CIVIL WAR: WesternFront September 23 through 27, 2018 Travel with a Purpose
Our Atlanta Campaign will begin, as it did for Sherman, in Chattanooga the contentious, but also gorgeous, site of such engagements as Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain (also known as The Battle Above the Clouds). We will also tour nearby Chickamauga with expert guide Jim Ogden and walk the field where a near federal disaster almost prevented Sherman from undertaking the Atlanta Campaign at all. From there, we'll roll with Sherman and the Confederate defenders down through the mountains of North Georgia to Adairsville, site of the Great Locomotive Chase and another missed opportunity for the Confederates at the Battle of Adairsville. We will move toward the siege, fall, and burning of Atlanta itself. Success to our arms at that instant was a political necessity, Sherman said when he took the city. With Atlanta s fall, Lincoln was reelected; Sherman s war machine rolled onto the sea. With all due respect to Gettysburg, all Georgians should come and see where the American Civil War was really won and lost in our own backyard. ACCOMMODATIONS Westin Hotel Chattanooga Experience The Westin Chattanooga, located on Martin Luther King Boulevard in the vibrant downtown district. Our chic urban retreat is just steps away from Chattanooga Convention Center, Tivoli Theatre, Tennessee Aquarium and Warehouse Row. Take in stunning views of Lookout Mountain and Downtown Chattanooga from one of our 260 contemporary, well-appointed guest rooms. Host a first-class event in more than 29,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space featuring ballrooms and terraces with views of Lookout Mountain. Barnsley Resort Adairsville, GA Inspired by the British architect Edwin Lutyens, known for designing English country homes at the turn of the 20th century, the three-story Inn at Barnsley Resort was built to compliment the resort's pedestrian-friendly, English-inspired village. When stepping into the Inn's reception area, guests notice the stained and hand-scraped hardwood floors, a grand staircase and exposed beams. Gather in front of the fire in the Living Room, where intimate seating areas evoke the feeling of being an invited guest at a fine country estate. With 55-well-appointed guest rooms and suites, the Inn at Barnsley Resort offers a welcome respite from which to explore this North Georgia resort.
SEPTEMBER 23 THROUGH 27, 2018 Day 1: September 23 Chattanooga We begin our journey in Chattanooga, a critical logistical hub for the Confederacy, with rail lines radiating out to Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, and Atlanta. While the scenery was beautiful, one Confederate called the city "the greatest mudhole the mind of man could conceive. The streets were cut into gullies by the heavy army wagons, and all the pleasures of life had fled from" the town. Even so, Union generals coveted its capture, calling Chattanooga the "Key to East Tennessee" and the "Gateway to the deep South." Lincoln thought Chattanooga was a more important strategic target than Richmond itself. When, in September 1863, the Confederates were maneuvered out of the city largely without a fight, the city's recapture became their highest priority. [W]hile I was musing thus, he wrote his wife, I could not help feeling a spark of ambition, a desire to make my name as immortal in future history and as classic as that of Lookout Mountain. For guests joining from Atlanta, enjoy a private motorcoach to Chattanooga. In the afternoon, we ll check in to the Westin Hotel. Tonight we will gather for a welcome reception and dinner aboard the Southern Belle Riverboat for a sunset Tennessee River Cruise with special guest lecturer Jim Ogden. (R,D) But just at this moment, Callaway s eyes were arrested by a tiny figure emerging from a house on the valley floor, a general emerging from his headquarters. Callaway was flabbergasted. I suppose he was a general, he told his wife, but he looked so small, a mere speck, that I could not tell he was there at all if he had not moved. And when I compared him to the mountain and then to the universe, and thought of his pride and ambition, I could not help smiling at his impetuosity and sighing at his insignificance. He reminded me of an ant trying to shake the earth, and my ambition cooled off and I would be perfectly content to be at home with my wife and never be thought of after I die. Callaway was killed six days later, as the Union army turned back the main Confederate attack. We never will Day 2: September 24 Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge Battles In their attempt to retake Chattanooga, Confederates took up the high ground south and west of the city (Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge respectively). Bivouacked near Missionary Ridge, Confederate private Joshua K. Callaway convinced some of his friends to make the trek up to the top of Lookout Mountain. There they had a splendid view of the entire Chattanooga valley, and Callaway was struck by the fact that the poets and painters of the future would stand exactly where he was to have their geniuses inspired, and to immortalize the scene and the mountain in song and on canvas. Buoyed by such thoughts, Callaway felt a touch of the poet within himself: have time to contemplate and comprehend the horrors of this war until sweet, delightful peace is restored to us, " Callaway had told his wife, " & we can take a retrospective view.
