Forum Host- Joined
- Feb 5, 2017
CivilWarTalk Antietam Muster 2021
Weekend of October 8th, 9th, and 10th - 2021
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/iadcthx-hampton-suites-charles-town/
Cut-off Date for Room Reservations is September 4th
Note: There is NO shuttle from the Dulles or the Baltimore airport to Charles Town, WV.
With the Delta Variant running around, I cannot repeat this enough BRING MASKS! The NPS requires it on their buses and bookshops. Alfredos and a number of restaurants we went to require them.
If you're interested in going to this event, please RSVP in the module at the top of the thread! Get your RSVP in before September 17th!
itinerary
Thursday, October 7th: (Early Arrivals Optional) - This is OPTIONAL - THIS IS A SIDE TRIP BEFORE OFFICIAL MUSTER
10:00 am - We meet at Gapland State Park with Ranger Steve Robinson in Crampton's Gap. He will open two small museums plus describe the action and war correspondent George Alfred Townsend. In addition to James N. itineray, Ranger Robinson will guide us to a farm site north of Turner's Gap that is not yet open or interpreted for visitors where Meade's Division of Hooker's First Corps outflanked the Alabama
Brigade of Robert Rhodes! There will be other stops along the way to point out sites of other incidents.
Noon - Eat at small cafe in Middleton, MD. There are a couple on the main drag, we will decide when we get there.
1:ish - James takes us on more of the South Mountain Tour
5:00 pm - Dinner at the South Mountain Inn. James N. is making reservations for this. This inn is historic because it
was used by both Union and Confederate Generals. However, warning people, it doesn't look terribly historic anymore inside, but still very cool to be there where they were.
Friday, October 8th: (optional)
Friday, October 8th (Regular Arrivals)
Saturday, October 9, 2021
Sunday, October 10th
Some previous discussions about this muster have been archived here:
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/civilwartalk-antietam-muster-2021-archived-discussions.184035/
Thursday, October 7th: (Early Arrivals Optional) - This is OPTIONAL - THIS IS A SIDE TRIP BEFORE OFFICIAL MUSTER
10:00 am - We meet at Gapland State Park with Ranger Steve Robinson in Crampton's Gap. He will open two small museums plus describe the action and war correspondent George Alfred Townsend. In addition to James N. itineray, Ranger Robinson will guide us to a farm site north of Turner's Gap that is not yet open or interpreted for visitors where Meade's Division of Hooker's First Corps outflanked the Alabama
Brigade of Robert Rhodes! There will be other stops along the way to point out sites of other incidents.
Noon - Eat at small cafe in Middleton, MD. There are a couple on the main drag, we will decide when we get there.
1:ish - James takes us on more of the South Mountain Tour
5:00 pm - Dinner at the South Mountain Inn. James N. is making reservations for this. This inn is historic because it
was used by both Union and Confederate Generals. However, warning people, it doesn't look terribly historic anymore inside, but still very cool to be there where they were.
3:00 pm – Check in Time - If you are coming very early in the morning to do this side-trip but are staying at the hotel, there will be
a baggage room available for you at the hotel to park bags and empty your car.
Friday, October 8th: (optional)
James N. and probably @bdtex will be seeing Shepherdstown and several sites close together. However, this is NOT the start of the official muster. Others can join them if they want to. This is still a SIDE TRIP.
Friday, October 8th (Regular Arrivals)
12:00 pm – Official Kickoff: CWT Fall Muster – Gather in War Room!
Clark (@Stone in the wall), I and maybe someone else will be there at the hotel to meet and greet. We will sign you in and give you a name badge and a goody bag.
For early arrivals, the hotel has a luggage room available, since the rooms aren’t ready till 3:00 pm.
We will get everyone together and see if the wanderers from the morning have come back in time for the Official Muster. If they haven't, we sort out cars and people and head over to Harpers Ferry! Harpers Ferry has lots of signage. James N. is going to meet us there and give us a run down on what happened there. I'm trying to get a park ranger to help out but as everywhere, they are very short-handed.
