Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Ball's Bluff and Monocacy -- 18th Civil War Forum Reunion

18th Civil War Forum Battlefield Conference
Ball’s Bluff, and Monocacy
(with a side trip to Antietam)

Leesburg, Virginia, April 3-6, 2014
Headquarters hotel:
Best Western Leesburg Hotel & Conference Center
726 E. Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
703-777-9400

Registration is $285.  Registration will cover your seat on the bus (or other transportation, such as a ferry), entrance fees, box lunches for Friday and Saturday, and buffet dinner and presentation on Saturday evening.

Tour guides, speakers, and expert consultants
Jim Morgan, author of, A Little Short of Boats: The Civil War Battles of Ball's Bluff and Edwards Ferry, October 21 - 22, 1861 
B. F. Cooling, author of Monocacy, the Battle that Saved Washington, and The Day Lincoln Was Almost Shot: the Fort Stevens Story
Rich Gillespie, director of education for Mosby Heritage Area Association
Steve Meserve, gentleman, scholar, raconteur

Tentative Itinerary (subject to change):
Thursday, April 3, 1:00 p.m: optional afternoon outing by carpool: Antietam National Battlefield. We'll begin with a presentation by historian Ted Alexander at the Visitor Center, then make a couple stops on the battlefield with a NPS ranger to interpret
Thursday, April 3, 6:00 p.m: informal reception, check-in, programs, name tags (location to be announced); dinner on your own
Friday a.m., April 4: walking tour of historic Leesburg with Rich Gillespie, including visits to Harrison Hall (now known as the Glenfiddich House) where Lee stayed when he passed through town on his way to Maryland in 1862, and where he met with Longstreet, Stuart and Jackson before crossing the river. A short distance from there is the John Janney home, where Lee made his only social call while in town. Janney, I am sure you recall, came within a single vote of becoming President of the United States when John Tyler was chosen instead as Vice President to William Henry Harrison. He later served as President of the Virginia Secession Convention and was the man who offered Lee command of Virginia's troops in 1861. [The latter house is private, and requires special arrangements to tour — thanks to Steve Meserve for recommending these two stops and providing the historic background.]
Friday lunch: picnic on the grounds of Morven Park, one-time estate of Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis. The Executive Director will present a talk for us while we enjoy our lunches. 
Friday afternoon: visit to Fort Evans, then to Ball’s Bluff battlefield with Jim Morgan for detailed battlefield hikes (3-4 hours all told). 
Saturday a.m., April 5: Frederick, Maryland — visit to the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and, if time permits, the Barbara Fritchie House
Saturday afternoon, April 5: Tour Monocacy battlefield, and visit Ft. Stevens with B. F. Cooling 

Saturday evening, April 5, 6:30-10:00 p.m, in the ballroom at Morven Park Mansion: reception from 6:30-7:00; buffet dinner at 7:00; after-dinner speaker at 8:00 p.m.
Guest speaker: Dr. Benjamin Franklin Cooling

7 comments:

TPS said...

Damn. I have to get onto one of these tours. I hear Morgan's book is really good. :)

dw said...
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dw said...

I'm reading the revised edition right now -- yes, as you well know, it's excellent. I have met Jim a couple times, and am really looking forward to his tour.

Have not yet read Cooling's books, but will try to fit them in next month, too.

Unknown said...

Thank you for mentioning A Little Short of Boats: The Battles of Ball’s Bluff & Edwards Ferry, October 21-22, 1861 by James A. Morgan III. You can read more about the book, including an excerpt and an author interview, on publisher Savas Beatie’s website here: http://tinyurl.com/6j8opym.

A few of us at Savas Beatie have been on Morgan’s tour of the Ball’s Bluff Battlefield. It is wonderful and not to be missed!

dw said...

We will be doing a sort of “book club” reading of Morgan’s book online next month. A lot of people in the group already have a copy, but several others will have to get a copy very soon. Morgan did a really nice job with it.

Unknown said...

For the readers still looking to purchase their copy of A Little Short of Boats, remember that copies purchased through Savas Beatie come with a bookplate signed by the author. You can order directly through the website here: http://tinyurl.com/6j8opym

dw said...

I will definitely encourage people to buy them from the publisher, but this crowd will likely forgo the bookplate in favor of Jim personally inscribing the books during our conference.