A 2026 BGES Field University Program
with Mike Bunn
March 11–15, 2026; from Spanish Fort, Alabama
[hotel included with this tour!]
This grand voyage through Gulf Coast history explores pivotal sites in four states where the Revolutionary War, Creek War, War of 1812, and Civil War unfolded, with a special focus on the all-important but little-understood War of 1812.
The unheralded regional campaigns of the War of 1812 and the interrelated Creek War will guide our travels. We will visit such iconic places as Fort Mims, site of one of the most decisive Native American victories over U.S. forces; and the Chalmette Battlefield outside New Orleans, where Andrew Jackson won one of the most lopsided victories in U.S. history.
We will also travel back in time to several sites where layers of history await discovery. We will explore places where Bernardo de Gálvez helped turn the Revolutionary War in America’s favor during his devastating campaign against the British; and where the immortal Adm. David G. Farragut later drove his fleet into Mobile Bay—a generation after Americans and the British had battled for control of the Gulf region.
Come along as we take a deep dive into Gulf South history, stories that still echo across the region.
Itinerary
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 – Orientation (6–7 p.m.)
Meet Mike at our headquarters hotel for a one-hour orientation and introduction to the tour’s sights and events. You’ll receive your program materials at that time (or the following morning for late arrivals).
Thursday, March 12, 2026 (8 a.m.–5 p.m.)
Departing the hotel at 8 a.m., our first stop is Fort Mims, where on August 30, 1813, Red Stick Creek warriors overran a frontier stockade, killing more than 250 settlers, militia, and enslaved people—a tragedy that spurred Andrew Jackson’s campaign into Creek territory.
We continue north to the grave of William Weatherford (Red Eagle), the Creek leader who helped lead the Fort Mims assault but later surrendered to Jackson seeking peace for his people. Along the route, we pass the site of Fort Claiborne, a key U.S. post and supply base near the location of the dramatic Canoe Fight of 1813.
Our next stop is Fort Sinquefield, where settlers were ambushed by Red Stick warriors in September 1813, a stark reminder of frontier vulnerability during the Creek War.
We’ll pause for lunch in Grove Hill, the Clarke County seat founded in the war’s aftermath.
In the afternoon, we visit the Fort Stoddert / Mount Vernon site, a frontier outpost established in 1799 that once served as a U.S. Army headquarters and briefly held Aaron Burr after his failed conspiracy.
A short drive brings us to the Ellicott Stone, a 1799 boundary marker that established the 31st parallel as the southern border of the United States.
The day concludes with a walking tour of historic downtown Mobile, including Fort Condé, the Battle House Hotel (Jackson’s 1815 headquarters), the History Museum of Mobile, and the waterfront, where centuries of Gulf Coast history meet.
We’ll return to the hotel in Spanish Fort.
Lunch is included, but dinner is on your own.
Friday, March 13, 2026 (8 a.m.–5 p.m.)
Departing the hotel at 8 a.m., we’ll begin the day heading toward key sites that reveal how the Gulf Coast’s strategic importance endured from the War of 1812 through the Civil War. Our first stop is the Spanish Fort battlefield, scene of fierce fighting on April 1865, when Union troops attacked Confederate defenses guarding Mobile in one of the Civil War’s final campaigns.
Just across the river lies Fort Blakeley, the best-preserved Civil War battlefield in Alabama and the site of the war’s last major engagement, fought even as news of Appomattox spread across the country.
As we travel east, the pine forests open toward the Florida coast, following routes once marched by British, Spanish, and American troops vying for control of the Gulf.
We explore downtown Pensacola, one of America’s oldest colonial settlements, visiting Fort George, Plaza Ferdinand VII, and the Archaeological Trail, where layers of Spanish, British, and early American history intersect along the waterfront.
We’ll enjoy lunch in Pensacola’s vibrant historic district, whose shaded streets and 19th-century buildings reflect more than four centuries of occupation and trade. At Fort Morgan, we walk through the star-shaped brick bastions that replaced the earlier Fort Bowyer, site of two War of 1812 battles where Americans repelled British assaults. The same waters later witnessed Admiral Farragut’s legendary 1864 charge—“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”—during the Battle of Mobile Bay.
We return to Spanish Fort by evening.
Lunch is included, but dinner is on your own.
Saturday, March 14, 2026 (8 a.m.–5 p.m.)
We set out at 8 a.m. for New Orleans, following the historic Gulf Coast route that witnessed centuries of colonial and wartime struggle. Along the way, we’ll pass key Mississippi sites including the Fort Maurepas site at Ocean Springs—the first French settlement on the Gulf Coast in 1699—Beauvoir, the seaside home of Jefferson Davis, and the waters of the Battle of Lake Borgne, where British gunboats defeated American forces in December 1814.
We’ll enjoy lunch in Slidell, a bustling town near Lake Pontchartrain that grew along the same route used by British forces advancing toward New Orleans.
