PROGRAM REGISTRATION: After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar desk in the lobby to register with the program staff and pick up your arrival packet that will contain your name tag and most up-to-date schedule that we'll review during orientation this evening. Please let us know if you'll be arriving after 5:00pm.
Please be aware that program activities and scheduled times could change due to local circumstances. Although it rarely happens, classes and field trips may be slightly altered from this itinerary to accommodate instructors' schedules. In the event of any changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.Dinner: Dinner catered in the hotel dining area includes options for vegetarians.Evening: ORIENTATION: In our classroom. Greet the program staff and your fellow participants during an introductory get-acquainted session. We'll review the updated schedule, cover responsibilities, safety guidelines, and emergency procedures, and answer any questions, and have an informative overview of the program ahead. The remainder of the evening is yours to continue getting to know one another, walk around, or just relax.
America's Civil War lasted four years, from 1861-1865, with more than 600,000 casualties. This introductory program takes place during the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War and surveys its causes, highlights, and effects.Lodging: Crowne Plaza Richmond DowntownMeals Included: Dinner
As the Confederate seat of government and supply, Richmond was the focus of Union campaigns in 1862 and 1864-65. In response the Confederate government erected a large defensive system that encircled much of the city, especially to the east. A key to the defensive line on the James River was Drewry's Bluff. Seven miles south of the capital, Drewry's Bluff housed Ft. Darling, an integral part of Richmond's defense until the fall of Petersburg in April 1865. During our field trip with our instructor to Drewry's Bluff, part of the Richmond National Battlefield Park, we'll see why this area was so important, and learn about Union and Confederate navies and how the War was fought at sea.
We then visit the Richmond National Battlefield Park headquarters at Tredegar Iron Works. In addition to the ironworks and foundry that armed the Confederacy, there are numerous exhibits explaining the causes, course of conflict, and consequences of the Civil War.
Also at Tredegar is the American Civil War Center, the nation's first museum to interpret the Civil War from Union, Confederate, and African American perspectives, tracing all three stories and demonstrating how each group played a different role in the nation's central drama (see www.tredegar.org). Dinner: Catered dinner in the hotel dining area includes options for vegetarians.Evening: EVENING PROGRAM: Learn more about the causes and conflict as a guest speaker examines how problems came to a head with the bombardment of Ft. Sumter and the initial conflict.Lodging: Crowne Plaza Richmond DowntownMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
The State Capitol was designed by Thomas Jefferson and inspired by the Maison Caree in Nimes, France, and classical Roman temples. Our field trip will focus on the Capitol as the center of political power and as a ceremonial site for both Virginia and the Confederacy during the Civil War. Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederate States of America on Capitol Square. A lifesize bronze statue inside the Capitol chambers shows Robert E. Lee accepting command of Virginia's military forces. Prominent Confederate leaders are depicted by statues in the chambers and on the grounds.
The Museum of the Confederacy's rich collection of artifacts encompasses thousands of rare objects and artwork, and a wide range of military items and artifacts that include uniforms, weaponry, flags and rare documents. The adjacent two-story White House, which we'll also explore, was the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his family during the War. The Museum's historian will provide a lecture on conflict that also segues our study into "Consequences of the Civil War."Dinner: Walk one block to dinner at the Thai Room, which includes options for salads, Thai food choices, American food choices, and dessert. There are 4 steps down to the entry, and seating may be on the second floor (no elevator).Evening: Evening Program: Our speaker will discuss Civil War Medicine.Lodging: Crowne Plaza Richmond DowntownMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
To consider the human cost of war, we'll explore Chimborazo Medical Museum. It was known as "the hospital on the hill" and no other medical facility received more fame or notoriety than Chimborazo (see www.nps.gov/rich/historyculture/chimborazo). With its lead physician, Dr. James McCaw, Chimborazo operated like a small city with a team of surgeons, to more than 75,000 soldiers who passed through its doors. Part of the Richmond National Battlefield Park, Chimborazo today is a fascinating museum that translates the history of medicine and medical practice during the Civil War.
Next we'll go to the Glendale Visitor Center, in east Richmond near the battlefields of Fraysers Farm and Malvern Hill, the final major engagements of the 1862 Seven Days Battle. Malvern Hill is considered the best preserved battlefield in central Virginia. Dinner: Walk one block to dinner at the Thai Room, which includes options for salads, Thai food choices, American food choices, and dessert. There are 4 steps down to the entry, and seating may be on the second floor (no elevator).Evening: Evening entertainment: "Musical Time Travel: Pre-Civil War and Civil War Music and Instruments"Lodging: Crowne Plaza Richmond DowntownMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner