ITINERARY:
Day 1: This morning we will depart our Atlanta tour hotel and drive to the Atlanta History Center where we will view www.atlhist.org the many Civil War artifacts and displays at the center, as well as have lunch. Mid afternoon, we will visit the Stately Oaks Plantation (www.georgianationalfair.com) circa 1839, the home of Rebecca McCord (the real life Scarlet O’Hara). Stately Oaks was the inspiration for Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone With the Wind.” After concluding our visit to Stately Oaks, we will have dinner, then travel to our hotel in Columbus for the night.
Day 2: This morning we will visit the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning (www.benningmwr.com/museum31905.htm). The museum contains artifacts from the 1607 Virginia wilderness to present, including a considerable Civil War exhibit. While at Fort Benning, we will have lunch at the Golf Course. After lunch we will drive to Port Columbus where we will have a tour exploring the naval engagements of the Civil War in, and around Columbus. Part of this tour will be a visit to the Port Columbus National Civil War Naval Museum (www.portcolumbus.org/) which contains rare artifacts, interactive exhibits, and the world’s largest surviving ironclad ship. Originally, the CSS Jackson was built 225 feet long, but the surviving hull is 180 feet and 50 feet wide. The Jackson was built at the Confederate Naval Shipyard in Columbus, and was nearing completion when the city fell to a column of Union cavalry in April 1865. While at the museum we will also see the CSS Chattahoochee, a wooden gunboat, powered by both sail and steam which was built at Saffold, Georgia.
After our tour of the port, we will go to Country’s Barbecue on Broadway Street for some of the south’s finest fixins. After dinner we will have the option of a free concert (depending upon the events available at the time) on Broadway Street sponsored by the Uptown Business Association of Columbus
Day 3: This morning we will depart our hotel in Columbus and drive to Westville (www.westville.org), a South Georgia working town of the 1850s. During our visit, you will be able to watch craftsmen practice their crafts as they would have been practiced in the mid 19th Century, see an old cotton press, chat with a spinster spinning cotton into cloth. Mid afternoon we will depart Westville and drive to Plains, and visit the Jimmy Carter National Historic site (www.nps.gov/dsc/b_5_zd_jimmyCarter.htm). Upon leaving Plains we will drive to Americus for the night.
Day 4 This morning we begin our day with a visit to Andersonville National Historic Site. ( www.nps.gov/ande/) Originally named Camp Sumter, Andersonville was one of the largest of the Confederate prisons built during the Civil War. It was built in early 1864 after Confederate officials decided to move large groups of Union prisoners from the Richmond area to a more secure place in the deep south with a better food supply. During its 14 months of existence Andersonville was confinement for about 45,000 Union soldiers. Of these, nearly 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, and exposure. While at the site, we will listen to a ranger talk relating life and hardships of prison life during the last year and one half of the war.
Upon leaving the Andersonville National Historic Site we will drive to Clinton to have some of the best barbecue in the south. (At least the residents of Clinton claim it to be) After lunch we will have a tour of Clinton and Griswoldville (www.civilwaralbum.com/miscgriswoldville1.htm). Clinton became a battleground during the Civil War when over 2,000 Union troops rode into town enroute from Atlanta to Macon intent upon liberating Union prisoners at Andersonville. During the campaign the Union troops stole or destroyed over $500,000 worth of property in Jones County, finally occupying the town on November 19, 1864.
Approximately, two miles to the south of Clinton is the location of the old town site of Griswoldville. The town was originally built around a mill and armament factory, which produced pistols and other Confederate war equipment. The Georgia State Militia was called out to protect the town from the Sherman’s troops who were on their way to Milledgeville. The battle that ensued has since become known as the “Gettysburg of Georgia,” and resulted in the near destruction of the Georgia Militia, and nearly changed Sherman’s plans to march on the Savannah. After the battle, the Union troops completely destroyed the town. We will visit the town site, although there remains nothing of the town today. Upon completing our visit to Clinton and Griswoldville, we will drive to Milledgeville for the night.
