Roads through Loudoun to Gettysburg: 150th events and Edwards Ferry

For me, June will be a busy month. As mentioned earlier, on June 8, we have the Brandy Station Tour. Later in the month, we have several sesquicentennial events related to the cavalry fighting in Loudoun Valley (June 14-16). And through the last full week of June, we will turn to the passage of the Army of the Potomac through Loudoun and across at Edwards Ferry.

I’ve held off posting any details here, waiting for things to come together. But since we are just over a month out, let me offer up the slate of events from June 22 through 29:

June 22 – “Marching through Loudoun”

Car caravan tour of the routes used by the First and Eleventh Corps troops marching towards Edwards Ferry. The intent of this tour is to relate the places and names we are familiar with today to what happened 150 years ago. This tour aims to provide something those who wish to expand beyond just Gettysburg as three days in July – specifically, how the armies got there. But at the same time we won’t bog down in too many of the twists and turns. This tour is geared for those wanting to know about the places they might pass on their daily commutes to work.

The tour starts at Claude Moore Park at 9 am, at the park headquarters along Vestal’s Gap Road (the north entrance to the park). The tour will include at least three other stops and conclude by noon. The tour is free of charge. Please RSVP here in the comments section of this blog.

June 22-23 – The Long March North to Gettysburg: Major-General Winfield S. Hancock’s 2^nd Army Corps at Mount Zion Church.

Living history program and encampment recreating Hancock’s field headquarters as it would have appeared on the days leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg 150 years ago, when the Second Corps passed through the Aldie area and encamped nearby in June of 1863. Presented by the Historical Interpretive Branch of the Winfield Scott Hancock Society. 9:00-5:00 Saturday; 9:00-3:00 Sunday. $5 adults; $2 students under 10; Children under five admitted free. Sponsored by Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. 703-327-9777. www.nvrpa.org/mt_zion

June 26 – Dedication of the Edwards Ferry Civil War Trails marker.

The formal dedication of the Civil War Trails marker placed back in March. Location is the Kephart Mill Landing (where the marker is located, 43942 Riverpoint Drive, Leesburg, VA 20176). The ceremony starts at 7 PM. We’ll hear remarks from the marker sponsor, Civil War Times, and local historians. Weather permitting, for those brave sesquicentennial types, we’ll walk the creek down to the crossing point. We will time that tour with to 150 years – to the hour – when General Winfield Scot Hancock’s Second Corps crossed at Edwards Ferry. This event is free of charge. Bring flashlight and bug-spray if you plan to participate in the walk.

June 29 – Edwards Ferry Crossing Site tour.

Starting from the Kephart Mill Landing, at 9 AM. This three hour tour will show visitors some of the existing structures around the mill site, the Goose Creek Canal, and the bridge sites at the mouth of Goose Creek. This tour is also free of charge, but bring bug-spray and suntan-lotion. Please RSVP in the comments section on this blog entry.

I’ll pass along more details about these events as they are locked in closer to the dates.

In addition to these outdoor events, I will also be speaking to the 35th Annual Campaigning with Lee Seminar. The seminar runs from June 23-28. Registration details on the seminar website. My talk is at 2:30 PM on June 26 and will focus – just as the theme of these events listed above – on the passage of the Army of the Potomac through Loudoun.

That’s my busy June. From Brandy Station to Loudoun Valley to Edwards Ferry. Hope to see you at some of these events!

Vicksburg Sesquicentennial Schedule

Let me, somewhat belatedly, mention the ongoing schedule of events for Vicksburg’s sesquicentennial. Vicksburg National Military Park has a page detailing the events, which started in April, running through July. Back on April 30, the park began “State Memorial Days” with observances for each state with soldiers participating in the campaign. These run through May 28 (with a couple doubled up).

Interpretive events on Sunday, May 19, and Wednesday, May 22, highlight the days of major assaults on the works. The Memorial Day weekend is packed with living history displays, interpretive events, and concerts. The city of Vicksburg hosts a Memorial Day program including a parade.
The listing of events concludes on July 3 with a luminary, with 20,000 candles, throughout the park.I would love to attend, at a minimum, the Memorial Day events.

But work schedules will not permit. Looking at the schedule, I find interesting the contrast to the eastern theater events from the last couple of years. And to some degree even the western theater events at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Stones River. Up to this point in the sesquicentennial, for the most part, we have looked back at individual battles – maybe strung together with campaigns, such as Seven Days or Second Manassas or Antietam – with the peak focus on a handful of days. With Vicksburg, much as we may see for the Overland Campaign, Petersburg, and Atlanta Campaign, there’s a long running “even” spanning weeks. There’s several challenges there. Not the least of which is capturing the moments without saturating the audience.

Chancellorsville 150: A bit of the second day’s activities

I’d intended to get some “live blogging” updates into yesterday’s post.  But with few bars received on the cell phone, I opted to avoid the “upload and dash” approach.   John Hennessy puts the blame on the successful NPS campaign to prevent placement of cell towers. As a school trained Army Signal Officer, I’m apt to make up some excuse about the iron in the soil around Catherine’s Furnace… and effects associated with sunspots.  Either way, total failure on the live blogging means I’ll offer up some of the scenes from yesterday’s tours for today’s post.

Eric Mink leading half (yes, that is just half of the tour group) assembled for the first afternoon tour – Catherine’s Furnace.

The Unfinished Railroad of Chancellorsville:

Frank O’Reilly speaking at the start of the Flank Attack Tour:

NPS staff and volunteers adjusted quickly to the large number of attendees:

The tour group snakes up a ridge line during the Flank Attack Tour:

At the Hawkins Farm, Frank O’Reilly noted the group was “regimental size”:

For the Flank Attack tour, we visited several locations that are on private property and others that are rarely visited. One was the location where Colonel Adolphus Buschbeck’s brigade attempted to hold against the Confederate onslaught:

An even larger crowd to observe the anniversary of the wounding of Stonewall Jackson:

I don’t have the photo equipment to capture good night scenes. And some thermal image would not be proper for a Civil War blog, right? But I did manage one fuzzy photo of the lanterns along the Mountain Road:

I’m back off to the fields this morning. More tweets and updates…