12:30 pm – Head to Harpers Ferry National Park. The NPS Bus stops running by 4:45 (I was told July 15th) in the afternoons after October 1st. I will reconfirm and update this as we get closer to the date. I was there and that's what they knew at the time. Masks required on NPS buses and at all NPS bookstores!!!!
Here are some audio presentations about Harpers Ferry
Put on your most comfortable walking shoes! Harpers Ferry is very up and downhill.
4:00 - Start thinking about getting back to bookstore - it's huge and there are also very good bathrooms there.
Big time change on bus service - just talked to ranger at Harpers Ferry 9/26/21
6:30 pm – Dinner is on your own. IF.... you decide to stay and eat at Harpers Ferry - they have beer gardens and lots of tiny restaurants - YOU WILL NEED TO BRING YOUR CAR FROM THE NPS LOT BEFORE THE BUS STOPS RUNNING - OTHERWISE YOU HAVE A ****VERY**** LONG WALK TO GET TO IT - I'm trying to warn you, it's over a mile away. NPS bus stops running by 7:00 pm. You can bring your car, very carefully (about one car wide streets) into Harpers Ferry and there is public parking BEHIND the restaurants down by the railroad tracks. Very easy to get to, I've done it myself.
- there are many good places right next to the hotel in Charles Town. Clark and I checked them out.
7:00 pm - Ghost Tour with Kevin Breedan in Charles Town. Only $10.00. Kevin's phone number is 304-261-5416. Call him directly and make a reservation. Pay him in cash and again, he would appreciate exact amount. There are at least six of us going on this ghost tour so we can all be scared together!
Saturday, October 9, 2021
7:00 am – Breakfast in our CWT War Room. Antietam Movie
8:00 am – Leave hotel.
It will take 45 minutes to get from Charles Town to Antietam.
We get to Antietam for 8:45, use the porta potties, pay park fees in the trailer they will have set up, look around a bit in the book store and Stephen will join us for 9:30.
9:30 am – Antietam NP All Day. We will be doing a number of major tour stops all day.
Stephen Recker, THE Antietam tour guide is booked for 3 hours and will be leading us.
12:30 – Box Lunch from Captain Benders.
We will stay on the grounds of Antietam and do member presentations for the afternoon.
Tina - Will do a very short presentation about the Mumma Cemetery and the Pry House.
@Ole Miss - Is going to do a wonderful presentation about the National Cemetery and Bloody Lane.
@Stone in the wall is doing a presentation on the Otto Place and @lelliott19 is doing a presentation 22nd and 24th Bennings Brigade and Burnside Bridge
@NH Civil War Gal will talk about the Pry House, @Ole Miss will talk about the National Cemetery and one of our newer members AND EMT, @Kathy the history sleuth is going to talk (and demonstrate?
) Civil War Embalming!
) Civil War Embalming!
Nutters – Finish off at Nutters for ice cream before we head back to Charles Town for a bit of a rest, freshen up and then the member dinner at Alfredo's.
As always, we want and look forward to member presentations on any of the subjects here!
This is a big park – very pristine battlefield - and is spread out so there will be a lot of driving.
7:00 pm – Member's Dinner - Alfredo's Mediterranean Grille and Steakhouse 735 E. Washington St. Charles Town, West Virginia 25414. Clark and I went in there and we loved it. Hope you do too. Maybe there will be belly dancers in the evening, I don't know, but if that's going to happen, that is certainly the place for it.
I want everyone to look at Alredo's link and FaceBook - They have the Funkiest signage and entrance I've ever seen. Their sign is small and above a large sign for a business that doesn't exist anymore.
Sunday, October 10th
7:00 am – Gather in our CWT War Room for breakfast
Presentation – looking for a quick presentation on the part Boonsborough/Charlestown played during the Civil War.