Day 5 Milledgeville (ourgeorgiahistory.comchronpop/1368) was the State Capitol and political center of Georgia from 1803-68. Secession was declared here in 1861, and it was from Milledgeville that Governor Joe Brown directed Georgia’s participation in the Civil War. When Sherman’s army passed through Milledgeville on its way to Savannah in November 1864 it seized the town for two days, burned most of the government buildings, but spared most residences. We will have a tour of Milledgeville and experience much of center of Georgia’s Civil War past. Late afternoon we will drive to Savannah for the night.
Day 6 This morning we will begin our day with a city tour of Savannah. Savannah and the Naval Blockade By the mid 19th century, cotton had become to the world what oil is today. Accordingly, port cities in the South such as Charleston, South Carolina, New Orleans, Louisiana, in addition to Savannah became to the world economy of the 1840s and 50s what the Persian Gulf is today. An important catalyst to the rise of the cotton industry in North America was a major shift in the worldwide (especially European) demand for lighter and more comfortable, as well as cheaper clothing made from cotton which was consistently eroding the demand for heavier wool, especially in warmer climates. As these goods became the choice of the common man in Europe, demand for cotton escalated exponentially, leaving supply struggling to catch up. All of this realigned the young American economy, rapidly transforming American political and cultural institutions.
By 1826 cotton production on the Atlantic seaboard was had reached180 million pounds, while the western states and territories reported 150 million, and by 1850, nearly 60% of all slaves in the American South were involved in the production of cotton. Accordingly, by 1840, as European demand increased, American cotton was satisfying 82% of British demand, and overall about 75% of demand on the European Continent, much of which was moving through the port at Savannah. Most significant to all of this, was a shift in trade balance in favor of the Southern States which alarmed northern merchants and politicians who feared the cotton-based economy of the South would ultimately lead to a change in the balance of economic power. This concern, much more than the moral opposition to slavery, (at least up until 1850) was the driving force of an evolving environment, from which an armed conflict would ultimately evolve.
When armed conflict eventually came, Savannah was a focal point of the Federal naval blockade as well as a center of blockade running a practice which enjoyed considerable success during the early years, but began to lose much of its allure as the war entered its third and fourth years. In reality, the blockade played only a secondary role in the defeat of the Confederacy. Much of this was due to the vast southern coastline which measured about 3,500 miles, rendering nearly impossible the Federal effort to close all sea trade between the Confederacy and its European trading partners. Another contributing factor was the cost-benefit calculus of blockade running. While the chances of a blockade runner getting caught were very small, the rewards of a successful run were very high, thereby encouraging many to test the ability of the Federal Navy. Finally, smuggling into and out of the Confederacy undermined the blockade’s effectiveness. Ironically, blockade running was to become an official enterprise of the Confederate Government; probably the only task the central government in Richmond did effectively. As time passed, the Confederates refined the art of blockade running into an extremely efficient business, but it was too little, too late.
Savannah and Sherman’s “March to the Sea” During the autumn of 1864, the City of Savannah, the largest city in Georgia, stood square in Sherman’s sights as his 62,000 man army marched relentlessly across Georgia. As Sherman approached the city in early December, the Confederates mustered a garrison of 10,000 regulars and militia, and put them under the command of Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee, who immediately began to move his men into a series of formidable fortifications surrounding the city, each of which backed up against swamps, rivers, and rice fields.
On December 13 Sherman sent one of his divisions to assault Fort McAllister (www.gastateparks.org/net/go/parks.aspx?LocationID=248s0.0.1.5) on the Ogeechee River. After the fort fell under Federal control on December 3, Union ships began to steam up the river with supplies for Sherman’s army. On December 17, Sherman called on Hardee to surrender the city, or otherwise face destruction. When Hardee refused Sherman ordered his commanders to prepare to storm the city. In preparation for his invasion of the city Sherman called upon Maj. Gen. John C. Foster, commander of Union forces in South Carolina to seal off the eastern approaches to the city, hoping to convince Hardee of his precarious position, and avoid what promised to be a costly assault.
