A BGES Civil War Field University Program: The Maryland Campaign Part 1: Sealed With Their Lives: Defending South Mountain After driving two Union armies out of Virginia, General Robert E. Lee entered Maryland with the intention of bringing the war to the north and perhaps proving that the Confederacy was viable. This could have resulted in foreign intervention and ultimately, Confederate independence. The move was controversial and many of Lee s soldiers failed to cross the Potomac believing that they had joined to defend their homes rather than be invaders. It is my contention that this is a post-war myth to rationalize CS straggling. Lee was disappointed in the poor reception received in Maryland and he concluded to enter Pennsylvania, or at least threaten to do so by moving to Hagerstown. First he had to eliminate a Union garrison at Harper s Ferry that would threaten his supply lines. Dispatching Stonewall Jackson to neutralize the Union garrison there, General Daniel Harvey Hill was given the task of covering the South Mountain passes. Little did Lee know that a copy of his detailed instructions have been misplaced and delivered to Union General George McClellan. This three part series led by Tom Clemens and Scott Hartwig will examine what many have called the true High Water Mark of the Confederacy. Friday, September 22, 2017 6:00 PM Check in at headquarters hotel for meet, greet and to pick up your reading books. An opening lecture will discuss the state of the Union War effort in the late summer of 1862 and the strategic options facing the Confederacy in the wake of the successes at Manassas in late August. Enjoy a pizza party with beverages and snacks during a meet and greet. Saturday, September 23, 2017 Our 8:00 start will go to the camps of Robert E. Lee on the banks of the Monocacy River to discuss the early evolution of the campaign from September 10th-13th. We will discuss Lee s Special Orders #191 and the Confederates move to implement them. We will then move with the Federal army along the National Road to Turner s Gap. Here we will look at the Confederate defenses and walk the Appalachian Trail following the route of Sam Garland as he moved to shore up the Confederate lines at Fox s Gap. The balance of the morning will cover the fighting at Fox s Gap. After lunch we will return to cover the 1st Corps attack. Most of this land is very precipitous and private whose land owners are not receptive to heritage tourism, so after the discussion we will move to Washington Monument State Park to discuss the situation for DH Hill and James
Longstreet on the morning of September 15th. We will then return to the hotel. This evening we will have a dinner and a Q&A session with the historians. Lunch and dinner included. Sunday, September 24, 2017 This morning we will start at 8:30 and head to Crampton s Gap. This is really the key to understanding the fighting at South Mountain. While Jackson had distributed his force into three divisions two were relatively secure in their work. However, for Lafayette McLaws whose Division had previously passed through Brownsville Gap and the Pleasant Valley his rear was dangerously exposed on Maryland Heights. We will walk the fighting at Crampton s Gap seeing the famous War Correspondent s Monument and then examine how the Confederate rear guard fended off Union Corps Commander William Franklin s anemic efforts to relieve the Harper s Ferry garrison. We will look at the Confederate defenses across Pleasant Valley and perhaps take a quick look at Harper s Ferry although a more detailed look at the efforts there will take place in part 2 of the campaign in 2018. Lunch included. About the Faculty: Tom Clemens has been studying the Maryland Campaign for nearly 30 years and edited and annotated the 1,800 page manuscript of the campaign written by the official historian: Ezra Carman. Volumes I & II were published in 2010 and 2012, Volume III has just been released completing the trilogy. He earned his doctoral degree at George Mason University where he studied and was advised by the legendary historian Joseph Harsh. His monograph on General Mansfield was published in Corps Commanders in Blue, and he has authored numerous articles and appeared in several documentary films. Recently Clemens proved that McClellan s headquarters was never at the Pry House. He is also the long standing President of the highly respected Save Historic Antietam Foundation. Scott Hartwig retired in 2014 after a 34-year career in the National Park Service. He was fundamental in the growth of Gettysburg s on-site interpretation and living history programming and the design of all aspects of the new Gettysburg museum/visitor center. He was co-writer for the Telly Award winning park educational broadcasts Gettysburg: The Soldiers Battle & Gettysburg: The Face of Battle. He has authored numerous articles, essays and books on Civil War subjects, and has appeared on the History Channel, Discovery Channel and Pennsylvania Cable Network. He is the author of To Antietam Creek: The Maryland Campaign from September 3 to September 16, and is currently working on the second volume, tentatively titled, I Dread The Thought of the Place: The Battle of Antietam, which covers the battle and end of the Maryland Campaign. Hotel Information:
This program will be based in Frederick, Maryland. The hotel will be posted on this site. The headquarters hotel room block will likely be in the $125 a night range and it will be close to the interstate. Transportation: The servicing airports are Washington Dulles [IAD], Washington-Baltimore International (BWI) or Washington National (DCA). Traffic is awful around Washington and on I-95. I strongly recommend that you time your travel to arrive before 3:00 PM. Traffic becomes a problem around 3 PM and remains so until after 7 PM. If you can avoid DC all together you are well advised. If you need a rental car, perhaps you can find a dirt cheap rental car on www.priceline.com. Recommended Reading: You will be provided with a reading book and maps upon arrival. We recommend the following books to enhance your preparation for this tour. Amazon.com has a program to support non profits IF YOU SIGN UP to support Blue and Gray Education Society EIN 54-1720582 at http://smile.amazon.com/. When you sign up there rather than the normal Amazon site one half of one percent of your purchase price is provided to BGES as a donation from Amazon. This will apply not only on this purchase but others you may make at other times. David S. Hartwig: To Antietam Creek, The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 Ezra A. Carmen & Thomas Clemens: The Maryland Campaign of 1862, Volume 1 : South Mountain Joseph L. Harsh, Taken at the Flood, Robert E. Lee and Confederate Strategy in the Maryland Campaign
Registration Form The 1862 Maryland Campaign Part 1: Sealed with their Lives: South Mountain A BGES Civil War Field University Program Presented by Thomas Clemens and Scott Hartwig September 22-24, 2017 from Frederick, Maryland Name: Address: City/State/Zip: Phone: Email: Registration includes two lunches, welcoming reception, one dinner, a reading book with maps, the academic program, support of two professional historians, tour director and transportation appropriate to the registration which will be limited to three vans: 29 people. We will also provide snacks, bottled water and a limited selection of sodas. Registration $500 Current BGES member $450 Teacher/full time student with identification $425 I am not a member but would like to join so that I can get the member s rate or I am a member who is past due to renew. Please accept my donation of $ (must be $75 or more which is tax deductible) Send me the books indicated, I have enclosed $ I am sending a deposit of $250 plus full payment for any books and or memberships. Total enclosed is $ I will pay the balance due before the event.
Check enclosed Charge my (circle one) MC VISA AMEXP Discover $ # Exp: CVV: Signature: Mail to BGES Seminars, PO Box 1176, Chatham, VA 24531 or fax credit cards to 434-432-0596