I hope to do a once in a lifetime trip to see some civil war...

I hope to do a once in a lifetime trip to see some civil war sites. I'm comming from Ireland and hope to spend a couple of weeks in October touring between richmond and gettysburg - will fly into Washington. Any advice/tips on driving routes, sites not to be missed, information sources, etc.

Thank You

Tom Mc

Depends on the time you have to visit. Lots of battle sites in the area you've mentioned. I'd say #1 is Antietam & Gettysburg. You can view pics I posted after a recent trip to Antietam. How mmuch time do you have?

Thanks Mike for your reply.

I have 2 maybe 3 weeks. Initial idea was to pick up a car at the airport and go south via Manassas/Fredericksburg and on to Richmond/Appomattox? Then back up north to Gettysburg. Will take in Harpers Ferry and Antietam on way to Gettysburg. But is there much to see on route north before Harpers Ferry? Will spend the final few days in Washington - Will be travelling with my dearly beloved so I'll have to include shopping opportunities.

Tom Mc

For Antietam plan for one day, and @ least 2 days for Gettysburg. The visitors center @ Gettysburg is awesome, and I could walk around in there for a couple hours alone. Many small shops in downtown Gettysburg. 1st Manassas & 2nd Manassas are nearly on the same ground so thats a one day trip. Fredericksburg is nice but Marye's Heights was developed as the town grew, so only the stonewall & historical markers. However, nearby is the bloody Spotsylvania battlefield where remains of old earthworks can be seen at the famous "Mule Shoe Salient". Also Chancellorsville & The Wilderness are very close as well. Further south, I hear Petersburgh is a great trip & the "Crater" can clearly be seen. From DC its about an hour or more drive north to Gettysburg (more with heavy traffic) and about 30 to 40 minutes south to Manassas, again depending on traffic. Shopping wont be hard to find around Washington. Hope you have a great time Tom!

Check out the web site for the national Park Service at www.nps.gov this site has lots of info on the battlefields & may help with planning your trip. Other sites to visit in the area~Mount Vernon(George Washingtons home) plantation.~ Fords Theater were Lincoln was assassinated (They still show plays there).~ A visit to the Smithsonian is awesome.~ Arlington national cemetery, is just across the Potomac River from DC. Was Robert E. Lee home prior to the Civil War & is now our most sacried national cemetery. John F. Kennedy is buried there. Tomb of the unknown soldier, etc. FYI~(some info. you may already know) Thousands of Irish fought on both sides during the CW. Those in the famed Irish Brigade are only a small fraction of the total. The hard fighting Lousiana Tigers were composed of Irish dock workers from New Orleans, for example. Happy planning Tom, & let me know if I can be of more assistance

I clicked on your link Mike and it brought up"Northbridge Public Schools".
OOPS.

LMAO! Thanks blueshawk, try it again buddy its .gov not .org lol~Northbridge Public Schools was way off!!! I fixed it and its hitting the park service now www.nps.gov

Blueshawk -- you said you might look into renting a small motor home. If you go that route, here's a link to Maryland's state parks that have camping

http://reservations.dnr.state.md.us/welcome.do? topTabIndex=ReservationHome This is the route I'm looking into.

Thanks for the info.
Lots to look into between now and then on this trip Mike keeps making more necessary with his pictures.

LOL -- yeah, I can blame him if the wife gets worked up

BTW, I'll keep you posted on anything new I come across while looking into this.

Thanks Mike for input. Plan is almost finalised now. Dulles to Manassas - Fredericksburg incl Wilderness etc - Richmond/Petersburgh - Appomattox - up Shanendoah - Harpers ferry - Antietam - Gettysburg and finally Washington. 17 days starting 24th Sept. Will let you know how I get on.

"Go raibh meile Maith agut" (Thanks in Irish)

Tom Mc

Tom, I'm envious of that trip myself! I've never seen Petersburg or Appomattox.... I'd also enjoy seeing the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond (That day will come). As for the other sites mentioned, I could spend countless hours walking & exploring those fields.
My advice for you now is that you can't take enough photos!
With soooo much to see, there's no way to remember it all otherwise.
God bless & have a great time

Oh and... "Failte" (I know thats not quite right)

Nice! Doing the grand tour, that should be great!
Enjoy!