THE SPRING CAMPAIGN: GETTYSBURG
Extend your Civil War Weekend experience with an optional two-night field trip to Gettysburg and Frederick, Maryland. Leaving directly from the Inn at Virginia Tech on March 30, we’ll travel together by charter bus to Frederick, Maryland, our base for the next two days.
Gettysburg is an essential destination for any history enthusiast. We’ll tour the battleground with Licensed Battlefield Guide Dave Weaver, exploring how key military decisions combined with this area’s distinctive landscape to determine the outcome of the battle. As part of our tour we’ll view the Gettysburg Cyclorama, the spectacular circular painting that stretches 377 feet wide and 42 feet high.
The Frederick area offers its own fascinating Civil War sites. Our group will visit the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, learning about the medical innovations necessitated by the tragedy of the Civil War during a guided museum tour led by Dana Shoaf and including some behind-the-scenes looks at artifacts not normally on display.
We’ll also take a guided tour of the often-overlooked Monocacy Battlefield, where Union forces unsuccessfully fought to halt a July 1864 Confederate advance toward Washington, D.C.
The cost of the Spring Campaign includes accommodation, all meals, tours, and round-trip transport between Blacksburg and Fredericksburg. Registration will open soon!
SPRING CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE
SUNDAY March 30
11:30 a.m. — depart The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center
1:15 – 2:30 p.m. lunch, Edelweiss German Restaurant
5:15 p.m. — arrive at Hilton Garden Inn Frederick
6:30 p.m. — dinner, Hilton Garden Inn Frederick
MONDAY March 31
7:30 a.m. — breakfast, Hilton Garden Inn Frederick
8:30 a.m. — depart hotel for guided tour of Gettysburg
12:15 p.m. — lunch, Appalachian Brewing Company of Gettysburg
1:45 p.m. — Gettysburg cyclorama and film
2:45 p.m. — depart Gettysburg
3:30 p.m. — tour of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine
5:00 p.m. — return to Hilton Garden Inn Frederick
6:30 p.m. — dinner, Hilton Garden Inn Frederick
TUESDAY April 1
7:30 a.m — breakfast, Hilton Garden Inn Frederick
9:00 a.m. — depart hotel for guided tour of Monocacy National Battlefield
10:45 depart Monocacy National Battlefield
12:00 p.m. — lunch in Winchester at Piccadilly Public House: https://www.piccadillypublichouse.com/
1:30 p.m. — depart Winchester
5:00 p.m. — return to the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center
Battlefield Tour Guide: Dave Weaver
Dave Weaver has been a Licensed Battlefield Guide for over 30 years. He is Assistant Professor of History at Shippensburg University and runs the university’s social studies teacher education program. Dave served in Iraq as an infantry captain and spends his free time painting wildlife art scenes on the battlefield.
Previous spring campaigns:
March 24-26, 2024. Spring Campaign: Fredericksburg. A two-night field trip to the historic sites of Fredericksburg, Virginia, including downtown Fredericksburg, the battlefields of the 1864 Overland Campaign, Spotsylvania, the Fredericksburg National Cemetery, Richard Kirkland Memorial, and the Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery, led by historian and tour guide John Hennessy.
March 27-29 2022 – Spring Campaign: Antietam. A two-night field trip to Harpers Ferry and Antietam, led by retired National Park Service historian Dennis Frye, exploring the place where John Brown tried to spark a massive slave rebellion, as well as the crucial battle that paved the way for Lincoln’s preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
March 24-26, 2019. Spring Campaign: The Virginia Peninsula. A two-night field trip to the historic sites of the Virginia Peninsula, including Fort Monroe, battlefields of McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign, and The Mariners’ Museum, led by expert guide Jonathan White.
March 18-20, 2018. Spring Campaign: The Shenandoah Valley. A two-night field trip to the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, including a visit to the historic town of Lexington and a tour of “Stonewall” Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign, led by expert guide Jonathan Noyalas.
March 19-21 2017. Spring Campaign: Petersburg. An optional two-night field trip immediately following Civil War Weekend. We enjoyed a memorable trip to the city where the Civil War entered its final stages, including a guided tour of Petersburg National Battlefield, a behind-the-scenes visit to Pamplin Historical Park, and meals in historic restaurants.