CIVIL WAR: WESTERN FRONT Today we make our way to Point Park Lookout Mountain Battlefield and to the Ochs Museum with our guide, Jim Ogden and masterful interpreters. We will have lunch at the Craven House, Home of early Chattanooga iron industrialist and co-owner of Bluff Furnace, Robert Cravens. The fiercest fighting during the Battle of Lookout Mountain took place in the vicinity of the house. Destroyed after the battle, Cravens rebuilt the present house in 1866. After lunch, we ll return to the Westin to relax before convening this evening for cocktails and dinner aboard Missionary Ridge Train. (B,L,D) Day 3: September 25 The Battle of Chickamauga The Confederates' best attempt to loosen the Union stranglehold on Chattanooga came at the Battle of Chickamauga. The two armies met in the valley of a sluggish stream on a battlefield covered with heavy woods and dense undergrowth, making for limited visibility and confused, vicious fighting. On the first day of the battle, September 19, most of the Confederate attack was concentrated on the Union left, commanded by George H. Thomas. Thomas performed admirably, but suffered significant casualties, and he correctly expected that he would be attacked again on the 20th. Unfortunately, a federal staff officer, failing to see that a blue division in line amid the smoke and trees, reported a gap on the Federal right, resulting in an order to close the supposed gap with troops from elsewhere, thereby creating a gap where none had existed just as Confederate General James Longstreet launched his attack. A third of the Union army was swept from the field including its commander, William Rosecrans. Only Thomas staved off total disaster for the federals, reforming the line and throwing back several all-out Confederate attacks. (For this, he would always be known as the Rock of Chickamauga.) The Confederate victory was a significant one, though marred by their allowing the damaged Union army to retreat back into Chattanooga -- a critical mistake. It was marred too by news of their casualties; among them was Lincoln's Confederate brother-in-law, Benjamin Hardin Helm. "I never saw Mr. Lincoln more moved," said Lincoln's bodyguard, David Davis, "than when he heard of the death of his young brother-in-law, Helm. I called to him about 3 'clock on the 22d of September. I found him in the greatest grief. 'Davis,' he said, 'I feel as David of old did when he was told of the death of Absalom. Would to God I had died for thee, oh Absalom, my son, my son.'" "I saw how griefstricken he was," Davis said, "so I closed the door and left him alone." This morning we will travel to the site of the Battle of Chickamauga, where we are joined again by Jim Ogden, to better understand this critical event on the hallowed ground where it happened. We ll pause for lunch here before making our way to the elegant and historic Barnsley House Resort where you ll have the evening free at your leisure. (B,L)
SEPTEMBER 23 THROUGH 27, 2018 Day 4: September 26 The Grand Strategy With Chattanooga secured and supplied, the Union Army could continue its assault on the South, using rail lines Sherman later said, "filled by the marching troops and wagons of the Fourteenth Corps; and reaching the hill, just outside of the old rebel works, we naturally paused to just as it had used rivers at the war's outset -- as avenues of advance into the Confederacy. North Georgia's steep valleys and mountain ridges made for very different fighting than the battles that occurred in the rolling hills of Virginia. Each army was dependent upon a single rail line, and each had to be cautious lest the other get in its rear and cut off its supply. Gradually, however, Sherman backed the Confederates all the way into Atlanta, then looped wide around the city, forcing its evacuation. "Atlanta is ours," he telegraphed Washington, "and fairly won." Today we are led on a journey through the Battle of Atlanta by Civil War expert Dr. Stephen Davis, who specializes in the Atlanta campaign. Dr. Davis will share a private lecture followed by lunch at your leisure. In the afternoon we will convene again this time with expert Dr. Todd Groce, president of the Georgia Historical Society for another private lecture. look back upon the scenes of our past battles. We stood upon the very ground whereon was fought the bloody battle of July 22d, and could see the copse of wood where McPherson fell. Behind us lay Atlanta, smouldering and in ruins, the black smoke rising high in air, and hanging like a pall over the ruined city. Away off in the distance, on the McDonough road, was the rear of Howard s column, the gun-barrels glistening in the sun, the white-topped wagons stretching away to the south; and