2023 National Conference:

The Road to and From Gettysburg: The Shenandoah Valley in 1863

George Washington Hotel, Winchester, Virginia

(April 20-22, 2023)

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation’s 2023 National Civil War Conference will look at the Valley in 1863, focusing on the Valley’s role in the Gettysburg Campaign.  When Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee launched his second major invasion of the north in 1863, much of his army used the Shenandoah Valley as an avenue of invasion – and, after his defeat in Pennsylvania, as a route of retreat.  During the campaign, the Valley would witness the Battles of Second Winchester (“one of the most perfect pieces of work the Army of Northern Virginia ever did.”), which cleared Lee’s route north, and Manassas Gap, the last Federal opportunity to cut off Lee as he withdrew south.

The conference will be held from April 20-22, 2023, and will be headquartered at the George Washington Hotel in downtown Winchester, Virginia.  160 years after the historic events, this conference will cover the pivotal battles that bookended the campaign; the efforts to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation in the Valley and how the fortunes of war affected those efforts; the Valley’s role as an avenue of supply, communication, advance, and withdrawal; the transport of and caring for the overwhelming numbers of wounded brought back to the Valley; and the critical days after Lee’s army crossed the Potomac into the Valley, where the fate of the war hung in the balance.

The conference will include talks, special events, and a day-long tour of the Second Winchester battlefield. Guides and speakers will include Gary L. Ecelbarger, Aragon Herrera, Jeffrey William Hunt, Ron Maxwell, William J. Miller, Scott L. Mingus, Jonathan A. Noyalas, Scott C. Patchan, and Mike Robinson.

The cost for the full conference is $360 for SVBF members, $395 for non-members.  A la carte registration for individual days is also available.