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Believing that published articles and books had long incorrectly located the fighting area, Ted was determined to test his theory. Armed with extensive primary sources and battle reports, he and colleague Paul Sacra located what they believed was the battlefield and, with the permission from several landowners, used metal detectors to prove it.

 

Within days Savas and Sacra had unearthed hundreds of artifacts, including bullets, a ramrod, bayonet socket, a partial harmonica, belt buckles, buttons, and much more. Savas drew maps of the field and the general location of the artifacts and delivered them to The Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (or APCWS), and its director, A. Wilson Greene, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Greene, who had no idea the field was in such pristine condition, was excited by the find and affirmed its importance. Today, The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved 690 acres of the battlefield. The battlefield features a wooded, 1.5-mile interpretive trail with historical wayside markers.

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  Saturday Tour (Lunch Included)

Gordon C. Rhea - Expanded tour of Wilderness Battlefield

 

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During the afternoon, we will drive through Stevensburg, walk Hansbrough’s ridge and the Union 2nd Corps encampment, then follow the Union army’s route past Madden’s tavern and the modern USCT monument.  We will cross the Rapidan at Germanna Ford, walk to the Germanna river crossing for the Union 5th, 6th, and 9th Corps, then drive to the Union 2nd Corps’ crossing at Ely’s Ford.  Time permitting, we will examine Union cavalry deployments along the Orange turnpike and Orange Plank Roads the evening before the Battle of the Wilderness began on May 5, 1864.

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Sunday Brunch at Historic Stevenson Ridge

Stephen Cushman 

Author and historian Professor Stephen Cushman will speak on the topic of his book The Generals' Civil War "What Their Memoirs Can Teach Us Today".

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Some hewed more closely to Grant’s model than others, and their points of similarity and divergence left readers increasingly fascinated with the history and meaning of the nation’s great conflict. The writings also dovetailed with a rising desire to see the full sweep of American history chronicled, as its citizens looked to the start of a new century. Professional historians engaged with the memoirs as an important foundation for this work.

 

In this insightful book, Stephen Cushman considers Civil War generals’ memoirs as both historical and literary works, revealing how they remain vital to understanding the interaction of memory, imagination, and the writing of American history. Cushman shows how market forces shaped the production of the memoirs and, therefore, memories of the war itself; how audiences have engaged with the works to create ideas of history that fit with time and circumstance; and what these texts tell us about current conflicts over the history and meanings of the Civil War.

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