Our 12-day tour takes you through the picturesque American countryside, including the scenic Shenandoah Valley and several outstanding national parks. You will explore historic towns and cities such as Fredericksburg, Richmond and, of course, Gettysburg, visiting the key sites of major Civil War battles along the way. We walk across remarkably well-preserved battlefields, many set within national parkland, and enjoy engaging presentations not only from your expert historian, but also from selected park rangers. The itinerary includes a wide range of museums, historic buildings, and interpretation centres that bring the period vividly to life. Accommodation is in comfortable, full-service hotels where you can enjoy a hot buffet breakfast each morning and relax with a drink at the bar in the evening. Evening meals will be taken either in typical American restaurants and diners or in the hotel.

During the American Civil War more Americans lost their lives than during the whole of WW1 and WW2 combined. An estimated 750,000 – some 2% of the population – died of battle wounds or disease. For four years, battles raged across the continent, but rarely was the fighting fiercer than in the Eastern Theater where six of the ten bloodiest battles of the war were fought. Encouraged by early victories, the Confederate forces held off subsequent Federal advances around Richmond until they felt confident enough to take the war into the North, where their advances were checked at Antietam in 1862 and Gettysburg in 1863. After achieving their ‘high water mark’, Southern forces were engaged in a fight against the inevitable which was to finally end at a small courthouse in Appomattox in April 1865.

Day 1: Arrival
Fly from London to Washington Dulles (optional). From 16:00 onwards, rooms will be available at our conveniently located airport hotel. Due to the relatively late arrival of the London flight, no evening meal is included.

Day 2: Manassas
The group assembles for a tour briefing. We drive to Manassas to view the excellent First Battle orientation film and the illuminated battlefield map, before exploring the battlefield, its monuments, and historic buildings such as Stone House and Hill House. After lunch, we visit the Second Manassas battlefield, including the interpretive centre at Brawner Farm, Deep Cut, and the Dogan House. We then continue to Fredericksburg, where we check in to our hotel for the next two nights. (B, D)

Day 3: Fredericksburg & Chancellorsville
We gain an overview of the Battle of Fredericksburg from the beautiful Chatham Plantation, which offers wonderful views over the town, before descending to the battlefield at Prospect Hill. We walk along the Sunken Road and view the original section of the stone wall against which waves of Federal troops were thrown. In the afternoon, we visit the Chancellorsville Museum and interpretive centre, and walk the battlefield including Hazel Grove, Lee and Jackson’s last bivouac, and the Chancellor Clearing. (B, D)

Day 4: The Overland Campaign
We begin with a briefing at the Wilderness battlefield from the Shelter at Saunders Field, with stops at Widow Tapp Farm, the Brock Road intersection, Higgerson and Chewning clearings, and the site where Longstreet was wounded. Continuing to Spotsylvania, we visit Todd’s Tavern, Laurel Hill, the Mule Shoe Salient, the Bloody Angle, and the courthouse and jail. Heading south, we see where ‘Stonewall’ Jackson spent his final hours and visit the J.E.B. Stuart memorial. The day ends at Cold Harbor, with its extensive Confederate entrenchments and Connecticut heavy artillery line. Check in to our Richmond-area hotel for a four-night stay. (B, D)

Day 5: The Peninsula Campaign
We explore locations linked to the first battle between ironclad warships – USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly Merrimac) – and visit the superbly preserved Fort Monroe National Monument, where McClellan launched his campaign and where Jefferson Davis was later imprisoned. At the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, we tour the USS Monitor Centre to see how this historic vessel is being conserved. (B, D)

Day 6: The Battles for Richmond
Our tour of the Seven Days’ Battles begins in the Chickahominy Swamps and includes Beaver Dam Creek, Mechanicsville, Gaines’ Mill, Grapevine Bridge, McClellan’s Trent House headquarters, Savage’s Station, White Oak Swamp, Glendale, and finally the climactic engagement at Malvern Hill. In the afternoon, we drive into Richmond, capital of the Confederacy. We visit the Confederate White House, where docents describe Jefferson Davis and his family’s time in the city, and pass the Virginia State Capitol, which served as the Confederate Congress. The day ends at the outstanding new American Civil War Museum (formerly the Museum of the Confederacy) and the National Park Visitor Centre at the historic Tredegar Ironworks. (B, D)

Day 7: The Siege of Petersburg
At City Point, we walk to Grant’s headquarters and the ‘Dictator’ siege mortar, then tour the restored eastern front fortifications, Fort Stedman, the Crater, and, if time allows, Blandford Church with its memorial stained-glass windows. The day concludes at Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier – one of the finest museums of its kind. (B)

Day 8: Retreat to Appomattox
Like Lee, we head west to Sailor’s Creek State Park to visit the battlefield, museum, and the Hillsman House. The afternoon is spent at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, where we watch the surrender film, explore the preserved village, and visit the McLean House and the ‘Surrender Triangle’ where the Confederate army laid down its arms. We continue to Charlottesville, Virginia for an overnight stay. (B, D)

Day 9: The Shenandoah Valley
Head up the stunning Shenandoah Valley to New Market, home of the VMI ‘Hall of Valor’ and the ‘Field of Lost Shoes’. Gain an overview of the Battle of Cedar Creek at Middletown and then to Winchester to visit Stonewall Jackson’s headquarters, which contains many of his personal belongings Overnight in Winchester. (B, D)

Day 10: The Maryland Campaign of 1862 and Antietam
At Monocacy, we visit the battlefield museum and discuss the discovery of Special Orders 191. We then drive through the South Mountain passes, stopping at Crampton’s Gap and the War Correspondents’ Arch en route to Sharpsburg. At Pry House Farm, we examine the Union perspective on the Battle of Antietam and view the orientation film at the Visitors’ Centre. We explore the battlefield, including Dunker Church, Miller’s and Otto’s Cornfields, the Sunken Lane, and Burnside’s Bridge. (B, D)

Day 11: Gettysburg
This was the greatest battle of the American Civil War and, for many, its most pivotal event. We spend the day exploring the site, including Oak Hill, Cemetery Hill, Little Round Top, and the infamous Bloody Angle. A highlight of the tour is the opportunity to walk the route of Pickett’s Charge. In the afternoon, we visit the brilliantly restored Gettysburg Cyclorama, now housed within one of the finest military museums in the world. (B, D)

Day 12: Final Thoughts
We visit the Shriver House, a museum set in a 19th-century home that explores the civilian experience of the Civil War. We then pay our respects at Gettysburg National Cemetery before returning to Washington Dulles Airport, where the tour concludes or return flights to London depart (optional). (B)

Day 13: Arrive London