Abraham
Lincoln was born to illiteracy and poverty and had almost no formal education.
His mother died when he was nine and he lived in his father’s house until he
was twenty-two. He suffered failure after failure in business and romance, and
throughout his life suffered from acute depression, a condition referred to at
the time as melancholia. In the political arena his only national
experience was a single term in the House of Representatives. In 1849 Lincoln experienced a mid-life crisis during which he withdrew almost entirely from
politics, the one pursuit he truly loved. In 1850 it seemed that his political
career was over, and that the remainder of his life would be spent practicing
law and attempting to hold together the highly volatile relationship with his
wife.
In 1854, Abraham Lincoln
returned to the political arena. Over the next eleven years, he would rewrite
the history of the nation and become, arguably, the most important person of
the nineteenth century. As President of the United States, Lincoln would
preserve democracy in the western world, break the chains of bondage of four
million human beings born into slavery, and help re-define the meaning of
liberty and equality in America. Today, he is widely considered to be our
greatest president.
And
yet his role as commander in chief of the American military effort during the
Civil War has often been ignored. Historians have written extensively of his
tumultuous relationships with Generals McClellan, Fremont and Meade. But they
have often glossed over the fact that it was Lincoln who oversaw the victorious
war effort, giving officers such as Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and
David Farragut the authority and tether they needed to win the war.
Our program will focus on Lincoln as commander in chief during the greatest military crisis in American history. We
will visit sites central to the war, and to the political events that changed
the face of the United States. After an overview on Thursday evening, we’ll
begin our tour on Friday in Washington and spend the morning visiting the Washington
Navy Yard, where Lincoln would often visit its commander and his personal
friend, John Dahlgren. After lunch at the Navy Yard, we’ll visit the Lincoln
Cottage at the Old Soldiers’ Home where Lincoln penned the preliminary
draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. Afterwards, we’ll visit Fort Stevens, where Lincoln became the only incumbent president ever
to come under enemy fire.
On Saturday morning, we’ll drive first to the Ball’s Bluff battlefield,
the site of an early-War Confederate victory and Union fiasco fought on
elevated terrain along the Upper Potomac River near Leesburg. Here, a
badly coordinated attempt by Union forces under Brig. Gen. Charles P. Stone to
cross the Potomac at Harrison’s Island and capture Leesburg was thwarted by a
timely Confederate counterattack that drove them over the bluff and into the
river. Among the dead was Col. Edward D. Baker, a sitting U. S, Senator
and close friend of Abraham Lincoln. This Union rout had severe political
ramifications in Washington and led to the establishment of the Congressional
Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War.
From
there we will head to Bolivar Heights at Harpers Ferry and
in that evocative setting, evaluate Lincoln’s performance as commander-in-chief
in regard to the Valley Campaign of 1862. After lunch at the storied Hilltop
House which sits high above the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, we’ll head to the nearby Antietam battlefield and visit sites that Lincoln saw when he toured the battlefield several days after the battle. We’ll discuss
this bloodiest single day of combat and how its outcome led to Lincoln’s issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.
During
our bus rides into and out of Washington on Friday, and at other times as we
commute from site to site, our insightful tour leader will present richly
detailed background material about Lincoln as he evolved into an increasingly more
effective commander-in-chief, promoted and removed generals, involved himself
in strategic military planning, and grappled with the tremendous burdens of
preserving the Union during the greatest crisis in American history.
Join us for this one of a kind tour of Abraham Lincoln,
Commander-in-Chief!
About Our Tour
Leader
Gary
Ecelbarger is the author of several
books including “We are in for it”: The First Battle of Kernstown, March 23,
1862; Frederick W. Lander: The Great Natural American Soldier; Black
Jack Logan: An Extraordinary Life in Peace and War; and Three Days in
the Shenandoah: Stonewall Jackson at Front Royal and Winchester. His latest
book, ‘The Great Comeback: How Abraham Lincoln Beat the Odds to Win the
Republican Nomination, will be available in the fall of 2008.
Program Schedule
Thursday, July 17
8:00 PM-9:00 PM Overview
– Holiday Inn Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland
Friday, July 18
8:00
AM-5:30 PM Tour Washington Navy Yard, lunch at Washington Navy
Yard,
visit Lincoln
Cottage & Fort Stevens
Saturday, July 19
8:00 AM-5:00 PM Tour Ball’s Bluff battlefield, Bolivar Heights,
lunch at Hilltop House, tour Antietam
Registration Fees (Lodging not Included): $ 325 Under Age 23: $ 95
You can reserve a space on this tour
by making a $50 Deposit per Person.
If You Must Cancel we will refund 100% of your
fees paid. However, to receive a 100% refund, you must allow 30 days from the date of our receipt of your notice of cancellation
What is Included in your Registration Fee:
· the services of an expert
historian chosen for his knowledge and experience
· transportation to sites as
indicated
· Friday & Saturday lunches
· refreshments and snacks during the
tour
· information package
Base
Location and Lodging: We will be
based at the full service Holiday Inn Fort Detrick, 999 W. Patrick
Street (Route 15 & Route 40), Frederick, MD 21702 where we have reserved a
block of sleeping rooms at the special nightly rate of $84.00 + tax. To reserve as room under our block, call 301-662-5141 and identify yourself as a registrant of the Civil War Education
Association group. The hotel’s website is www.holidayinnfrederick.com.
