Spring Engagement

 CHANCELLORSVILLE  BATTLEFIELD 

HARRISBURG CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE

HERSHEY CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE

Field Trip Information

Here in the tangled thickets of the Wilderness, near a roadside inn called Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee achieved his greatest victory of the Civil War.  Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia.  For nearly a week, his 60,000-man army battled a force more than twice its size across miles of wooded terrain.  The most decisive fighting took place on the morning of May 3 along the Orange Plank Road, now VA Route 3. “Stonewall”Jackson had been wounded May 2, following a successful attack on the Union army’s right flank.  His replacement, 30-year old J.E.B. Stuart, resumed the offensive, launching a series of relentless assaults against fortified Union positions.  South of the highway, Stuart’s men attacked Fairview, an elevated clearing defended by 40 Union cannon.  Confederate troops, north of the road supported this effort, aiming for the open ground around Chancellorsville itself.
 
In five hours of fierce combat, more than 17,000 soldiers were casualties.  Fairview fell about 10 AM and soon thereafter the victorious Southerners captured Chancellorsville as well.  Union commander Joseph Hooker, himself wounded by Confederate artillery, ordered a retreat.  His army fell back about a mile to a strong position protecting its escape route across the Rappahannock River.  Hooker quietly occupied this fortified position for more than 2 days, allowing Lee to detach a significant portion of his army to meet a new Union threat at Salem Church, 7 miles to the east.  Lee reunited his forces at Chancellorsville on May 5.  He moved forward to attack Hooker the next day, but his troops found only empty trenches.  The Union army had crossed the river during the night, ending the campaign.  In June, Lee went of the offensive northward to Pennsylvania – to a place called Gettysburg.

Our historian/guide will be Frank A. O'Reilly. My latest book, The Fredericksburg Campaign: Winter War on the Rappahannock, received a 2003 nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in Letters.  It was released by LSU Press in December, 2002 and has won the 2002 Capital District Book Award; the 2003 James I. Robertson, Jr., Book Award; the 2004 Daniel Laney Book Award; and the 2004 Richard Barksdale Harwell Book Award.

I received both my BA & MA in American History with a concentration on Early American Military History and Civil War Studies.  I did my undergrad work at Washington & Lee University before joining the National Park Service at the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park.  I worked briefly at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and then returned to Fredericksburg in 1990 as the permanent historian for the  “Stonewall” Jackson Shrine.

I have also served as an historical consultant for the City of Fredericksburg.I have written numerous articles on the Civil War & Mexican War, and introductions to several book, including Phil Sheridan’s memoirs, William McCarter’s My Life in the Irish Brigade, and the History of the 1^st Massachusetts Cavalry.

I released a book on the Fredericksburg Campaign titled, Stonewall Jackson at Fredericksburg, in 1993.  I have appeared in a large number of video documentaries, and have lectured extensively around the world.  Recently, I’ve made presentations Oxford in Great Britain, on the Bicentennial of Robert E. Lee’s birth; and the Sesquicentennial of the beginning of the war in 1861.  “I’m currently researching copy on the Battle of Malvern Hill & the Seven Days’ Campaign.”

The price for this field trip is $75.  This includes round-trip deluxe bus transportation from Hummelstown, Lower Dauphin High School, and the Camp Hill Radisson Hotel & Convention Center, driver tip, guide & entrance fees, and full box lunch. Dinner, on our way home, will be on-your-own at a variety of restaurants.
 

Registration Information

To register, please complete the form below and mail it to Sheldon Munn, Harrisburg CWRT Field Trip, 1483 Maplewood Drive, New Cumberland, PA 17070.  Your $25 deposit will hold your seat with balance due no later than April 15, 2013. Cancellations received before April 15, 2013 will receive a full refund.  Cancellations received after April 15, 2013 will receive a refund ONLY if the open seat has been filled by another person.  Make your check payable to Harrisburg CWRT.

Questions & information should be addressed to Sheldon Munn at 717-512-1989 - or - email at   diamunns@aol.com.

Spring Registration Form and Trip Information