But before Sherman could commence an invasion of the city, Hardee, more concerned with preserving his army rather than mounting a hopeless defense of the city constructed a makeshift pontoon bridge and took his troops across the Savannah along with a huge contingent of civilians. Thus, Sherman’s famous “March to the Sea” came to an end.
In the afternoon, we will take visits to Forts Pulaski (www.nps.gov) and McAllister. This evening we will have dinner at “Lady and Sons” Restaurant, (www.ladyandsons.com) owned by Paula Dean host of a cable cooking show on the Food Channel. After dinner we will take a ghost walking tour. (www.savannawalks.com) One of the best ghost-tours anyplace.
Day 7 After a morning free along the river walk in Savannah we will depart Savannah and drive to Charleston, South Carolina. Our first stop in Charleston will be a visit to Fort Sumter, (www.nps.gov/fosu) the place where the American Civil War began. By April 1861 Jefferson Davis had come to the conclusion that time was not on the side of indecision. The longer the border states (Maryland, Missouri, Kentucky, and Delaware) remained neutral, the more secure they would become in their neutrality. Davis had decided that he had to force the issue. With this in his mind, Davis soon focused his attention on Fort Sumter, a federal outpost located in Charleston Harbor. Fort Sumter was certainly not new to the regional conflict, which had been simmering for the past several months. Some months earlier, the Buchanan Administration had tried to re-fortify Sumter with an unarmed mission, but turned away when fired upon by Confederate artillery. Since Sumter was one of only two (2) forts in the south occupied by Federal forces, Davis decided that this was an ideal place to force Lincoln's hand.
On April 6, faced with the prospect of the Sumter falling into Confederate hands, President Lincoln signed an order dispatching a naval expedition to re-fortify the fort. By taking this action, President Lincoln had maneuvered Davis into the position of either having to back down on his threats to intercept any such mission, or fire the first shot of the war. Upon hearing the news, Davis assembled his cabinet in Montgomery to determine the proper course of action. Contrary to the advice of many of his cabinet members, Davis decided to intercept the mission, and "expose Lincoln for all his deception." Immediately, Davis dispatched a message through his Secretary of War to General P.G.T. Beauregard, commander of Confederate forces in Charleston Harbor, who in turn dispatched two (2) men in a row-boat out to Sumter with a message to Major Anderson, his former artillery instructor at West Point, demanding that the fort be abandoned, as well as setting out the terms of Anderson’s surrender.
It was past midnight, April 12, and Major Anderson had informed Beauregard of his refusal to abandon the fort, as well as his rejection of Davis' terms of surrender. Beauregard really had no option. There could be no delay since advance units of the relief mission would soon be approaching Charleston harbor. Again, Beauregard sent the four (4) men back to the fort, this time with final authority to make a deal. Upon arrival they once again demanded that Anderson surrender the Union position, and this time, Major Anderson agreed that he would surrender the fort at noon, on April 15, absent either instruction to the contrary from Washington, or the arrival of sustaining supplies. At the time he made this agreement, Major Anderson didn't know that the supplies had arrived, and were at that moment, at anchor in the harbor. Major Anderson's response was unacceptable to Beauregard, and he announced that he would open fire in one (1) hour. At about 3:20 AM, Major Anderson, ever the gentleman, shook hands with each of the four (4) men and said, "if we don not meet again in this world, I hope we meet in a better one." Without returning to Beauregard's headquarters, the four (4) men proceeded at once to Cummings Point, and gave the order to fire. On April 15, 1861, the day after Fort Sumter fell, President Lincoln declared that the government of the United States faced an armed revolt against its authority.
Day 8: An essential part of understanding life in the South in the 1850s and 60s one needs to experience life on the plantations which in that era constituted the epicenter of the agricultural economy in the South. This morning we will depart our hotel and drive to The Boone Hall Plantation. (www.boonehallplantation.com) The plantation itself is actually comprised of a series of land grants from South Carolina's Lord Proprietors to Major John Boone, the earliest grant dating from1681. As cotton grew to a dominate position in Southern agriculture, Boone Hall grew with it, spreading over thousands of acres, and ultimately became the largest of the Low Country's plantations.
