What do you think?
Rate this book
The Complete Civil War Road Trip Guide: 10 Weekend Tours and More than 400 Sites, from Antietam to Zagonyi's Charge
The book outlines ten suggested itineraries for short road trips that cover every major battle of the war that will enable a traveler to experience this definitive period of American history. For those who can't resist trying to see it all, the book contains complete information on and reviews of almost 450 historical sites across the United States related to the Civil War, including all 384 of the principal battlefields listed by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission, as well as lodging and other travel information.The Complete Civil War Road Trip Guide will enable the historical traveler of any level to experience the Civil War like no other book has done.
504 pages, Paperback
First published April 20, 2009
About the author
Michael Weeks
19 books2 followersMichael Weeks is an amateur historian with a passion for the road. He has driven tens of thousands of miles across America in search of the living roots of U.S. history. Weeks lives in the South Loop area of Chicago, Illinois, with his wife, Charlotte, and works as an occupational health and safety consultant. Although Weeks is the author of a comprehensive road-trip guide, ironically, he does not own a car."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 27, 2015
This was a faboulas road guide to the battle grounds of the civil war. My folks and I travled using this as a guide and learned so much. The book is packed with little historic tid bits and is quite informative. I would recommend you read it and go on the journey if you are able.
Be Blessed.
Diamond
Be Blessed.
Diamond
April 21, 2016
Planning to take a trip to the South sometime in the near future, and have always wanted to visit a few of the monuments and battlefields from the Civil War. This book helps a person who wants to do this plot out their trip.
May 5, 2014
A fascinating look at 444 sites relating to the American Civil War, this well researched book makes it a valuable addition to both history and travel collections.
The book starts out by providing information in the Foreward and in sections called How to Use this Book and Important Things to Remember When Visiting Civil War Sites.
The book is than divided into 4 major parts: The War in the West, The War Along the Coasts, The War in the East and The Wide-Ranging War, which includes a chapter on "Other Civil War Sites.
There is an historical overview at the beginning of each chapter, along with a current map that shows major highways along with locations of where battles were fought. Next, is a section on "People to Know" from the battles of this area. There are also paragraphs on "Things to Know" and "The Trip", itself. These are very important tips for traveling this area. Next are pages of "Can't Miss Sites". A brief history is provided about why these sites were important during the war. At the end of each history is a gray box with "Site Details" that includes details about traveling to these sites including what you'll see (or not), the address, phone number and website of the place, when the "park" is open and if admission is charged.
There are also black & white pictures scattered throughout the book.
Finally, there are acknowledgments, a bibliography, appendices and an index.
Some interesting facts that I discovered along the way:
Robert E(dward) Lee was the son of Revolutionary War hero "Light-Horse Harry" Lee and not-so-distant relative of George Washington.
Lee began his military career as an engineer, working on many of the coastal defenses that would later be assaulted by Union forces. When the Mexican War broke out, although Lee did not agree with it, he served his nation and was promoted to Colonel by war's end. He then became superintendent of West Point, and subsequently served in the West. When it came time for Virginia to secede, a motion that Lee opposed as much as he did slavery, he remained loyal to his state, resigning his U.S. Army commission from his home at Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from the capital at Washington.
After the war, Lee became president of Washington University in Lexington, Virginia until his death. The school was later renamed Washington and Lee University in his honor.
A truly remarkable figure, Robert E. Lee throughout his life embodied honor, humility, and service, and his reputation is well deserved.
John Wilkes Booth was killed at the Garrett (no relation to me) farm. According to this book, there is virtually no trace left of the Garrett Farm, today. The site of the former farm lies in the thick trees of the median of U.S. Highway 301, just south of Port Royal.
The battles of the Civil War were fought mostly south of the Mason-Dixon Line. But this great conflict touched every part of America. The chapter on "Other Civil War Sites" gathers the significant Civil War-related sites found in far-flung corners of the nation, from New England to New Mexico to Idaho. Some of these sites include:
The humble birthplace of Hiram Ulysses Grant, along the banks of the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, Ohio.
Salineville and Buffington Island in Ohio.
Greenbrier River in West Virginia
Whitestone Hill in North Dakota
The Indian Wars: The Civil War Sites Advisory Commission's list of primary Civil War battles includes 9 battles in which no Confederate soldiers fought. These 9 battles occurred far north and west of the rest of the action but still made a measurable impact on the war. They were actions involving the U.S. Army and various Native American tribes, most notably the tribes of the Great Plains. Although the names of these 9 sites are not familiar to many, they include 2 of the worst massacres committed in American history and the seeds of what would become the war with the Dakota that ultimately led to the battle of the Little Bighorn and the tragedy at Wounded Knee.
One of the appendices is a "Cross-Index of Alternative Battle Names". As you travel to the various battlefields, you will discover that the north and south have different names for the various battles. For example, First and Second Manassas are also known as the First and Second Bull Run. Second Manassas is also known as: Manassas Plains, Groveton, Gainesville or Brawner's Farm.
