Overview
 In early May of 1864, Major General William T. Sherman’s Union Army numbering nearly 65,000 troops marched into northwest Georgia with orders to “get into the interior of the enemy’s country... inflicting all the damage you can....” Awaiting them on Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia’s Gibraltar, was Joseph E. Johnston’s force of 50,000 Confederates.
A deadly eight-month dance of maneuvers and clashes, thrusts and counterthrusts, battles and sieges would carry the relentless Sherman through Atlanta. He would then continue deep into Georgia to Savannah where at Yuletide he would offer that port city as a Christmas gift to President Lincoln.
This tour will be led by nationally acclaimed Civil War historian and tour guide Ed Bearss, who will take you on Sherman’s bloody trail through Atlanta, all the way to the beaches of the Atlantic. Along the route you will relive the action and events at seldom-visited sites. Some of these remain today as they existed in 1864, while others have been nearly buried by modern development. You will see the true story of Sherman’s famous Atlanta campaign and March to the Sea unfold as never before in this week-long, one-of-a-kind, step-by-step portrayal of the final fatal thrust into the heart of the Confederacy by the man who came to personify total war. |
Day by Day
Day 1, Wednesday, October 22 Gather at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia, for a welcome briefing and dinner with Historian Guide Ed Bearss and HistoryAmerica.
Day 2, Thursday, October 23 Follow the opening movements of Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign at Ringgold, Tunnel Hill, Rocky Face Ridge and Dug Gap, where little has changed since 1864. You also will visit Resaca and Cassville where the bloody cycle of union attack and Confederate fallback began.
Day 3, Friday, October 24 Today you will survey the strong natural fortress of Allatoona Pass, visit one of the Civil War’s best preserved battlefields at Kennesaw Mountain, and view Pickett’s Mill where Pat Cleburne’s elite division “slaughtered them with deliberate aim.”
Day 4, Saturday, October 25 In the city of Atlanta, you will walk the sites important to the siege and occupation of the city, including Grant Park where you will visit the remains of Fort Walker and the epic Atlanta Cyclorama.
Day 5, Sunday, October 26 Now you will leave Atlanta to follow Sherman’s route toward the sea, stopping at Griswoldsville and overnighting in Milledgeville, the 1844 Georgia state capital.
Day 6, Monday, October 27 Today you travel from Milledgeville to the gates of Savannah, the final leg of Sherman’s march. En route you will pass through Louisville and see Ebenezer Church where the Federals stranded nearly 2,000 slaves.
Day 7, Tuesday, October 28 You will visit three historic forts today: Jackson, built in the early 19th century, Pulaski on Cockspur Island, and McAllister, which withstood nearly two years of bombardment before being overrun in 1864.
Day 8, Wednesday, October 29 On December 21, 1864, Savannah fell. You will visit significant sites here and in Beaufort, South Carolina, where the Union troops were rested and refitted during the siege. You also will be introduced to the rich culture and heritage of the Civil War South.
Day 9, Thursday, October 30 Depart Savannah at your leisure or ride the bus back to Atlanta. Plan flights from Atlanta after 3 p.m. |
Edwin C. Bearss