right before us the Fourteenth Corps, marching steadily and rapidly, with a cheery look and swinging pace, that made light of the thousand miles that lay between us and Richmond. Some band, by accident, struck up the anthem of John Brown s soul goes marching on; the men caught up the strain, and never before or since have I heard the chorus of Glory, glory, hallelujah! done with more spirit, or in better harmony of time and place. Today we re gaining an even deeper understanding of the Battle of Atlanta and its eventual downfall. While making our way into Atlanta, our tour will take us back in time as In the evening, we ll enjoy cocktails and light horderves among the historic Barnsley House Ruins. (B,L) Day 5: September 27 Turning Point - Battle of Atlanta On November 15 Sherman's Army marched out of Atlanta in four parallel columns with the cavalry weaving between them. We rode out of Atlanta by the Decatur road,"
CIVIL WAR: WESTERN FRONT Sherman s troops approached. Presentation and lunch at the Piedmont Driving Club. In the early evening, we will gather at the Atlanta History Center for cocktails at the Cyclorama, private access to exhibitions and a lovely dinner where we will have a final presentation from our lead expert, Dr. Stephen Berry. (B,L,D) Our travel partners are happy to assist you with flight itineraries for your return home. EXPERT GUEST SPEAKERS Dr. Stephen Berry - Amanda and Greg Gregory Chair in the Civil War Era Stephen Berry feels compelled to study "old, unhappy, far-off things." His research explores the intersections of race, class, gender, family, depression, disappointment, and death in the nineteenth-century South. He is the author or editor of four books on America in the mid- 19th century, including House of Abraham: Lincoln and the Todds, A Family Divided by War, the Book of the Month Club main selection for March 2008, and Weirding the War: Stories from the Civil War's Ragged Edges. He oversees the web project "CSI Dixie," devoted to the coroner's office in the nineteenth century South. Berry is Secretary-Treasurer of the Southern Historical Association; co-director, with Claudio Saunt, of the Center for Virtual History; and co-editor, with Amy Murrell Taylor, of the UnCivil Wars series at the University of Georgia Press. A Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians, Berry helps head the Digital Humanities Initiative at the University of Georgia. His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, and the American Council of Learned Societies, among others. UnCivil Wars is a series dedicated to new ways of seeing and telling the American Civil War. Building on the Press s strengths in the fields of gender, environment, and culture, authors in the series are encouraged to focus on unconventional social types and to think deeply about narrative strategy, telling their stories through memory, reverse chronology, snapshots and glimpses, multiple perspectives, or microhistory.the series takes its spirit from Walt Whitman s insistence that the war was not singular but plural a many-threaded drama and from Thomas Mann s conclusion that out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made. James Ogden - Historian, Chickamauga Military Park Jim, a native of St. Mary s County, Maryland, has been interested in the Civil War since childhood. Jim obtained a degree in American History through the Civil War period and American Military History from Frostburg State College. During college, he worked summers for the Maryland Park Service at Point Lookout State Park, Maryland, site of the largest Civil War prison. As part of a college internship, he worked for four months at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia, doing research and writing on an aspect of that site s Civil War history that had not previously been addressed. Since beginning work with the National Park Service in 1982, Jim has been stationed at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Russell Cave National Monument, and Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. He has been at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park as the Staff Historian since 1988. Dr. Todd Groce - President & CEO of the Georgia Historical Society Todd Groce is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Georgia Historical Society, the independent, statewide institution responsible for collecting and teaching Georgia history. Headquartered in Savannah with an office in Atlanta, the Georgia Historical Society was founded in 1839 and is the oldest continuously operated historical organization in the South. Dr. Groce was born Virginia and grew up in Tennessee. He earned a B. A. from the
