14 Featured Programs

We’re enthusiastic about all of next year’s programs, but those below we especially fancy.

· Gettysburg Winter Walk, February 27, 2010 – we always wanted to do something like this – and barring a complete blizzard, we will proceed next year, whether we get 30 participants or 3. Frank Stouter came up with the idea to walk along West Confederate Avenue, from the Lutheran Seminary to Steinwehr Avenue, examining the staging areas, troop and artillery placements, discussing the monuments, etc. Hot chocolate and coffee will be provided.

· Robert E. Lee in Virginia - in Infancy, in Youth and as a World-Renowned Soldier, April 10-11, 2010 – Steve Ritchie designed this tour and presented it under the aegis of Shenandoah University several years ago. To this new version, Robert K. Krick has added his indelible stamp. The tour will visit Stratford Hall, battlefields and sites in and around Fredericksburg, and sites in Alexandria and Arlington including Arlington National Cemetery and Arlington Hall.

· History Along the Outer Banks, April 19-24, 2010, beginning and ending in Raleigh, NC, led by Richard M. McMurry. This tour will visit many intriguing locales, and will cover the history of the Outer Banks and close environs including Indian settlements, European explorations, the American Revolution, Civil War,  lighthouses, pirates, ships and airplanes – as well as beaches, dunes, rivers and birds.

· Las Vegas World War II Conference, April 25-28, 2010 – at The Mirage, one of the pre-eminent hotels in this city - yet our room rate will be only $105 per night! We intend this to be an annual event, and it will feature top World War II historians soon TBA.

· Sicily and Italy: 1943-1944, June 16-25, 2010, beginning in Catania, Sicily and ending in Rome Italy. This is the tour we tried to present in June of 2008 but were stymied by strikes and fears of strikes in Italy. We’ve re-tooled the tour to make it strike free (rather than fly from Rome to Catania to Naples, we’ll start in Catania, cross the ferry from Messina and move up the boot by bus, eventually to Rome). Len Fullenkamp, the architect of the Army’s staff ride of Sicily, will lead us across Sicily from Catania to Messina, and Rob Dalessandro and others TBA will lead us at Salerno, Naples, Cassino, Monte Cassino, San Pietro, Anzio, Nettuno and Rome. And yes, we will spend considerable time at Pompeii and take an excellent day-long tour of Rome.

· Great Cities of American History: New York – June 25-27, 2010 – led by Barnet Schecter, the leading authority on both the American Revolution’s Battle of New York, and Civil War New York. On this tour, by walking and also by boat and bus, we will cover both of these themes. Read about Barnet at www.thebattlefornewyork.com

· The Sioux Indian Wars, 1865-1877, including a thorough examination of Little Bighorn and Custer’s Last Stand, July 18-26, 2010. This eight day adventure has been designed by and will be led by Neil C. Mangum, the leading authority on this subject. Neil has served as Superintendent of Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and also, for almost nine years, as its Chief Historian. You can read about Neil at friendslittlebighorn.com/neilmangum.htm

· Final Battle for the Old Northwest: The War of 1812 along Western lake Erie, August 4-7, 2010, led by Dale Phillips. One highlight of this tour will be our trip aboard ferry boat to South Bass Island in Lake Erie as we examine Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie.

· Forts and Guns, Part II, August 19-21, 2010, based in Wilmington, Delaware. Howard Strouse continues his acclaimed series with this detailed study and tour of the Dupont Powder Works and Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island to which we will travel by ferry.

· Normandy: The Great Invasion, September 8-16, 2010, beginning and ending in Paris, France and based for seven days in Bayeux. This will be a reprise of our greatest tour ever - in September, 2007. Much will follow on this soon.

· Lee and His Lieutenants at Gettysburg, September 24-26, 2010 – the return of the dynamic duo - Gary W. Gallagher and Robert K. Krick. Plenty of walking on this one!

· Drums Along the Mohawk, The Revolutionary War in Upstate New York, September 29-October 2 with Gary Ecelbager, Scott Patchan, Joseph Robertaccio and representatives of the Oneida Indian Nation. This is a new and improved version of a tour we presented several years ago. The charismatic, veteran team of Ecelbarger and Patchan will be supplemented by ace local expert, Joe Robertaccio. The tour will include an examination of the role played by the Oneida Indians in the Battle of Oriskany and representatives of the Oneida Nation will visit with us during the tour and present the Indians’ side of the story.

· Embedded with the Troops, James E. Taylor Sketches Jefferson and Berkeley Counties (West Virginia), October 13-16, based in Charles Town, WV, designed by Dana MacBean and led by Ed Bearss, Peggy MacBean and Dana MacBean, will use the original James E. Taylor Sketchbook as a visual and interpretive guide to sites in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties (West VA) associated with Sheridan’s campaign to rid the lower Shenandoah Valley of Jubal Early’s army in 1864. This unique tour will provide an in-depth examination of Civil War sites well off the beaten path and should be an artistic tour-de-force.

· Great Cities of American History: Savannah, November 17-20, 2010, led by quintessential Southerner, Richard M. McMurry. This end-of-year easy-going tour will explore the history, architecture, food and culture of the famed old city described by a leading character in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil as “Gone With the Wind on mescaline.”