As the words to a once, if not still, popular tune say: “Carry me back to old Virginia.” The Colonel Crowther Foundation is delighted to announce that is where a special tour will be headed on the morning of May 3.
This year is the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Of special significance is the day, May 3, when the Foundation will be present on the battlefield. On this day in 1863 Colonel James Crowther was killed in battle giving that last full measure while leading the men he refused to abandon. Many other members of the 110th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers lost their lives on this day in 1863. Colonel Crowther and his men were trapped but he would not surrender. Only half of the men in the regiment survived that day.
The chartered 55-passenger Fullington bus will leave Tyrone at 7 a.m. from the Park and Ride area. One stop is planned in Bedford to board people from that community who are joining the tour. A presentation concerning the Battle of Chancellorsville, focusing on the 110th Pennsylvania Volunteer’s role, will occur on the bus. The bus should arrive in Fredericksburg, Virginia near 11:30 a.m.
The tour will eat lunch at Fuddruckers restaurant before proceeding to the Chancellorsville Visitor’s Center. Each member of the tour will select an item from a special menu for his or her lunch in advance. The folks at Fuddruckers will have lunch ready to eat when the tour arrives.
After lunch everyone will travel to the National Park Service’s Chancellorsville Visitor’s Center. The afternoon will be spent touring the battlefield with Bob Roser. Bob has served as a volunteer tour guide at the battlefield and is Senior Vice Commander of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Camp No. 4, Irish Brigade in Fredericksburg. He is well-known as a very knowledgeable tour guide with a great sense of humor.
When the tour is complete, everyone will travel to the Fredericksburg National Cemetery where the color guard and others from Camp No. 4 Irish Brigade, will join the tour for a special wreath-laying ceremony at Colonel Crowther’s grave. Colonel Crowther is the senior Union officer whose remains are buried in this cemetery. After the ceremony everyone will have a buffet dinner at Old Country Buffet and return to Tyrone after dinner, stopping at Bedford on the way, arriving back in Tyrone around 10 p.m..
The cost for the tour including meals is $65 per person. Reservations should be made as soon as possible. For a reservation form, contact the Foundation by telephone at 814-641-0353, by mail addressed to: The Colonel Crowther Foundation, 318 Mifflin Street, Huntingdon, PA 16652, or by email at rhileman@pennswoods.net. Full payment in advance with the completed form is requested. Credit card payments are accepted. A four percent service charge will be added for credit card payments to offset the foundation’s cost of processing the payment.