SEPTEMBER 23 THROUGH 27, 2018 University of Memphis, graduating cum laude and with honors in history, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University of Tennessee. He also holds a Certificate in Leadership Development from the United States Army War College. Before coming to Georgia in 1995, he taught history for three years at the University of Tennessee and Maryville College and then served five years as executive director of the East Tennessee Historical Society. Dr. Groce is the author of Mountain Rebels: East Tennessee Confederates and the Civil War and co-editor with Stephen V. Ash of Nineteenth Century America: Essays in Honor of Paul H. Bergeron. He has also written over 75 articles, essays, and book reviews for a wide range of publications such as The Journal of Southern History, The New Georgia Encyclopedia, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and the New York Times. He frequently lectures on the Civil War, World War II, and other aspects of U.S. military history and has made television appearances on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, C-SPAN, and Georgia Public Television. He has hiked every major Civil War battlefield and toured many other battlefields across North America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Dr. Stephen Davis - Atlanta History Center Steve has been a Civil War buff since the 4th grade. He attended Emory University and studied under the renowned Civil War historian Bell Wiley. After a master s degree in American history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he taught high school for a few years, then earned his Ph.D. at Emory, where he concentrated on the theme of the Civil War in Southern literature. Steve is the author of an in-depth book on the Atlanta campaign, Atlanta Will Fall: Sherman, John Johnston and the Heavy Yankee Battalions(2001). His book What the Yankees Did to Us: Sherman s Bombardment and Wrecking of Atlanta was published by Mercer University Press in 2012. In a review in Civil War News,Ted Savas calls Steve s book by far the most well-researched, thorough, and detailed account ever written about the wrecking of Atlanta. Steve is also the author of more than a hundred articles in such scholarly and popular publications as Civil War Times Illustrated and the Georgia Historical Quarterly. From 1984 to 2005, he served as book review editor for Blue & Gray Magazine, now retired, he serves as a Civil War consultant for the Atlanta History Center.
CIVIL WAR: WESTERN FRONT TERMS, AND CONDITIONS TOUR COST: $3,395.00 per person double occupancy and $495.00 single occupancy supplement. DEPOSIT: $750.00 per person FINAL PAYMENT: June 25, 2018 Please read all of the terms and conditions in this section. Any payment made to Connoisseurs Tours towards a tour booking shall constitute a confirmation by the Guest on behalf of themselves and all other persons named on their booking that he/she has read, understood, accepted and agreed to the Terms and Conditions of this tour, the terms of which will apply to the Guest and all other persons named on their booking. A per person deposit is required to confirm your reservation. Final payment is due at least 90 days prior to the departure date, or the date specified in the itinerary/brochure (whichever is earlier). All payments may be credit card accepted over the phone or secure online connection, or by check via the mail. INCLUSIVE PRICES Tour Prices: Tour prices are per person in U.S. dollars, based on double occupancy. There is a supplemental expense for single occupancy, of which is clearly stated in the itinerary/brochure. All hotel accommodations, transportation, special dinners, sightseeing, admissions, porterage, and the services of the local guides, drivers and the Tour Escort/Guide(s), special guest presentations are included, as per individual details of the itinerary. Please review your specific itinerary for details. Transportation to Chattanooga from Atlanta and return to Atlanta is included. Hotel Accommodations: The tour price includes all hotel accommodations with private baths. Our standard is to provide the best available accommodations without sacrificing value. Although the quality of accommodations may differ slightly from one room to another, our commitment to your comfort is unwavering. Meals: Included meals are specified in the itinerary with the abbreviations (B,L,D) as appropriate. If additional refreshments are included it will be specified in the itinerary. Gratuities: All customary gratuities for hotel, restaurant staff, and local guides are included unless otherwise noted. NOT INCLUDED Air Transportation: Air transportation to the tour departure point and from the tour ending point is not included unless