GDG- Campaign for Atlanta: 3/27-3/30 seats available

Wed Mar 12 01:51:51 CDT 2008

Sherman’s 1864 Campaign for Atlanta
12th Civil War Forum Battlefield Conference
March 27-30, 2008

There’s still time to get one of the remaining seats on the bus for  
the Civil War Forum’s annual gathering. This year we have another  
stellar lineup of guides and speakers to cover one of the war’s  
critical campaigns. Civil War Forum conferences remain an  
unparalleled bargain—the most authoritative guides, two full and two  
half days of tours, three dinner presentations, and two lunches—for  
significantly less than for-profit tours (see registration info below).

Contact: David Woodbury: civilwarforum at mac.com
http://community.netscape.com/civilwar

EVENING EVENTS:
We begin gathering in the hotel conference room each evening (Thurs.,  
Fri., Sat.) for an informal reception between 6:00-7:00 p.m. This is  
a great time to have a glass of wine or Rebel Yell, mingle with your  
fellow attendees, study maps, and check out the donated raffle items.  
At 7:00 p.m. we’ll sit down to a catered buffet, before enjoying a  
talk by one of our featured speakers at 8:00 p.m.

EVENING SPEAKERS:
-> Thursday: Dr. Steven Woodworth of Texas Christian University,  
author of Decision in the Heartland: The Civil War in the West,  
Jefferson Davis and his Generals: The Failure of Confederate Command  
in the West, and many other important Civil War studies.
-> Friday: Dr. John Fowler of Kennesaw State University, author of  
The Confederate Experience Reader, and Mountaineers in Gray:  
Nineteenth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment, C.S.A.
[Friday will also feature a special presentation by Russell Bonds,  
author of Stealing the General, during our visit to the Southern  
Museum to see the General —the locomotive stolen by Andrews’s Raiders  
in the “Great Locomotive Chase”]
-> Saturday: Dr. Steven Davis, noted Atlanta Campaign historian,  
author of Atlanta Will Fall: Sherman, Joe Johnston and the Yankee  
Heavy Battalions, and numerous articles and essays, and long-time  
book review editor of Blue & Gray Magazine.

TOURS:
Thursday afternoon, March 27: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m: (via carpool)  
Atlanta History Center. For the first hour, Director Gordon Jones  
will give us a private presentation in the auditorium with a display  
of some of the treasures from the spectacular George Wray collection,  
then will turn us loose to view the Turning Point gallery—he'll  
remain on hand as our guide, and to answer questions. The Wray and  
Turning Point collections are among the best collections of Civil War  
artifacts in the nation.

Friday, March 28: 7:00 a.m: —Reseca to Kennesaw—First of all, a word  
of warning: this will be the longest day of the weekend. I have tried  
to strike a balance between seeing the critical fields of this  
campaign, and not running everyone ragged. That morning we'll board  
the bus bright and early and head straight for the battlefield at  
Resaca, there to meet up with local volunteers for interpretation,  
including Ken Padgett, president of the Friends of Reseca. We'll see  
the earthworks at Fort Wayne where the first shots of the battle book  
place, get an overview of the proposed park, and visit Snake Creek Gap 
—the subject of innumerable, and interminable internet arguments  
between detractors and defenders of Sherman and Thomas. Most of the  
preserved 550-acre Reseca battlefield site is un-improved, without  
even roads, and to see the entrenchments requires a half mile walk  
followed by a vigorous climb through  heavy woods. Next time we  
visit, hopefully the access will be improved.

 From there we'll work our way to Pickett's Mill to see one of the  
most pristine Civil War battlefields in the country, and the scenes  
of savage slaughter. State Park historian James Wooten will be our  
guide for the Pickett's Mill portion of the morning. We'll have lunch  
at the picnic area there.

After lunch, we'll follow one of the main historic routes, heading  
east on Due West Road toward Kennesaw Mountain, pass Gilgal Church,  
and make a stop at Pine Mountain for a few words at the site of the  
death of Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk. Soon after we'll stop at the  
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Visitor Center, there to  
see a very good (20-min.) interpretive film, and spend about 45  
minutes looking at what Ed Bearss says is the finest Civil War museum  
at any of the National Park sites. You'll be able to satisfy your  
bookstore fix here as well. National Park Service historian Willie  
Johnson will guide us for the rest of the afternoon. The museum  
exhibits contain a lot of text, and the majority of the artifacts on  
display are site related, many ID'd to participants in the battle, so  
we'll take our time with that. From there, we'll bus to the top of  
the mountain to get an understanding of the terrain, before heading  
over to Cheatham Hill and other points.

