[Archived] Grapes of Wrath Tour of Civil War History and Vineyard

Registration Now Open for Civil War History and Virginia Vineyard Tour

Savor Civil War history in the Valley of Virginia and a taste of some of Virginia’s best wines on the “Grapes of Wrath Tour 2” with the Friends of Fort Ward! Sign up now for this spring tour on Saturday, May 7, exploring Stonewall Jackson’s 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign.

Expanding on the wartime history of the Valley of Virginia featured in the Friends’ first “Grapes of Wrath” tour last fall, popular guide and military historian Col. Robert Hudson will highlight Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign, often studied as a textbook example of a numerically inferior force defeating a superior adversary. Jackson was charged with creating a distraction and preventing reinforcements from being sent to Union Gen. George McClellan on the outskirts of Richmond. He exceeded beyond expectations, using speed, surprise, and maneuver to defeat exposed elements of three separate Union armies.

The tour will visit Pritchard Farm and Rose Hill, two sites associated with the First Battle of Kernstown, Jackson’s only loss in the campaign. The tour will make several stops at sites related to the Battle of Front Royal, which featured the notorious Confederate spy Belle Boyd and pitted the 1st Maryland (Union) against the 1st Maryland (Confederate). The battles of McDowell, Winchester, Cross Keys and Port Republic will also be discussed.

In the afternoon, the tour will visit the award-winning Philip Carter Winery in Hume, Virginia, for a wine tasting – a great opportunity to appreciate how history, good wine and good company come together on a Friends of Fort Ward bus tour!  The Philip Carter Winery was established in 2008 by Philip Carter Strother, a direct descendant of the pioneering Carter family, who were among the first Virginians to grow vines and produce wine in the early 1760s.

Advance tour registration is required. The registration fee is $130 before April 22, and $140 after that date. Fee includes transportation, guide and admission fees, box lunch, snacks, and wine tasting, and non-members receive a one-year enrollment in the Friends of Fort Ward.

The bus will depart from the Fort Ward Museum parking lot, 4301 West Braddock Road, at 7:30 a.m. and return at approximately 6 p.m. Participants are advised to dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes.

Please call Fort Ward Museum at 703.746.4848 to register or get more information.