 Civil War on the Gulf Coast: Time of Trial on Land and Sea
The Gulf Coast was the venue in which two of the Civil War’s most dramatic sea battles were fought – below New Orleans and on Mobile Bay. The closing of those two ports by Union Flag Officer David Farragut was a landmark in world naval history and constituted naval drama at its most intense. Conquered in April 1862, New Orleans, at the mouth of the Mississippi, was to become the southernmost staging area for the ensuing struggle to control that most strategic of rivers. It was in the city of Mobile itself, a holdout Confederate bastion, where the last major land battle of the Civil War was fought.
This tour, led by the very learned historian Edwin C. Bearss, will bring all of the drama on land and sea back to life. Through his eyes you will be with Farragut as he steams his fleet past the forts guarding New Orleans and Mobile Bay; you will be there as he hangs from the shrouds of his flagship and shouts, “Damn the torpedoes!...Full speed!”
You will relive the dramatic moments in Montgomery when the Confederacy was born and its newly appointed president, Jefferson Davis, was inaugurated. You will revisit the capture of Selma, Alabama, at war’s end and stop in Columbus, Georgia, on the way to wrapping up this five-star tour at the notorious Confederate prison in Andersonville.
For high drama in a beautiful southern setting, this tour is hard to match.
TOUR INCLUDES
8 DAYS / 7 NIGHTS
- Historian Guide: Edwin C. Bearss
- Services of a professional tour director
- Deluxe motorcoach transportation
- All admissions to included features
- Seven nights hotel accommodations
- Seven breakfasts, three lunches, and four dinners
- Welcome briefing
- All taxes, baggage handling, & gratuities on included features
- Suggested reading list
COST:
Per person double occupancy - $3,145
Per person single occupancy - $3,695
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ITINERARY
Monday, May 18
Gathering day at the New Orleans Bienville House in the French Quarter for a welcome briefing and dinner hosted by Ed Bearss and HistoryAmerica TOURS.
Tuesday, May 19
Travel to Fort Jackson, the Gibraltar protecting New Orleans near the mouth of the Mississippi, to revisit Farragut’s hell-fire storming and capture of the “Crescent City.” You will also stop at the Confederate Museum and the home of General Pierre G.T. Beauregard, Louisiana’s most famous Civil War commander.
Wednesday, May 20
Step back in time to visit the Chalmette Battlefield, where in 1815, General Andrew Jackson defeated the British army intent on capturing New Orleans — a stunning victory that closed the War of 1812. From there you travel to Mobile to visit Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan to relive the naval battle in Mobile Bay. You spend tonight in Mobile.
Thursday, May 21
Visit the last major land battle of the Civil War, the capture of Mobile itself. From there travel to Pensacola to tour Forts Pickens and Barrancas. End the day at the Civil War Soldiers Museum in Pensacola before returning to Mobile.
Friday, May 22
Today you visit Selma, a leading Confederate industrial center, supply depot, arsenal, and ship building yard. Bearss will tell you of its capture in April of 1865 and speak of other events that have made Selma one of the most fascinating and historic of southern cities.
Saturday, May 23
You travel to Montgomery, the first capital of the Confederacy, where its government was shaped and set in motion. Tour the First White House of the Confederacy and “be there” where Jefferson Davis was inaugurated on the steps of the capitol. End the day in Columbus, Georgia.
Sunday, May 24
On this final day you will first visit the Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus. Not to neglect the war on land, you will also visit the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning and the Prisoner of War Museum and National Cemetery at Andersonville. Your farewell dinner will be in Macon, where you spend the night.
Monday, May 25
Following breakfast depart for Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (arriving by 9 a.m.) and then return to New Orleans (arriving at approximately 6 p.m.).
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