The prospects for the Confederacy
in early 1862 appeared to be bleak. Confederate forces were forced to withdraw
from much of Tennessee after the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862.
A Federal army of 100,000 under General George B. McClellan was poised
to attack Richmond
Confederate hopes rested on
General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, who with a reinforced strength of 17,000
men, was unleashed by General Robert E. Lee in the Shenandoah Valley.
Under his strategy, “always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy,”
Jackson conducted a brilliant campaign, defeating a combined force of 33,000
Federals at McDowell, Front Royal, Winchester, Cross Keys, and Port Republic.
In September 1862, General Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia on his first invasion of the North. The Battle of Antietam, (Sharpsburg) in Maryland resulted in the bloodiest day of the war, as both armies suffered a total of 26,000 casualties. Although the battle was not a tactical victory for the North, it did give President Lincoln the opportunity to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
Participants joined the staff of the Civil War Institute and outstanding scholars of the battles of 1862 for a memorable program. It was held at the campus of James Madison University in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Participants follow the path of “Stonewall” Jackson as he mystified his opponents and walked the grounds of the Peninsula campaign around Richmond and the fields of the bitter struggle at Antietam.
12:00-1:00 Check In at Ashby Hall
1:00-1:15 Welcome and Orientation to the Institute - Staff
1:30-2:30 "1862 Northern War Aims" - Mr. Jeffrey Mellott
2:30-3:30 "Northern Reaction to Emancipation" - Ben F. Fordney
3:30-4:30 Book Signing at the JMU Book Store
5:00-6:00 Personal time.
7:00-8:00 Breakfast
8:15
Depart –Tour of the battlefields of Chestnut Ridge, Cross Keys, and Port
Republic
John
L. Heatwole
12:00-12:45 Lunch provided by the Port Republic Preservation Society in the village of Port Republic
TBA Buffet dinner and swim at the home of Ben and Betty Anne Fordney
7:00-8:00 Breakfast at the Colonial Inn
8:15 Tour tracing General "Stonewall" Jackson's footsteps, April 1862, in the Luray Valley:
Conrad's Store(Elkton), Front Royal and Winchester - Gary Ecelbarger
12:00-1:00 Lunch at Front Royal
TBA Dinner at Golden Corral, Harrisonburg
7:00-8:00 Breakfast
8:15 Bus travel toRichmond. Tour of Gainses' Mill, Glendale (Frayser's Farm) Malvern Hill
Battlefields - Robert E. L. Krick
12:00-1:00 Box lunch
TBA Dinner in vicinity of Richmond and Return to Harrisonburg
7:00-8:00 Breakfast
9:00-11:30 Bus travel to Antietam Battlefield "Sharpsburg Through the Eyes of Robert E. Lee"
Dr. Joseph L. Harsh
12:00-1:30 Box Lunch
4:00 Return to Harrisonburg
7:30-9:00 Farewell Dinner at JMU