A BGES Civil War Field University Program
With Lee White
Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2026; from Richmond, KY
By the Fall of 1862, the tide had turned for the Southern Confederacy as momentum shifted from defensive to offensive operations. In the Eastern Theater Confederate General Robert E. Lee was embarking on an ambitious movement into Maryland following his successes in the Seven Days, Cedar Mountain, and Second Manassas battles.
In the west, following a series of setbacks in the first months of 1862 at Forts Henry and Donlelson, the captures of Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans, and the loss at Shiloh and abandonment of Corinth, the South was reeling. By the Summer, with the Federal armies bogged down before Vicksburg and at Corinth, Southern General Braxton Bragg at Chattanooga capitalized on the Federal delays to seize the momentum and embark on an ambitious movement of his own. His goal: The Bluegrass State of Kentucky!
In addition to four days of touring where we will cover both the Campaign and the action at several key battlefield sites, we are pleased to include a brief dedication program at the Perryville State Battlefield Park where BGES has sponsored the replacement of all 56 interpretive panels on the battlefield and they are being installed this summer and in time for our tour! For this reason, we will take things a bit out of order to accommodate this ceremony and to provide more time at the important Perryville battlefield site.
Join BGES for this exceptional program as Lee White leads four days of exploration of the Bluegrass State and this most important and often misunderstood campaign.
Itinerary
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026 – Orientation (6–7 p.m.)
We’ll gather at the headquarters hotel for an evening orientation with Lee White. He will introduce the campaign, distribute program materials, and set the stage for our field study.
Dinner is on your own.
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026 (8:00 a.m.–5 p.m.)
8:00 Depart Hotel
Our first day will begin with the Confederate Army’s movements into Kentucky as we trace the steps of General Edmund Kirby Smith’s force into the Bluegrass State and all the way to Lexington which he and his force of some 11,000 men reached on September 2, 1862. (We will temporarily side-step the Battle of Richmond which occurred on August 30, 1862, and which precipitated Smith’s move to Lexington. We plan to cover the Richmond battle at length on Sunday of our tour due to our need to spend more time at Perryville on Saturday, and as it is closest to our hotel on getaway day).
We will end our day examining the Northern response to Smith’s and Bragg’s movements as we return to our hotel in Richmond.
Back to our hotel.
Lunch is included, but dinner is on your own.
Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 (8:00 a.m.–5 p.m.)
Our second day will continue our discussion with the Federal response and some disharmony and disorganization in the Union ranks, as we cross the Kentucky countryside to the southwest to pick up additional movements.
We will concentrate on the events at and around Munfordville and the actions of Confederate Generals William Hardee and Leonidas Polk who were operating two additional Southern columns in that area. We will discuss the broad four-pronged advance employed by Bragg and the Confederates, including its positive and negative consequences, both strategically and tactically.
We will pick up the Federal pursuit by General Don Carlos Buell and his widely separated forces as they struggled to gain coordination, cohesion, and comprehension of the Confederate plans.
Back to our hotel.
Lunch is included, but dinner is on your own.
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026 (8:00 a.m.–5 p.m.)
On day 3, we will focus on the bloodiest single day in the Bluegrass State as we focus on the pivotal (and largest) battle of Perryville, fought on October 8, 1862. Here, Lee will provide a detailed battlefield tour using his masterful skill in explaining the events and tactical results which occurred in large part due to the terrain as well as the decisions made (or failed to be made) by officers on both sides.
We will break from our tour at 3:00 PM for a very special program at Perryville Battlefield State Park as we dedicate and unveil the 56 new interpretive panels on the battlefield sponsored by BGES.
Return to the hotel.
Lunch is included, but dinner is on your own.
Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026 (8:00 a.m.–5 p.m.)
On the final day we will focus on the important battle of Richmond (Kentucky) which opened the state to further advance by Smith and successive movements by Bragg and his legions. Once again, Lee will lead us in a detailed tactical study of the battle, its actions, results, and impact.
Lunch is provided, and we will return to the hotel by 5:00 p.m.
About the Faculty
William Lee White is a park ranger at the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, where he gives tours and other programs at the Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain Battlefields. He is the author of Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale: The Battle of Chickamauga, and The Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864, part of the Emerging Civil War Series, as well as several articles and essays on topics related to The Western Theater. Lee also edited Great Things Are Expected of Us: The Letters of Colonel C. Irvine Walker, 10th South Carolina Infantry CSA. Over the years, he has spoken to many roundtables, historical societies, and other history-minded groups, and he has led countless tours and is a veteran tour historian for BGES. His keen eye for terrain coupled with his outstanding analysis provides a unique, detailed, and nuanced perspective.
Hotel Information:
This program will be headquartered at Hampton Inn Richmond, KY, 1099 Barnes Mill Road, Richmond, KY. 859-626-1002. The BGES special hotel rate is $115 plus tax, with no cut-off date for the rate. When you call the hotel, be sure to tell them that you are booking your room with the group “Blue and Gray Education” to get the special rate.
Transportation
The servicing airport is Lexington, KY, Blue Grass Airport, (KLEX), It is 33 miles from the hotel via I-75. The hotel does not have an airport shuttle.
Recommended Reading
You will receive maps and materials that will meet your onsite requirements. The following books are suggested to enhance your readiness for the program.
Bishop, Randy, Kentucky’s Civil War Battlefields, A Guide to Their History and Preservation, Pelican Books, Gretna, LA, 2012. ISBN 9781455616077.
Brown, Kent Masterson. The Civil War in Kentucky: Battle for the Bluegrass State. Conshohocken, PA: Da Capo Press, 2000. ISBN 978-1-882810-47-5.
Clark, Donald A. The Notorious “Bull” Nelson: Murdered Civil War General. Carbondale, IL: SIU Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-8093-3011-9.
Daniel, Larry J. Days of Glory: The Army of the Cumberland, 1861–1865. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0-8071-3191-6.
Fowler, John D. Mountaineers in Gray: The Nineteenth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2004. ISBN 978-1-57233-314-7. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
Hafendorfer, Kenneth A., Perryville, Battle for Kentucky, Louisville: KH Press, 1991.
Hafendorfer, Kenneth A., They Died by Twos and Tens, The Confederate Cavalry in the Kentucky Campaign of 1862, Louisville: KH Press, 1995. ISBN: 0-9648550-0-3.
Hafendorfer, Kenneth A., Battle of Richmond Kentucky, August 30, 1862, Louisville: KH Press, 2006. ISBN: 0-9648550-5-4.
McDonough, James Lee, War in Kentucky, From Shiloh to Perryville, Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1994. ISBN: 0-87049-847-9.
Noe, Kenneth W., Noe, Perryville, This Grand Havoc of Battle, Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001. ISBN: 0-8131-2209-0.
Tour Pricing
Current BGES member: $975 (one-time payment, no deposit)
Non-BGES member: $1025 (one-time payment, no deposit)
Deposit to reserve spot: $150
Annual membership fee: $75
Registration
To register by mail or fax, download: Printable Registration Form
Questions? Need more information? Please Contact Us