Civil War Weekend

Register before March 15 for Civil War Weekend 2026!

We look forward to welcoming you to Blacksburg in March 2026 for Virginia Tech’s annual Civil War Weekend. You’ll hear from a stellar group of speakers and enjoy fellowship with other history enthusiasts—all in the comfortable surroundings of the Inn at Virginia Tech. Registration is open until March 15, 2026. 

This year’s theme is “Civil War Innovations.” Paradoxically, the destructive crisis of war brought forth incredible creativity, leading to new instruments of warfare, social transformations, and expanded uses of new technologies ranging from the telegraph and the railroad to photography. After the war, American life would never be the same again.

Our distinguished speakers will explore a wide range of wartime advances, from the photography studio to the battlefield. We’ll learn how the awful physical injuries inflicted by war generated new developments in medical knowledge and practice. The Civil War also sparked countless other innovations, from Black men in Union uniforms, to changes in food production and consumption, to a rethinking of higher education. Saturday evening will feature a special guest: General Ulysses Grant, portrayed by Dr. Curt Field, who will provide a first-person perspective on Grant’s creativity as military commander. 

Following the weekend, join us for an optional three-night field trip. We’ll take custom tours highlighting the natural beauty, the historical significance, and the culinary delights of Charleston, Beaufort, and the rest of the South Carolina Lowcountry. We’ll visit the places where history happened: the beginnings of the Civil War in Charleston Harbor; the demise of slavery and experiments with Black freedom in the Sea Islands; and the lab where the Confederacy’s pioneering submarine is now being preserved.

Whether this is your first Virginia Tech Civil War Weekend, or you’ve been attending ever since our first meeting in 1991, we look forward to welcoming you to the group and sharing new perspectives on this endlessly fascinating period of American history. See you in March!

Paul Quigley

James I. Robertson, Jr. Associate Professor of Civil War Studies

Director, Virginia Center for Civil War Studies

Spring Campaign 2026: The South Carolina Lowcountry

Extend your Civil War Weekend experience with an optional three-night field trip to South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Renowned for its outstanding natural beauty and delicious food, the Lowcountry was also home to some of the Civil War’s pivotal moments: the start of the fighting at Charleston’s Fort Sumter; the formation of the first Black regiment to fight in the war; the disintegration of slavery in the sea islands; the Battle of Honey Hill and, ultimately, occupation by Sherman’s troops. We will tour key sites in Charleston, Beaufort, and the surrounding areas, in the hands of some of the lowcountry’s most experienced Civil War experts.

Our trip begins in Beaufort, South Carolina, a town steeped in history. Our guides will be Dr. Stephen Wise, director of the Parris Island Museum, and Dr. John McCardell, former president of both Middlebury College and Sewanee: The University of the South. Among other highlights of lowcountry history, we will visit the Penn Center, founded in 1862 as a school for the formerly enslaved; the Battle of Honey Hill, where advance forces involved with Sherman’s March were repelled by Confederate troops in November 1864; and the Combahee River, site of Harriet Tubman’s storied raid into the heart of the plantation South.

Rick Hatcher, NPS historian at Fort Sumter from 1992 to 2015, will lead us on a tour of Sullivan’s Island and Fort Moultrie, from where Major Robert Anderson led his troops on the fateful move to Fort Sumter on December 26, 1860. 

We will also visit the CSS Hunley museum, where we’ll learn the incredible story of the pioneering submarine that sank in 1864 and was raised from the ocean floor in 2000. Our final stop is the Museum of the Reconstruction Era in Columbia, South Carolina, located in the family home of Woodrow Wilson.

Throughout the Spring Campaign, we’ll enjoy the comfort of a charter bus, the camaraderie of fellow history enthusiasts, delicious meals, and local insights from our expert guides.