The Boone family was followed by the Horlbeck family in the early 18th century, as two brothers, John and Henry Horlbeck added the first, and the largest,
commercial pecan groves to the to the plantation, and some of the trees they planted continue today to produce pecans in commercial quantities. The Horlbeck
family also manufactured brick and tile on the plantation grounds, and some of their work may be seen in the main house, the nine original slave
cabins and many of the other brick buildings on the plantation grounds. In addition, many of Charleston’s oldest brick buildings are built with bricks from Boone.
After lunch we will visit the Magnolia Plantation (www.magnoliaplantation.com) another important cog in the wheel of economic life and commerce in Charleston area. When Confederate forces in Charleston harbor opened fire on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, a dark chapter in American History was opened, and the American Civil War had begun. Throughout this period Magnolia as well as many other plantations in the South suffered greatly. Recognizing impending peril, John Grimké Drayton, owner of Magnolia sought his retreat in Flat Rock, North Carolina, leaving Magnolia to weather the ravages of the war years.
The war finally ended for Charleston on February 18, 1865 with the surrender of the city to Union forces after the longest siege and constant bombardment of the Civil War. In fact, the siege of Charleston is surpassed, in terms of length and severity, only by the siege of Stalingrad in World War II. Many myths surround the destruction of the plantations along the Ashley River Road. One is that Sherman burned them; however, General Sherman never brought his army to Charleston, rather he diverted towards Columbia from Savannah and never came through Charleston. It was Federal troops from the Army of the South that had been laying siege to Charleston the previous years that marched into the city when it fell, burning plantations, such as Middleton Place, but these acts of destruction seem to have been undertaken specifically, and under orders, not as part of some uncontrolled rampage. With regard to Magnolia, Union soldiers enlisted the help of former slaves to burn Magnolia’s main house.
Throughout the war, Grimke’s mother had been writing him from Charleston keeping him abreast of the news while he was in hiding. In an October 1865 letter she wrote about how West Ashley had been taken over by the former slaves, stating “I do not think the negroes will allow any white man to remain there again. It is believed your house was burned by your own negroes as well as some others.” Notwithstanding the destruction of the main house, the real heart and soul of Magnolia Plantation, the beautiful gardens, remained fairly intact. It would be these gardens that would revive Magnolia Plantation and help it grow into the future. After our visit to Magnolia and dinner, we will return to our tour hotel for the night.
Day 9: This morning will depart Charleston enroute to Crawfordville, Georgia and a visit to the Alexander Stephens State Historical Park. (www.gastateparks.org/infoahsteph) While at the park we will have a picnic lunch, then visit Liberty Hall, home of Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America. While at Liberty Hall we will visit one of the better existing Confederate museums, which houses one of the finest collections of Confederate artifacts in Georgia. From Liberty Hill we will drive to the town of Madison, and visit the Madison-Morgan County Cultural Center. (www.morgan.public.lib.ga.us./madmorg) The left wing of Sherman’s Army moved through Madison on November 17, 1864, burning the railroad depot and slave pens. The primary reason that many of the antebellum homes remain standing today is that, like few other towns in his path, Sherman was convinced to save the town by an old family friend Joshua Hill, a native son that became a U.S. Senator. Hill had befriended Sherman’s brother when they were cadets at West Point, and Sherman felt obligated to honor his request. Hill’s uniform coat is among the sizeable number of Civil War artifacts on display at the Center. Upon leaving the Cultural Center, we will drive to Dalton where we will dine at the Old Dalton Depot. (www.thedaltondepot.com/history.htm) After dinner we will drive to our hotel in Chattanooga for the night.
