Corinth, MS II - October 3-4, 1862).  

Please click on link below for map.

Following the Union victory at Shiloh, the Union armies under Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck advanced toward the rail center at Corinth, MS. By May 25, 1862, after moving 5 miles in 3 weeks, Halleck was in position to lay siege to the town. The preliminary bombardment began, and Union forces maneuvered for position. On the evening of May 29-30th, Confederate commander Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard evacuated Corinth and moved his troops to Tupelo.

In addition to the battle described above another battle occurred at Corinth in October 1862 as part of the Iuka and Corinth Campaign. Please see the Iuka, MS (September 19, 1862) and Corinth, MS II (October 3-4, 1862) battle summaries for more information.

Visit the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center to learn more about the battles.

a, and many towns were deserted. 

n March 6-8, 1862.   Please click on link below for map.

By early 1862, Union troops had forced the Confederates out of Missouri.  Union Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis decided to chase the Confederates into Arkansas with his Army of th

Return to Battlefield Road Trip listings.

Please check out the following guides:

Return to Battlefield Road Trip listings.

Grant's Overland Campaign

The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, and other forces against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Although Grant suffered horrible losses and multiple tactical defeats during the campaign, it is considered a strategic Union victory, which maneuvered Lee into an untenable position at Petersburg, VA. The campaign was the bloodiest in American history with approximately 55,000 Union and 32,600 Confederate casualties.

This campaign may be explored on the National Park Service website Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial. 

Please click on link below for map.

The website contains directions to the Wilderness Battlefield and Spotsylvania Battlefield. The National Park Service recommends that you go to the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center or Chancellorsville Visitor Center to obtain information on the battles, directions to the battlefields, brochures and maps.  I would suggest that you spend the morning at the Wildness site and the afternoon touring the more extensive Spotsylvania Battlefield that has a five-mile driving tour and seven miles of loop walking trails.

The Overland Campaign began with the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5, 1864. Fighting started when Ewell's Confederate corps, moving rapidly down the Orange Turnpike, collided violently with Warren's V Corps. As the day progressed, fighting broke out further south along the Orange Plank Road where A. P. Hill's Confederates met Hancock's II Corps. On May 6th, Longstreet's Confederate corps arrived on the field. It first halted a Federal advance, and then in a flank attack, the corps sent the Federals into retreat until they established a defensive position near the Brock Road. Amidst all the confusion, Longstreet was wounded by friendly fire and replaced in corps command by Richard Anderson.

On May 7th, rather than following his predecessors' habit of retreating back north following a battle against Lee, Grant sent his men south and east to the crossroads town of Spotsylvania Court House. However, Lee beat Grant to the town and dug in. The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House took place from May 8-21, 1864.  During the next two weeks, Grant's forces attacked the Confederate lines, mostly centered on a salient known as the "Mule Shoe". Grant disengaged and slipped to the southeast.

A number of engagements occurred after Spotsylvania:

• Yellow Tavern (May 11) - J.E.B. Stuart was mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern in a battle between Sheridan's and Stuart's cavalry.

• Meadow Bridge (May 12) - Sheridan's cavalry captured a railroad bridge over the rain-swollen Chickahominy River that allowed engineers to rebuild a nearby road bridge and permitted the troopers to escape to safety.

• Wilson's Wharf (May 24) - Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry attacked the Union supply depot at Wilson's Wharf but were repulsed by two black regiments.

• North Anna (May 23 – May 26) - Lee positioned his forces behind the North Anna River in a salient that forced Grant to divide his army to attack it. On May 23rd, one of A.P. Hill’s divisions assaulted the V Corps, which had crossed the river, resulting in bloody but inconclusive fighting. On the May 24th, Union infantry was repulsed at Ox Ford but advanced on the Confederate right. Lee missed an  opportunity to defeat Grant's divided forces and the Union forces continued moving southeast toward Old Cold Harbor.

• Haw's Shop (May 28) - Gregg's Union cavalry division, supported by Torbert's division, advanced to cover the Army of the Potomac's crossing of the Pamunkey River and movement toward Totopotomoy Creek. Wade Hampton's cavalry division met the Federals at Enon Church and stopped the Federal advance.

• Totopotomoy Creek (May 28 – May 30) - Lee's forces entrenched behind the Totopotomoy Creek and covered all of the direct approaches to Richmond. The Union II Corps crossed and captured the first line of Confederate trenches, but were stopped at the main line. The Federal V Corps, near Bethesda Church on the far left flank of the Union army, were attacked by Early's corps and driven back.

• Old Church (May 30) - With the armies stalemated along the Totopotomoy Creek line, the Federal cavalry began probing east and south. Torbert's Union cavalry division attacked and defeated Matthew C. Butler's brigade near Old Church. Butler's troopers were driven back on the road to Old Cold Harbor, which allowed  Sheridan to capture the important crossroads the next day.

The Battle of Cold Harbor took place from May 31 to June 12, 1864.  On May 31st, Sheridan's cavalry seized the vital crossroads of Old Cold Harbor, and on June 1st, they repulsed an attack by Confederate infantry. Confederate reinforcements arrived from Richmond and from the Totopotomoy Creek lines. Late on June 1st, the Union VI and XVIII Corps reached Cold Harbor and attacked the Confederate works. By June 2nd, both armies were on the field, and had formed a seven-mile front from Bethesda Church to the Chickahominy River. On June 3rd, the Union II, XVIII and IX Corps, attacked along the Bethesda Church-Cold Harbor line and were slaughtered. The armies confronted each other on these lines until the night of June 12th, when Grant advanced by his left flank, marching to the James River. The Cold Harbor site contains six stops on the tour. 

The campaign concluded with the Battle of Trevilian Station (June 11 – June 12). To draw off the Confederate cavalry and to clear the way for movement to the James River, Sheridan mounted a large-scale cavalry raid into Louisa County, threatening to cut the Virginia Central Railroad. On June 11th, Sheridan with Gregg's and Torbert's divisions attacked Hampton's and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry divisions at Trevilian Station. Sheridan drove a wedge between the Confederate divisions, throwing them into confusion. On June 12th, Hampton and Lee dismounted their troopers and formed a defensive line across the railroad and the road to Gordonsville. From their position the Confederates defeated several Union dismounted assaults. Sheridan withdrew after destroying about six miles of the Virginia Central Railroad. The Confederate victory at Trevilian prevented Sheridan from reaching Charlottesville and cooperating with Maj. Gen. David Hunter's army in the Valley.

On June 24th, Hampton's cavalry attempted to cut off Sheridan's cavalry at Saint Mary's Church. Sheridan fought a delaying action to protect a long supply train. 

Return to Battlefield Road Trip listings

Return to Battlefield Road Trips

Revised 01/02/2009