otherwise noted. Gratuities to your Guide/Escort and drivers: Gratuities are not included to your overall Tour Escort/ Guide(s) and coach driver, unless otherwise noted. A recommended gratuity amount will be provided to you in your final tour documents. Connoisseurs Tours wishes to stress that this gratuity is optional and on a voluntary basis. Personal Expenses: Personal expenses such as phone calls, use of fitness center, room service, alcoholic and bar beverages, mineral water, soft drinks, laundry, airline service fees, excess baggage fees, and other optional incidental extras are not included in the tour price. IMPORTANT INFORMATION Travel Protection: Connoisseurs Tours offers Cancellation/Delay/Medical Protection. The cost of travel protection is $194.00 per person based on double occupancy. $242.00 per person for single occupancy. Travel protection can be paid with your deposit or at the time of your final payment. Connoisseurs Tours strongly recommends that you purchase Cancellation/Delay/Medical Protection. Traveling is a big investment. It pays to protect yourself against unforeseen circumstances that can result in trip cancellation and additional expenses such as costs related to medical emergencies. This Travel Insured Protection Plan is specifically designed to provide you with peace of mind knowing you are protected against the financial impact of unexpected events while on your trip. Additional insurance is available to include the cost of your airfare in addition to the tour price. Please contact Connoisseurs Tours if you would like to insure the cost of your airline tickets after you have purchased your airline tickets. Health and Fitness: Connoisseurs Tours are moderate exertion journeys. Travelers must certify that they are in good health and can walk up to one mile per day. These journeys are not recommended for those who have mobility limitations such as walkers, wheelchairs and scooters.
SEPTEMBER 23 THROUGH 27, 2018 CANCELLATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS: All cancellations must be in writing. Schedule: $750 cancellation fee from time of deposit to 90 days 50% of the tour cost from 89-60 days 100% of the tour cost from 59 to the date of departure and beyond Itinerary Change and Flexibility: Connoisseurs Tours pledges to make every effort to operate all tours as advertised. Connoisseurs Tours reserves the right to alter or curtail any aspect of the itinerary, or substitute sightseeing, hotels/ and or conveyances as deemed necessary. Any additional expense for these substitutions will be covered by Connoisseurs Tours. Responsibility: Connoisseurs Tours acts only as an agent for the traveler with respect to transportation, accommodations and other services offered on the tour. Connoisseurs Tours and the agents assume no responsibility or liability for any act, error omission, or for any injury, loss, accident or delay or irregularity that may be caused by any defect in any aircraft, ship, train, bus or other carrier or through negligence or default of any subcontractor or other third party. The passage contract in use by the carriers when issued shall constitute the sole contract between the carriers and the traveler. Connoisseurs Tours and/or their agents are not responsible for loss, injury, damages or expenses to person or property, due to illness, weather, strikes, local laws, hostilities, wars, terrorist acts, acts of nature or other causes in connection with the tour for anything beyond their reasonable control. Connoisseurs Tours is not responsible for transportation or other delays or changes to the tour program beyond their control, nor any additional expenses or loss of time that may be incurred by the traveler. It may be necessary or advisable for the wellbeing of all travelers to alter the itinerary at any time, without notice to the travelers, and such alterations will be made without penalty to Connoisseurs Tours. Connoisseurs Tours reserves the right to decline or not to retain any person as a member of any tour or to change or withdraw a tour as circumstances demand. All rates quoted are based on tariffs in effect at the time the tour was planned and are subject to change in the event of adjustment therein. Baggage is carried at the owner s risk and baggage insurance is recommended. Connoisseurs Tours reserves the right to substitute hotels of equal or superior quality. The proposals of this section are governed by Georgia law, and final payment by the traveler to Connoisseurs Tours shall be deemed to be consent to the above provisions. NEED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION? Call or email Connoisseurs Tours for more information: 1-800-856-1045 Email: Info@ConnoisseursTours.com