Day 10: This morning we will begin our day with a tour of the Chickamauga National Military Park (www.nps.gov/chch) where we will have a tour of the battlefield. Chickamauga (Indian for “River of Death”) is not only the oldest and largest National Military Park, it was site to the second bloodiest battle of the Civil War. In the fall of 1863, it was Chattanooga, a key rail center for the Confederacy, which was at stake. In August 1863 the Union Army of the Cumberland, numbering about 80,000, under the command of Maj. General William S. Rosecrans began to move to the Tennessee River, with Chattanooga as his objective. Opposing Rosecrans was the Confederate Army of Tennessee, numbering about 43,000 strong, under the command of General Braxton Bragg, which immediately took up positions to block Rosecrans’ path into Chattanooga. Although outnumbered, the Confederates prevailed in a vicious battle, which raged for 3 days, from September 18-20, 1863. Rattled by its defeat, the Union Army retreated back into Chattanooga on September 20 completely disorganized and demoralized. Both armies suffered heavily at Chickamauga for little tangible gain. Rosecrans lost 16,170 men killed, missing and wounded, while Bragg suffered a total of 18,454 casualties. The carnage at Chickamauga, the last Confederate victory in the western theater, served little other than to buy a little more time for the southern cause. Realizing the strategic importance of the rail hub at Chattanooga, President Lincoln diverted federal troops from Virginia and Mississippi to rescue Rosecrans’ defeated army. We will have lunch during the tour.
After lunch we will have a tour of Chattanooga, including a visit to Lookout Mountain and later Missionary Ridge. (ngeorgia.com/mountains/lookout_mountain.html) After its defeat at Chickamauga, Rosecrans withdrew his demoralized army, in complete disarray into Chattanooga. Having lost confidence in his commander, President Lincoln replaced Rosecrans with General George Henry Thomas, who was ordered to hold Chattanooga at all costs. Simultaneously, the Confederate commander, Braxton Bragg laid siege to Chattanooga by occupying Lookout Mountain to the southwest and Missionary Ridge south and east of the city. Bragg also stationed 1,000 men on the Tennessee River to guard the route into the city.
From these positions the Confederates could overlook the railroads to the east and west as well as the river on the west. While strategic, the Confederate position proved ineffective in completely cutting the federal supply line. As time passed, the Union Army strengthened, and the Confederate position weakened. Suddenly, Bragg came under criticism from his subordinate commanders for his timid strategy. In fact, the problem became so serious it took a visit from his friend Jefferson Davis to settle the dispute. Although Davis was encouraging to Bragg during their face to face meeting, upon leaving he stripped Bragg of 15,000 men after he left.
On November 23, Maj. General Ulysses S. Grant ordered Maj. General Joseph Hooker to attack Lookout Mountain where only a handful of Confederate soldiers were deployed. On November 25 General William T. Sherman attacked Missionary Ridge. Although the Union attack on Lookout Mountain was successful, the attack on Missionary Ridge turned into a series of repeated assaults, each repulsed by the Confederates. Finally, troops under the command of General George Henry Thomas (Rosecrans’ replacement) attacked the center of the Confederate line on the ridge, and the siege was over.
Victory at Chattanooga set the stage for the Union Army to march to Atlanta. It also broke east west Confederate supply and communication lines. Compared with battles at Antietam, Gettysburg, and Chickamauga, the battle for Chattanooga produced relative light casualties. Union losses were 5,815 overall, while Confederate losses were 6,667. While losses in human terms were not the greatest of the war, the tactical and strategic results were immense. One of two of the major Confederate armies had been defeated; the Confederates had lost the rail hub that connected into the Deep South; and southern morale, which had soared after Chickamauga now plummeted. Now Chattanooga, which was firmly in Union hands, would serve as the staging point five months later for Sherman’s “March to the Sea.” After our visits to Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, we will drive to our Chattanooga hotel for the night.
Day 11: This morning we will depart Chattanooga and begin our drive to Atlanta. Enroute, we will stop at Dalton, and visit Tunnel Hill, and the Western & Atlantic Railroad tunnel, site of four battles/skirmishes during the fall of 1863 and spring 1864. After departing Dalton, we will proceed to Olde Town Marietta where we will have lunch. After lunch we will spend the remainder of the day touring Kenesaw Mountain, (www.nps.gov/kemo) Pickett’s Mill, (www.gastateparks.org/info/pickett) and other points of interest relating to the Battle for Atlanta. After our tour, we will return to our Atlanta hotel where our tour will end.
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