A fabulous book, I highly recommend this to anyone who loves to travel to historical places or has even a remote interest in American history.
The book starts out by providing information in the Foreward and in sections called How to Use this Book and Important Things to Remember When Visiting Civil War Sites.
The book is than divided into 4 major parts: The War in the West, The War Along the Coasts, The War in the East and The Wide-Ranging War, which includes a chapter on "Other Civil War Sites.
There is an historical overview at the beginning of each chapter, along with a current map that shows major highways along with locations of where battles were fought. Next, is a section on "People to Know" from the battles of this area. There are also paragraphs on "Things to Know" and "The Trip", itself. These are very important tips for traveling this area. Next are pages of "Can't Miss Sites". A brief history is provided about why these sites were important during the war. At the end of each history is a gray box with "Site Details" that includes details about traveling to these sites including what you'll see (or not), the address, phone number and website of the place, when the "park" is open and if admission is charged.
There are also black & white pictures scattered throughout the book.
Finally, there are acknowledgments, a bibliography, appendices and an index.
Some interesting facts that I discovered along the way:
Robert E(dward) Lee was the son of Revolutionary War hero "Light-Horse Harry" Lee and not-so-distant relative of George Washington.
Lee began his military career as an engineer, working on many of the coastal defenses that would later be assaulted by Union forces. When the Mexican War broke out, although Lee did not agree with it, he served his nation and was promoted to Colonel by war's end. He then became superintendent of West Point, and subsequently served in the West. When it came time for Virginia to secede, a motion that Lee opposed as much as he did slavery, he remained loyal to his state, resigning his U.S. Army commission from his home at Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from the capital at Washington.
After the war, Lee became president of Washington University in Lexington, Virginia until his death. The school was later renamed Washington and Lee University in his honor.
A truly remarkable figure, Robert E. Lee throughout his life embodied honor, humility, and service, and his reputation is well deserved.
John Wilkes Booth was killed at the Garrett (no relation to me) farm. According to this book, there is virtually no trace left of the Garrett Farm, today. The site of the former farm lies in the thick trees of the median of U.S. Highway 301, just south of Port Royal.
The battles of the Civil War were fought mostly south of the Mason-Dixon Line. But this great conflict touched every part of America. The chapter on "Other Civil War Sites" gathers the significant Civil War-related sites found in far-flung corners of the nation, from New England to New Mexico to Idaho. Some of these sites include:
The humble birthplace of Hiram Ulysses Grant, along the banks of the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, Ohio.
Salineville and Buffington Island in Ohio.
Greenbrier River in West Virginia
Whitestone Hill in North Dakota
The Indian Wars: The Civil War Sites Advisory Commission's list of primary Civil War battles includes 9 battles in which no Confederate soldiers fought. These 9 battles occurred far north and west of the rest of the action but still made a measurable impact on the war. They were actions involving the U.S. Army and various Native American tribes, most notably the tribes of the Great Plains. Although the names of these 9 sites are not familiar to many, they include 2 of the worst massacres committed in American history and the seeds of what would become the war with the Dakota that ultimately led to the battle of the Little Bighorn and the tragedy at Wounded Knee.
One of the appendices is a "Cross-Index of Alternative Battle Names". As you travel to the various battlefields, you will discover that the north and south have different names for the various battles. For example, First and Second Manassas are also known as the First and Second Bull Run. Second Manassas is also known as: Manassas Plains, Groveton, Gainesville or Brawner's Farm.
A fabulous book, I highly recommend this to anyone who loves to travel to historical places or has even a remote interest in American history.
March 30, 2014
After 20 years of thinking about it* my father and I are finally going on our (American) Civil War Road Trip. We're leaving by car (from Vancouver, WA) at the end of May 2014 & plan to be gone for about a month.
This book (as well as Week's Civil War Road Trip Vols 1 & 2) was very helpful in planning our trip (I say "we" but it's really my father doing the planning, as he's the historian and the true Civil War enthusiast). Here's our plan:
-Endless drive across middle America of which I'll skip the details (probably spent bickering about who should be doing the driving--he's 77 with some cataracts, while I'm an easily distracted driver, or so I've been told--by him).
-Shiloh to Chatenooga TN via Savannah at US 64 east tp I-24
-Chatanooga to Atlanta GA via I-75, I-16 at Macon to Savannah side jaunt at Macon to Andersonville via I-75 and US 26, return via US 26, state 46 eastward to I-15 at milepost 75)
-Savannah to Charleston SC via I-95, then north to Richmond VA, Civil War main battlefields, Petersburg, Appomatox, Cold Harbor and others in Grants 1864 campaign, then north and northwest to earlier battlefields of 1862-1863, e.g.
-Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, 1st and 2nd Manassas to the Shenandoah Valley (1862), then Harpers Ferry and Antietam MD, Gettysburg PA. Finally, a potpourri at
-Washington DC, to Mt Vernon, Monticello, Arlington whatever, maybe even to congress of the US
-Return I-70 west thru PA to Indianapolis, then I-74 west to I-90 and Madison, WI, westward on same to Black Hills SD, thence I-94 at Billings MT and take your choice thereafter
Dad would like to skip Savannah, GA altogether ("I just don't know what it's particular importance is--historically speaking") but I've read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil twice, so we're going, dammit. And we're hitting Billings, Montana because as a young man, my father was a crazy mofo, & spent his summer's jumping out of planes in the area (as a smokejumper). Clearly I haven't been doing enough with my life. :P
Anyway, I am really looking forward to getting on the road and I'll definitely be taking this book along for the ride.
*I first wanted to take this trip at 17, when I was sure the future would be filled with endless amounts of money--not to mention a distinct lack of Student Loan bills--& vacation time. Har har.
This book (as well as Week's Civil War Road Trip Vols 1 & 2) was very helpful in planning our trip (I say "we" but it's really my father doing the planning, as he's the historian and the true Civil War enthusiast). Here's our plan:
-Endless drive across middle America of which I'll skip the details (probably spent bickering about who should be doing the driving--he's 77 with some cataracts, while I'm an easily distracted driver, or so I've been told--by him).
-Shiloh to Chatenooga TN via Savannah at US 64 east tp I-24
-Chatanooga to Atlanta GA via I-75, I-16 at Macon to Savannah side jaunt at Macon to Andersonville via I-75 and US 26, return via US 26, state 46 eastward to I-15 at milepost 75)
-Savannah to Charleston SC via I-95, then north to Richmond VA, Civil War main battlefields, Petersburg, Appomatox, Cold Harbor and others in Grants 1864 campaign, then north and northwest to earlier battlefields of 1862-1863, e.g.
-Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, 1st and 2nd Manassas to the Shenandoah Valley (1862), then Harpers Ferry and Antietam MD, Gettysburg PA. Finally, a potpourri at
-Washington DC, to Mt Vernon, Monticello, Arlington whatever, maybe even to congress of the US
-Return I-70 west thru PA to Indianapolis, then I-74 west to I-90 and Madison, WI, westward on same to Black Hills SD, thence I-94 at Billings MT and take your choice thereafter
Dad would like to skip Savannah, GA altogether ("I just don't know what it's particular importance is--historically speaking") but I've read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil twice, so we're going, dammit. And we're hitting Billings, Montana because as a young man, my father was a crazy mofo, & spent his summer's jumping out of planes in the area (as a smokejumper). Clearly I haven't been doing enough with my life. :P
Anyway, I am really looking forward to getting on the road and I'll definitely be taking this book along for the ride.
*I first wanted to take this trip at 17, when I was sure the future would be filled with endless amounts of money--not to mention a distinct lack of Student Loan bills--& vacation time. Har har.
July 21, 2011
Calling this book the "complete" guide is not an exaggeration. Broken down into regions, the author surveys hundreds of major and minor Civil War sites. Each section begins with a brief history of the action in that area and then he proceeds through the sites in a roughly geographic way. Each site has a paragraph or two describing the conflict and then another paragraph or two describing the site now, how to get there and any issues the site might have (ex. markers are on the side of major highways or the place has lots of bugs).
Great resource.
Great resource.
July 5, 2024
A great resource of literally hundreds of Civil War sites scattered all across the country, not only battlefields but also museums, driving tours, and historic sites. It even includes several battlefields of the Indian Wars that happened during the Civil War (such as the 1862 Sioux Uprising).
One small criticism concerns the layout; each chapter has a series of major sites to visit, followed by a series of smaller or more minor battlefield sites, rather than placing them in order between the main sites.
One small criticism concerns the layout; each chapter has a series of major sites to visit, followed by a series of smaller or more minor battlefield sites, rather than placing them in order between the main sites.
April 26, 2014
An indispensible pocket guide for anyone with an interest in visiting Civil War battlefileds in America. It provides a brief summary of each battle and a description of each site together with street address of the site or visitor's centre; critical if you are a tourist using gps to find the sites. i found it very useful on a recent visit to Gettysburg, Vicksburg and Chancellorsville.
January 9, 2010
Very thorough. Enjoyed revisiting the places I've been to before and made a new list. The only disappointing thing (I'm originally from the Mobile, AL area) is he didn't mention the re-enactments, which are always fun and bring history to life in a way museums, maps and markers just can't.
August 8, 2014
The title makes it seem like a travel book you pick up before a trip. This is a very different book, the author went to every Civil War Site and breaks it down by geographic region. I learned some new things and sites by reading this book. Enjoy!
February 2, 2015
So helpful
The history, the personal stories, location and summary of the present historic sites has been invaluable as we traveled. I just wish I could enlarge the pictures on my tablet. The index was helpful to locate specific sites or generals.
The history, the personal stories, location and summary of the present historic sites has been invaluable as we traveled. I just wish I could enlarge the pictures on my tablet. The index was helpful to locate specific sites or generals.
June 5, 2016
This is an exception book if you're into visiting Civil War battlefields. The information was a great help when planning vacations and making sure you don't miss something on your trip.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews