· Bus leaves from Ramada Plaza at 7:30 a.m.

· Lunch included

· Return by 6 p.m.

· Dinner on your own

Alexandria to Antietam: Exploring McClellan’s Route in the 1862 Maryland Campaign – Steve Recker. 

Based on extensive original research, this tour will visit little known sites along the routes of “Lil Mac” and his army from when the general stepped off  the boat at Alexandria through his regaining of command in Washington and his pursuit of Lee into Western Maryland.

Sites visited include: 

· Uptons Hill near Falls Church - "the key to the Washington defenses" where the epic scene of McClellan retaking command from General Pope took place.

·  Washington, D.C. where he met Lincoln & Halleck.

· Headquarters site in Rockville – from here the general launched his armies pursuit of Lee.

· Frederick – Special Order 191 discovery site.

· Marameade – take this rare opportunity to visit the house where McClellan launched the Battle of South Mountain.

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation’s Civil War Roundtable meets every other month, on the second Thursday of the month, at the Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum in Winchester (20 N. Loudoun St.).

Next meeting:

Thursday, February 7, 2019, at 7pm. Guest speaker: Author Stephen Recker. Stephen’s topic will be “Rare Images of Antietam.”

Membership is the roundtable is open to everyone. To be added to the e-mail list for the group, click the button below or call the SVBF at 540-740-4545. For more information, call 540-740-4545 or email info@svbf.net.

About the Presentation:

Soon after Alexander Gardner’s photographic wagons left the blood-strewn Antietam Battlefield, local photographers began taking images on the field. While much has been written about Gardner’s ‘death studies,’ little is known about these other early images. Our speaker, Stephen Recker, has found over 600 of them, many unknown and unseen, including some exciting recent finds, and will use them to show how the battle happened and how the battlefield has changed over the years. In his talk, Recker will also discuss his efforts to collect, catalog, and interpret photographs of the Maryland Campaign of 1862 sites in his book Rare Images of Antietam and the Photographers Who Took Them.

About the Speaker:

Stephen Recker is a collector of rare Antietam photographs and relics. Items from his collection can be seen on battlefield waysides, in the newly renovated museum at Antietam National Battlefield, as well as in his book Rare Images of Antietam, and the Photographers Who Took Them. Recker is a member of Antietam Battlefield Guides, a service he founded in partnership with WMIA, the non-profit at Antietam National Battlefield. He produced Virtual Gettysburg, a critically acclaimed interactive Civil War battlefield tour; Antietam Artifacts, a CD-ROM with images of rare postcards from the Maryland Campaign of 1862; and www.virtualantietam.com, and recently edited and published Shadowing Grant: Reminiscences of the United States Hospital Transport Services in the Civil War 1864-65. He began his professional career as a lead guitarist, recording and touring with Al Stewart, the Spencer Davis Group, Mary Wells, and Tommy Chong, and as technician for Ringo Starr, Kiss, Diana Ross, and Madonna. In multimedia, he produced for Apple Computer, Adobe, and the Smithsonian, and was named a “Top 100 Producer” by AV Multimedia Producer Magazine. He is currently a Senior Associate – Drupal Developer at ICF International in Fairfax, Virginia, where he has worked on web sites for the White House (ONDCP), The Department of Defense (ATF), and others. Recker is a graduate of Boston’s Berklee College of Music and lives with his family in Maryland.

Details to come.

Tour of battlefields and historic sites related to Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the north.  Guides:  Stephen Recker and Ted Alexander.  Lunch and refreshments included.

From their site:

During the Civil War, the Confederacy used the Shenandoah Valley as a highway into the soft underbelly of the North. From Stonewall Jackson’s early threats, to Robert E. Lee’s major invasions that were turned back at Antietam and Gettysburg, and Jubal Early’s advance to the gates of Washington, southerners used the Valley’s corridor – and the protection of the mountain ridges – to strike north in bold bids to change the military and political balance of the war.

From April 25-28, 2018, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation will look back at those dramatic events and the colorful personalities who took part with its National Conference, “Avenue of Invasion.” Headquartered at the Holiday Inn Martinsburg, the conference will include tours, talks, and special events featuring the finest historians in the nation.

Guides and speakers will include Brian Baracz, Ed Bearss, Gary Ecelbarger, Dennis Frye, Troy Harman, John Hoptak, Marc Leepson, Scott Mingus, Craig Morin, Jonathan A. Noyalas, Scott Patchan, Stephen Recker, and Jeffry D. Wert.

After serving at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville with the 130th Pennsylvania, Simon Whistler was commissioned Acting Assistant Surgeon to serve on the hospital ship Connecticut. Whistler kept a detailed diary of his service, which will be examined.

Soon after Alexander Gardner’s photographic wagons left the blood-strewn Antietam Battlefield, local photographers began taking images on the field. While much has been written about Gardner’s ‘death studies,’ little is known about these other early images. Our speaker, Stephen Recker, has found over 600 of them, many unknown and unseen, and will use them to show how the battle happened and how the battlefield has changed over the years. In his talk, Recker will also discuss his efforts to collect, catalog, and interpret photographs of the Maryland Campaign of 1862 sites in his book "Rare Images of Antietam and the Photographers Who Took Them.

This will be my first talk about my new book, Shadowing Grant.

5:30pm - Cash bar

6:00pm - Dinner

I will be signing books at Antietam National Battlefield on anniversary weekend. There will also be an exciting demonstration of how Alexander gardner took his wet-plate photos at 10am and 2:30pm.

Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history. Over 5000 lost their lives on September 17, 1862.

Join three of our nation’s foremost Antietam historians: Antietam National Battlefield Chief Historian Ted Alexander, Antietam historian & author Tom Clemens, and historian and author Stephen Recker, founder of the Antietam guide service as we explore the battle of Antietam. This trio of historians will uniquely tell the story of the battle as we visit not only well known battlefield locations but also sites seldom seen associated with the fiercest day of our history. This will prove to be a remarkable event.

The schedule for 2014 is now available for June 20-22, 2014.

For information: email shencivilwar@gmail.com. Contact: Conference Services at James Madison University (540) 568-8043

Civil War Authors Meet & Greet Booksigning at the Fletcher Library at opening of ALA Lincoln: The Constitution and Civil War Traveling Exhibit.

I am speaking twice for an hour but am not sure of the times.

Time approximate