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American Civil War Series: Field-Study Trip to Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg
Gettysburg
Thursday – Sunday | Oct. 30 – Nov. 2, 2014
Cost: 
$825; Carolina Alumni members pay only $795
Single Supplement: 
$210
Call Douglass Payne ’04 at 919-962-0313 for more information or to make a reservation.
Register online.

Tentative Itinerary (PDF)
Directions and Parking (PDF)

More than 10,000 military actions of one kind or another occurred during the American Civil War. Join us for a visit to one of the most significant – Gettysburg. Our excursion begins Thursday with a stop at Guiney’s Station – a site that had dire consequences for Robert E. Lee, for it was here Lt. General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson died just weeks before the Army of Northern Virginia’s second invasion of the North. That campaign led to Gettysburg, and we’ve planned a three-day tour for each day of that momentous battle.

Friday will be spent visiting the sites which made up the first day of the battle: Herr Ridge, McPherson’s Ridge, Oak Hill and McPherson’s Woods, where the 24th Michigan and the 26th North Carolina had one of the fiercest stand-up fights of the war.

On Saturday, we’ll make our way to the hallowed ground that made up the second day: Big and Little Round Top, Devil’s Den, the Wheatfield, Cemetery Ridge, Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill. We’ll pay a special visit to one shady slope of Little Round Top where Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s 20th Maine saved the left flank of the Federal Army of the Potomac.

On Sunday, we’ll follow powerful events right up to the moment when some 13,000 Confederates under Lt. General James Longstreet made one of the most famous and hopeless charges in American history. We’ll reenact that march.

Museums, insightful presentations, battlefield sites, living history, convenient lodging for browsing around town and excellent dining – all make for an educational, entertaining and memorable trip to the battle that some believe was the turning point of the war. Enjoy meals at the historic Farnsworth House, Hickory Bridge and Fairfield Inn.

(Please be prepared for the weather. This tour requires very extensive walking.)

Lecturer:
Fred W. Kiger ’74 (’77 MAT) leads our Civil War battlefield study programs and teaches several GAA courses each semester. Freddie has over 30 years of teaching experience. He is the creator of the field guide The Civil War: A History of the War Between the States (Workman) and has two degrees from UNC, a bachelor’s in history and a master of arts in teaching with an emphasis in history. Read Kiger’s recommended reading list. 

Refunds for field-study trips:
All cancellations for any reason whatsoever will be subject to a $50 per person cancellation fee. Cancellations made after Sept. 17, 2014 will result in a 100 percent forfeiture of the entire cost of the trip, unless you are able to find someone else to book the trip in your place.

If you have questions about the Civil War field-study trip, contact Douglass Payne ’04 at 919-962-0313 or email douglass_payne@unc.edu.