9:00 am – Douglas G. Bast Boonsborough Museum of History & Preservation, 113 N. Main St. Boonsboro, MD 21713
We are being given our VERY OWN private tour of this Treasure Box of a museum. Douglas Bast died at an advanced age this past March. The museum was closed all last year due to Covid. The museum is in a house and in another building, on the same side of the street. Because the rooms in the house are VERY small, they will take us in groups of five and then when one group is done in one room, they will take the next group of five.
This group (three people) are trying to find a way forward with this museum, now that Mr. Bast has died. You will immediately see this was his passion. There are cannons, firearms, pikes,and swords galore. Everything is labeled. They are doing this for FREE for us and are THRILLED to do it for us. Please be generous in your donations to this museum so they can stay afloat.
1:00pm – Return to hotel, say our goodbyes, checkout and go home. I've arranged for a late check-out. The hotel said "no problem" but the person to give me a time is out this week. I will update as soon as I get it. I said 1:00 pm and the person taking the message didn't seem to think it would be a problem. I'll confirm on Monday. This museum is only 35 minutes away from Charles Town.
host hotel: hampton inn & suites and home2 suites
Charles Town, WV
(Hampton) 304-725-2200
There are 25 double queen rooms on hold for us that weekend with some set aside for handicap accessible. The rates for people coming in early are: Wednesday and Thursday nights, $109.00 (plus tax) and Friday and Saturday nights, $139.00 (plus tax). Sunday and Monday nights go back to $109.00 (plus tax). These rates are as discounted as they get.
We also have a "War Room" set aside BUT at this current time (February - 2021), only 10 people are allowed in it, preferably masked. That may change by Fall as Covid conditions change.
Of course, while things are starting to look good and I had a long talk with the events coordinator about it, things are subject to change at a moments notice because of Covid. Currently West Virginia has the BEST vaccine rollout rate in the nation.
When making the reservations, please state that you are with the CivilWarTalk Antietam Muster code CWG. If there is any problem with that, please refer the booking clerk to Tara Orndorff, Director of Sales, and she will straighten them out at the front desk.
Tara also wanted this link to be included in this notice to CivilWarTalk Members on what the Hilton Company is doing to make the rooms clean and safe for our stay.
https://www.hilton.com/en/corporate/cleanstay/
The safety and security of our guests and team members remain our highest priority, and Home2 Suites and Hampton Inn & Suites Charles Town remain diligent in our commitment to provide a safe, hospitable environment for all who enter our doors.
Charles Town, WV
(Hampton) 304-725-2200
There are 25 double queen rooms on hold for us that weekend with some set aside for handicap accessible. The rates for people coming in early are: Wednesday and Thursday nights, $109.00 (plus tax) and Friday and Saturday nights, $139.00 (plus tax). Sunday and Monday nights go back to $109.00 (plus tax). These rates are as discounted as they get.
We also have a "War Room" set aside BUT at this current time (February - 2021), only 10 people are allowed in it, preferably masked. That may change by Fall as Covid conditions change.
Of course, while things are starting to look good and I had a long talk with the events coordinator about it, things are subject to change at a moments notice because of Covid. Currently West Virginia has the BEST vaccine rollout rate in the nation.
When making the reservations, please state that you are with the CivilWarTalk Antietam Muster code CWG. If there is any problem with that, please refer the booking clerk to Tara Orndorff, Director of Sales, and she will straighten them out at the front desk.
Tara also wanted this link to be included in this notice to CivilWarTalk Members on what the Hilton Company is doing to make the rooms clean and safe for our stay.
https://www.hilton.com/en/corporate/cleanstay/
The safety and security of our guests and team members remain our highest priority, and Home2 Suites and Hampton Inn & Suites Charles Town remain diligent in our commitment to provide a safe, hospitable environment for all who enter our doors.
Some previous discussions about this muster have been archived here:
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/civilwartalk-antietam-muster-2021-archived-discussions.184035/
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