The Seven Days Battles

Updated Special Offer: All participants who register for this tour by April 25 will receive a complimentary ticket to the April 30 McClellan and the Seven Days Battles online program on Zoom. Further information will be shared with qualifying registrants via email in late April.

In March 1862, Union Gen. George B. McClellan embarked upon a bold campaign to move his 100,000-man army by ship from Alexandria to Fort Monroe, Virginia, only 80 miles from Richmond, the Confederate capital. By the end of May, McClellan and his army were on Richmond’s outskirts.

Confronted by this ominous threat, the Confederates shifted their forces to Richmond and assigned Gen. Robert E. Lee the daunting task of stopping a Union juggernaut capable of ending the Civil War. Thus, the stage was set for what became known as the Seven Days Battles.

Led by Civil War tour guide and career military intelligence officer Marc Thompson, travel to five of these battlefields: Beaver Dam Creek, Gaines’ Mill, White Oak Swamp, Glendale, and Malvern Hill. The tour also includes other significant locations associated with the Seven Days Battles, including Chickahominy Bluff, Walnut Grove Church, and McClellan’s headquarters at the Trent House.

Know Before You Go

• The tour departs by motorcoach from downtown Washington, DC with a designated secondary pick-up outside the city. Content delivered by the study leader on the way to the destination, after the secondary pick-up, is an integral part of the study tour experience. Meeting the group once the tour is en route is discouraged.
• Tour participants meet at and leave by bus from the Holiday Inn Capitol at 550 C St., SW (corner of 6th and C Streets), with a pickup stop at Horner Road commuter lot bus shelter, I-95, Exit 158B, at about 7:25 a.m.
• Lunch is included in this tour.

• Considerable walking on uneven terrain requires good mobility; dress in comfortable clothing and footwear.

General Information

• Registration for this tour will end by 2 p.m. ET on Friday, May 3, 2024.
• Smithsonian Associates is a mask-friendly environment. Please feel free to bring and wear a mask at any time during a tour, both for your safety or the safety of others.
• For additional tour information:
• Study Tour Policies
• Refund/Cancellation Policy