Continuing along U.S. 90, we trace part of the British approach to New Orleans, passing the Villere Plantation site, where British troops first encamped, and viewing Forts Pike and Macomb, two early 19th-century coastal defenses built after the war to protect the city.
At Chalmette Battlefield, we stand where Andrew Jackson’s mixed army of militia, frontiersmen, and free men of color repelled the British on January 8, 1815, in one of the most decisive victories in U.S. military history.
Crossing into New Orleans, we enter the storied French Quarter, where military triumph and Creole culture have long intertwined. Our walking tour includes Jackson Square, where the general is immortalized in bronze; St. Louis Cathedral, a symbol of the city’s Catholic heritage; Maspero’s Coffee House, where Jackson met with his officers; and the Old Absinthe House, a legendary gathering spot for soldiers and citizens during the campaign.
Lunch included, but dinner is on your own.
Sunday, March 15, 2026 (8 a.m.–5 p.m.)
We depart New Orleans to explore the lower reaches of the Mississippi River, where the fight for control of America’s greatest waterway continued long after Jackson’s victory. Our route follows the west bank of the river, tracing the movements of British forces during the 1815 Battle of New Orleans.
At the West Bank historic marker, we view the ground where British troops launched diversionary attacks across the river in the final hours of the campaign. We continue downriver through Plaquemines Parish, passing sugarcane fields and levees that have guarded this vital corridor for two centuries.
At the Fort Jackson Museum, exhibits recount the fort’s long service—from its post–War of 1812 construction to its role as a Confederate stronghold during the Civil War. We’ll tour the impressive brick bastions of Fort Jackson, built in 1822 to defend the river’s mouth and later besieged by Union gunboats in 1862 during Admiral Farragut’s campaign.
We’ll enjoy lunch at a local restaurant and return to Spanish Fort by evening.
Lunch is included.
About the Faculty
Mike Bunn is Director of Fort Blakeley State Park and a former interpreter at Fort Morgan Historic Site. He is the author of Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf Coast During America’s Revolutionary Era and Civil War Eufala; and coauthor of Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and the War of 1812. A career public historian, Mike is a frequent speaker throughout Alabama and beyond, and he teaches Civil War history in local continuing education programs.
Hotel Information
Your hotel accommodations for four nights—Wednesday, March 11, through Sunday, March 15—are included with your tour admission. The headquarters hotel is Fairfield Inn & Suites, Mobile Daphne/Eastern Shore, 12000 Cypress Way, Spanish Fort, AL 36527; 251-370-1160. If you plan to stay on Sunday night, March 15, 2026, or any other night beyond the four included, please make arrangements directly with the hotel.
Transportation
The servicing airport is Mobile Regional Airport (MOB), 31 miles away. Flights into Mobile are typically more expensive than those into Pensacola Regional (PNS), which is serviced by Southwest Airlines and located 52 miles away. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (MSY) is farther but easily reached via interstate, taking roughly two hours to Mobile. The hotel is conveniently located just off I-10 east of Mobile.
Recommended Reading
You will be provided with a map and/or handouts upon arrival. The following books are suggested to enhance your readiness for the program.
Regarding the War of 1812 on the Gulf Coast:
- Bunn, Mike and Clay Williams. Battle for the Southern Frontier. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-1596293717.
- Heidler, David and Jeanne Heidler. Old Hickory’s War: Andrew Jackson and the Quest for Empire. Baton Rouge, LA: LSU Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-0807128671.
- Remini, Robert. The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America’s First Military Victory. New York City, NY: Penguin Publishing Group, 2001. ISBN: 978-0141001791.
- Waselkov, Greg. A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813–1814. Tuscaloosa, AL: University Alabama Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0817355739.
Regarding Civil War in the Mobile area:
- Bergeron, Arthur: Confederate Mobile. Baton Rouge, LA: LSU Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-0807125731.
- Brueske, Paul. The Last Siege, The Mobile Campaign, Alabama 1865. Havertown, PA: Casemate Press, 2018. ISBN: 978-1612006314.
- Friend, Jack. West Wind, Flood Tide: The Battle of Mobile Bay. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2014. ISBN: 978-1612514871.
- Gottchalk, Phil. In Deadly Earnest: The History of the First Missouri Brigade. Columbia, MO: Missouri River Press, 1992. ISBN: 978-0963113610.
- Hearn, Chester. Mobile Bay and the Mobile Campaign: The Last Great Battles of the Civil War. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1998. ISBN: 978-0786405749.
- Hearn, Chester. Admiral David Glasgow Farragut: The Civil War Years. Annapolis MD: Naval Institute Press, 1997. ISBN: 978-1557503848.
- Wise, Stephen. Lifeline of the Confederacy: Blockade Running During the Civil War (Studies in Maritime History). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1991. ISBN: 978-0872497993.
Tour Pricing
Current BGES Member $1575 (one-time payment, no deposit)
Non-BGES member $1625 (one-time payment, no deposit)
Deposit to reserve spot: $300
Annual membership fee: $75
Registration
To register by mail or fax, download: Printable Registration Form
Questions? Need more information? Please Contact Us