Saturday, March 29: —Chattahoochee River Line, Battle of Peachtree  
Creek, Battle of Atlanta—We are fortunate to have Charlie Crawford,  
highly regarded tour guide, and president of the Georgia Battlefields  
Association, as our guide for the full day on Saturday. Steve Davis  
and Gordon Jones will also be on the bus to add color commentary. Our  
rough itinerary for the day: we'll begin with the Fort Drive  
Shoupades or Vinings Hill, from which Sherman first saw the church  
spires of Atlanta, and visit at least one of the Chattahoochee  
crossing sites: Paces Ferry or Powers Ferry. We'll do a drive-by of  
some of the Confederate Outer Line (Loring Heights, which was part of  
the starting position for the Peachtree Creek assault), and also  
drive through Brookwood Hills to see the Confederate initial advance,  
then follow 28th  Street to see the Stevens marker, and stop at  
Tanyard Creek Park for the bulk of the commentary about Peachtree  
Creek. Later, in the Battle of Atlanta area, we'll see the Walker  
monument, and stop at the McPherson monument to explain the struggle  
for Leggett's Hill. We'll also stop at the Carter Center and walk to  
the site of the Confederate breakthrough on the afternoon of 22 July  
1864.

Sunday, March 30: (via carpool) Optional outing to 1) historic  
Oakland Cemetery to see the graves of several notable residents,  
including that of General John B. Gordon, and Margaret Mitchell. From  
there we'll head to 2) the Atlanta Cyclorama for a guided tour  
(including the Cyclorama painting, and the locomotive Texas – the  
locomotive that chased the General in the Great Locomotive Chase). At  
this last stop, I'll need people to pay their own entrance fee: for  
our group, it will be $6 per person [entry fees at Pickett's Mill,  
Kennesaw NBP, Southern Museum, and Atlanta History Center are  
including in your registration].

At approximately noon, we'll call it quits until next year.

HEADQUARTERS:
Comfort Suites Hotel • Perimeter Center
6110 Peachtree Dunwoody
Atlanta, GA 30328 Tel: 770-828-0330
http://www.atlantacomfortsuites.com/

Cost: $250: includes all tours, three evening dinner presentations,  
two box lunches, entrance to all parks and museums (except Cyclorama  
on Sunday morning). Does not cover your lodging. Registration can be  
made by PayPal (request an invoice: civilwarforum at mac.com), or by  
check or money order to David Woodbury, P.O. Box 19130, Stanford, CA  
94309.

====================
The following books by our featured speakers can be pre-ordered by  
email (civilwarforum at mac.com), and picked up and paid for at the  
conference. Authors will personally inscribe your copies. Save on  
shipping, get a signed copy, and enjoy the opportunity to engage the  
authors in discussion.

Atlanta Will Fall: Sherman, Joe Johnston, and the Yankee Heavy  
Battalions (American Crisis Series, No. 3), by Stephen Davis: $24.95  
(pbk)

Mountaineers In Gray: The Nineteenth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry  
Regiment, C. S. A.  by John D. Fowler: $34.00 (hardcover)

Decision in the Heartland: The Civil War in the West (Reflections on  
the Civil War Era) by Steven E. Woodworth (2008): $40.00 (hardcover)

Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal  
of Honor, by Russell Bonds: $30.00 (hardcover)
====================

Some interesting resources:

Pickett's Mill State Historic Park
http://www.gastateparks.org/info/picketts/

Ambrose Bierce on The Crime at Pickett's Mill
http://www.online-literature.com/bierce/1991/

Russell Bonds article on Bishop Polk
  http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/american_civil_war/ 
3038721.html

Georgia Battlefields Association
http://www.georgiabattlefields.org/

Mr. Shoup's Ingenious "Shoupades"
http://www.georgiabattlefields.org/endangered04.htm

Atlanta History Center
http://www.atlhist.org/index.cfm