From July of 1861 to April of 1865, the bloody savagery of the American Civil War was waged on many fronts. According to the “American Battlefield Protection Program”, there were 384 significant battles fought over those four long years; battles fought on the farms and prairies, on mountains, in the small towns, and in the bustling cities of the North, the South, and the West.

It was a time in American history that has captured the imagination of millions of people. Thousands of books have been written on the war, numerous movies have been made to bring to life the romanticism of those years, and television documentaries continue to educate the American viewers on this historical event.

Despite all these academic inputs, there is really nothing that compares to actually standing on the site of a Civil War battlefield. Although the sounds and smells of battle have since faded into the past, the visual perceptions are still alive on those hallowed grounds for the Civil War enthusiast to experience.

For those interested in the Civil War who may be considering a battlefield visit, the following itinerary outlines a 7-night, 8-day excursion to eight famous Civil War battlefields and estimates the cost of such a journey. Since the battlefields on the itinerary are all in the east, the hypothetical starting point for this trip is the Bronx, in New York City, and the cost is for a family of two adults and two children.

The battlefields on this itinerary are:

• Gettysburg in Pennsylvania
• Antietam and Monocacy in Maryland
• Manassas, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, and the Wilderness Battlefields, all in Virginia

The Itinerary

Day 1 - From New York City, the drive to Gettysburg will cover 220 miles and should take about 3.5 hours. After checking into a local hotel for a 2-night stay, the rest of the day will be spent checking out downtown Gettysburg. Here you will find a wonderful array of shops, Civil War relic stores, period homes to visit, museums, restaurants ranging from fast foods and buffets to moderately priced sit-down affairs, and other family oriented attractions.

Day 2 - Following breakfast, a short drive from downtown Gettysburg will take you to the Gettysburg National Cemetery where Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address. A short distance away is the Gettysburg National Park Visitors Center where you can begin your self-guided auto tour or a 2-hour bus tour of the battlefield. General’s Lee and Meade’s headquarters, museums, and many other attractions outside the park charge around $5 to $7 for adults/$3.50 for children. Although admission to the battlefield is free, bus tours are about $24 for adults/$12 for children. For the kids, a stop at Boyd’s Bear Country is only 6-miles away.