Civil war battlefields - DIY or organised tour ?

Hi - firstly apologies if this topic has come up before, but if I stay at Keswick Hall, Charlottesville for a week, would I be able to DIY my travels round the civil war battlefields or can I get an organised tour over say 3/4 days.

My interests are not only the main Virginia battlefields such as Bulls Run (1%26amp;2), Fredericksburg and the Seven Days, but also Stonewall Jackson%26#39;s campaign in the Shenandoah and up maybe to Antetiam.

Second question - whilst we could eat at Keswick Hall every night, I would prefer to find a few other quality places - where do you suggest ?

Thanks in advance

Civil war battlefields - DIY or organised tour ?

Here is something we have found very handy.

www.civilwartraveler.com/EAST/VA/index.html

When you pull it up you will see links to states along the east, including Pennsylvania and states west such as Tennessee, Kentucky, etc.

For VA you will see the links for Valley and Mountains as well as the east coast of Va. and in between.

The site will link you to a great brochure called Virginia Civil War Trails.

Really comprehensive we feel.

And, of course, every link has lots of pix and links of their own.

You might also add to your info Lee%26#39;s Retreat Trail:

http://varetreat.com/lee.asp

Give me a minute. I%26#39;m looking for another one.

Okay. Journey Through Hallowed Ground. When you pull up hte site, look at ';Explore Sites by Interest'; where you can click on ';Civil War';. Also look at ';Explore Sites by Region'; where you can go by state. It%26#39;ll take you from Maryland to Pensylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, a nicely done collection with links to maps and towns which themselves have further historic links.

Now, you say you have a good month, right? Just kidding.

You%26#39;ll get a lot of answers soon. For other personal ideas and experiences of others at your fingertips go to the little empty box above these posts and type in the words civil war and you get several. You can sort by relevance or date.

Civil war battlefields - DIY or organised tour ?

Oh, my goodness, nearly forgot that last link:

http://www.hallowedground.org/

Do check out the civilwartraveler.com site. You may wish to hire a guide for 1 or 2 days of your trip, because sometimes a guide can show you things and tell you tips and tidbits you%26#39;d not be able to find out for yourself.

Without knowing for sure, my gut feeling is that Keswick Hall is not close to other places for eating out as it%26#39;s a bit of a drive to Charlottesville, and even further to Richmond. Keswick Hall seems far out in the country between Richmond and Charlottesville -- it certainly seems that way when you%26#39;re driving from one city to the other.

Depending on your preferences, I%26#39;d eat out someplace in a town or city on your way back to KH from these Civil War sites. In other words, don%26#39;t expect to return to your hotel for a nap and shower and then be able to just pop out to a pub or restaurant. There may not be any close by.

Okay - thanks to you all for your posts.

If I decided to split the accomodation with somewhere nearer Richmond, where would people recommend at the top end of the market.

the jefferson hotel in downtown richmond is very nice.

spots