The
Battles of Iuka, Corinth, and Davis’ Bridge
Thursday, September 16th, 2004
Check
into your hotel and register from 5-6 PM.
A pizza party reception with hors de oeuvres at 6 P.M. At 6:30 P.M., Len Riedel will lecture on The Confederate Offensives of 1862—the True
High Water Mark. At 7:30 P.M. Parker Hills will lecture on Corinth 1862—A Very Busy Place.
8:30
A.M. We will board our bus and open our
study of the Battle of Iuka. This is a BGES first--no other group has
presented this opening volley of the fall 1862 Corinth Campaign as a full day tour--we
have spent a great deal of time walking the approach routes and have found
unmistakable landmarks that correlate to contemporary accounts of the
battle. Fought in September of 1862 it
labeled Union General William S. Rosecrans as a future leader even while
General U.S. Grant harbored doubts about his qualifications. En route and on site we will consider the
development of the leadership on both sides paying particular attention to
Sterling Price, Henry Little and Dabney Maury.
You will be surprized at the sites
that are available to interpret this nasty little fight. Iuka is a treat because it is off the beaten
path and rarely interpreted. We will
then return to Corinth where you can have dinner on your own.
Saturday, September 18th, 2004
We
will open this morning with a tactical overview of the battle of Corinth and
the retreat and fight at Davis’ Bridge.
Following that 8:30 A.M. lecture we will board our bus to visit the
Confederate camps at Chewalla. This was
the staging area for the fights that took place 142 years ago. From this position, flamboyant Confederate
commander Earl Van Dorn attacked the Federal forces. In fighting that moved across the fields and outer earthworks of Corinth
and into the streets we will spend the day covering those sites and the
fighting in the region around the railroad junction. In the end the fighting around Battery Robinett was
representative of a desperate but failed effort. The Confederates were forced to fall back to Chewalla. We will provide lunch and a banquet dinner.
Sunday, September 19th, 2004
Van
Dorn had failed and he was in severe peril.
From his tenuous position near the Hatchie River he was not in a
position to support either Bragg’s invasion that was leading toward the small
Kentucky village of Perryville nor was he assured of extricating his wounded
force from the aggressive pursuit of General E.O.C. Ord. The resulting battle at Davis’ Bridge is
unknown to most Civil War students. The
sites related to the retreat and battle can’t be found without a guide. Indeed it is as pristine a site as you’ll
find. We will open the day at 8 AM with
a departure from the Comfort Inn parking lot.
We will talk with you en route to several sites along the retreat
culminating with a walk down to Davis Bridge.
Ord called it “The miserable bridge.”
We will conclude the program with a summary and Q & A while
returning to the hotel by noon. You
will be on your way by 12:30 P.M. We
will provide snacks during the morning; however, lunch will be on your own.
Parker
Hills is a retired National Guard
Bureau Brigadier General. Hills was
responsible for the Military Staff Ride program for the state of Mississippi
and is an expert on Mississippi battlefields.
Hills conducts tours for Elderhostel
and is a corporate leadership trainer who founded BattleFocus Tours. Hills is
a graduate of the US Army War College.
Len
Riedel is the Executive Director
of the BGES. A retired Air Force
officer, Riedel has a Master of Arts degree in history. He is the architect of
the BGES’ diverse programming and considerable accomplishments in the nonprofit
community.
This program will be headquartered at the Comfort Inn Corinth, 2101 Highway 72W (1-662-286-9535). There is a block of rooms you may reserve against in the BGES’ name. Rates start at $43 for a single plus tax depending upon the type of room you desire. There is also a Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn within walking distance. If you need any special arrangements please contact the Corinth Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-748-9048.
The servicing airport is Memphis about 90 minutes to the Northwest. You may need a rental car there is no scheduled shuttle service.
_____ Peter Cozzens, The Darkest Days of the War, The Battles of Iuka and Corinth. $35 includes shipping and handling SAVE 30% off retail!
September 16-19 2004
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