Here’s 3 cities every Civil War history buff must visit and where they should stay when they do.
1. See Where the Civil War Started In Charleston, South Carolina.
The Rebellious City Left Untouched By General Sherman.
It’s pretty surprising General Sherman didn’t burn Charleston on his famous March To The Sea. The holy city is, after all, where the first Confederate shots were fired at Fort Sumter, a Union fort during the Civil War.
Another Civil War fort worth visiting is Fort Moultrie. Originally a Union garrison, it was abandoned after the South Carolina Secession of 1860. Several months later, Confederate soldiers claimed it to use in the Civil War.
If you’d like to see an actual Civil War submarine, you must visit the H.L. Hunley! This is the Confederate submarine that sunk the USS Housatonic, a huge Union warship, on February 17, 1864.
Book A Stay At This Historical Bed and Breakfasts In Charleston, South Carolina.
2. Follow The Driving Tour Of The Union And Confederate Soldiers’ March To Antietam, Maryland.
End At The Spot Where The Civil War Battle Of Antietam Took Place.
In September 1862, Confederate and Union soldiers marched through Maryland to meet at the Battle of Antietam. Today, you can drive the routes the soldiers traveled starting where Confederate General Robert E. Lee crossed the Potomac River into Maryland at Whites Ford and then on to Frederick. Along the way, stop and explore the cavalry and infantry action that took place. Once you pass Frederick, you’ll continue through Middletown to South Mountain. The last stop of the driving tour is the famous Antietam Battlefield! The Antietam Battlefield was the site of the bloodiest single-day battle of the Civil War. On September 17, 1862, there were 12,400 Union and 10,320 Confederate casualties.
Four Score and Seven Years Ago Our Fathers Brought Forth On This Continent A New Nation…
Who can forget the Gettysburg Address? Delivered on November 19, 1863, this is the most famous speech ever given by President Abraham Lincoln. In under three minutes, he reiterated the importance of human equality set forth by the Declaration of Independence.
This speech took place four and a half months after the Union soldiers defeated the Confederates at the Battle of Gettysburg. Given at the Soldiers’ National Cemetary, this was Lincoln’s proclamation of the war as a new birth of freedom that would finally result in true equality for everyone!
Book a Stay At a Bed and Breakfast or Around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
- Inn at Herr Ridge in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Built in 1813, the main building of this historic bed and breakfast was the first Confederate hospital during the battle of Gettysburg. Today, you can see a panoramic view of the famous battlefields from its rooftop terrace!
- Hickory Bridge Farm in Orrtanna, Pennsylvania. Just 15 minutes away from Gettysburg, this historic farm dates back to the late 1600s when the King of England granted the land to Charles Carroll, the father of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. During the Civil War, two soldiers stayed in the mill just past the farm near the bridge until the war ended. It is rumored they escaped the war by fleeing up the hollow and into the mountains!
- Antrim 1844 Country House Hotel in Taneytown, Maryland. A short 22-minute drive to Gettysburg is another historic hotel worth visiting! Unfortunately, not much history was recorded until it was bought by George Washington Clabaugh in 1873. Clabaugh’s son, Harry Morris, was the Attorney General of Maryland in 1895-1898 and later appointed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by President Roosevelt in 1903!
