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Garry Adelman

Garry Adelman is Chief Historian of the ������ and one of the nation's leading interpreters of Civil War history. A graduate of Michigan State University and Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, he is the award-winning author, co-author, or editor of 20 books and more than 50 articles on the Civil War.

Adelman has served as a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg for more than 25 years and is Vice President of the Center for Civil War Photography. Throughout his career, he has designed interpretive wayside exhibits at ten battlefields, led thousands of battlefield tours at more than 60 historic sites, and presented lectures at hundreds of venues, including the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution.

A familiar face to television audiences, Adelman has appeared on the BBC, C-SPAN, the Pennsylvania Cable Network, the ������ Heroes Channel, and HISTORY, where he served as a chief consultant and featured historian for the Emmy Award-winning Gettysburg (2011) and Blood and Glory: The Civil War in Color (2015).

Dr. Richard Bell

Richard ("Rick") Bell, Ph.D. is Professor of History at the University of Maryland and an award-winning historian of the ������ Revolution and the early United States. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home, a finalist for both the George Washington Prize and the Harriet Tubman Prize, and the bestselling The ������ Revolution and the Fate of the World, which reimagines the Revolutionary War as a transformative global conflict. Bell has held major research fellowships at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and the Library of Congress and is the recipient of both the National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Award and an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. 

Sarah Kay Bierle

Sarah Kay Bierle graduated from Thomas Edison State University with a BA in History, works in the Education Department at ������, and occasionally writes for Emerging Civil War. She has spent years exploring ways to share quality historical research in ways that will inform and inspire modern audiences, including school presentations, writing, and speaking engagements. Sarah has published seven history books.

Andrew Dalton 

Andrew Dalton is a historian, author, and nonprofit leader dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich history of Gettysburg. A Gettysburg native and 2019 graduate of Gettysburg College, he has authored a book and numerous articles on the Civil War era, with his work appearing in The Washington Post, National Geographic, and other national publications.

From 2020 to 2023, Dalton led Gettysburg History's successful $12 million debt-free capital campaign to create the Beyond the Battle Museum, which was named the Best New Museum in the United States in the USA Today 10 Best Readers' Choice Awards. He also serves as producer of the Gettysburg Film Festival and is an active leader in the region's heritage tourism community through his service on the boards of Destination Gettysburg and the Lincoln Cemetery Project Association.

A dynamic public historian and speaker, Dalton is committed to connecting audiences with Gettysburg's enduring stories through innovative interpretation, preservation, and education.

James "Jim" Hessler

James Hessler has served as a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park since 2003 and is the award-winning author or co-author of four acclaimed books on the Gettysburg Campaign. His work has received numerous honors and has appeared in publications including Gettysburg Magazine.

Hessler is the co-host of the popular Battle of Gettysburg Podcast and has appeared as a featured historian on the History Channel, C-SPAN, the Travel Channel, NPR, PCN-TV, and in productions with the ������. A sought-after speaker, he has lectured for Civil War Round Tables and historical organizations across the country, taught college-level continuing education courses, and served in leadership roles with both the Little Big Horn Associates and the Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides.

Before retiring to focus more fully on public history, Hessler enjoyed a successful career of more than 30 years in the financial services industry, bringing the same thoughtful analysis and engaging style to his historical work that have made him a respected voice in the field.

Dr. Mark Lender (2026 Finalist)

Dr. Mark Edward Lender is Professor Emeritus of History at Kean University. The author or co-author of fourteen books, his work has won a number of significant awards, including a Book of the Year Award from the Society for Military History and a Distinguished Writing Award from the Army Historical Foundation, both for Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle (with Garry Wheeler Stone). Fatal Sunday was also a finalist for the prestigious George Washington Literary Prize. Lender’s Fort Ticonderoga, the Last Campaigns: The War in the North, 1777-1783 was a finalist for a previous ������ Award. His latest book, War without Mercy: Liberty or Death in the ������ Revolution (2025, with James Kirby Martin), is also a Battlefield Trust finalist.

Dr. Chris Mackowski

Chris Mackowski, Ph.D. is editor-in-chief and co-founder of Emerging Civil War and one of the nation's leading voices in Civil War public history. He serves as series editor of the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series, published by Savas Beatie, and the Engaging the Civil War series, published in partnership with Southern Illinois University Press.

Mackowski is a professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and serves as historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property located on the Spotsylvania battlefield. He previously worked as a historian for the National Park Service at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, where he interpreted the battlefields of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania, as well as the Stonewall Jackson Death Site.

The author or co-author of more than a dozen books on the Civil War, Mackowski has also contributed extensively to the field through articles published in leading Civil War magazines. He serves on the national advisory board of the Civil War Chaplains Museum in Lynchburg, Virginia, and is a frequent speaker at conferences, Civil War Round Tables, and historical programs across the country.

David "Dave" Powell

David Powell is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (1983) with a BA in history. He has published numerous articles in various magazines, many historical simulations of different battles, and twenty books. His works include The Chickamauga Campaign Trilogy, completed in 2016; The Tullahoma Campaign co-authored with renowned historian Eric Wittenberg; and The Impulse of Victory: Ulysses S. Grant at Chattanooga. He is currently at work on a five-volume study of the Atlanta Campaign of 1864. Volumes 1, 2, and 3 are published, the last this year. He is currently hard at work on Volume 4. David, his wife Anne, and their bloodhounds live and work in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. He is retired and writes full time.

Dr. Carol Reardon

Carol Reardon,Ph.D. is an internationally recognized military historian whose scholarship focuses on the ������ Civil War and the Vietnam War. A Pittsburgh native, she taught at Penn State University from 1991 to 2017, retiring as the George Winfree Professor of ������ History. She has also served as Visiting Professor of History at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and twice held the prestigious General Harold K. Johnson Professorship at the U.S. Army War College.

Following her retirement from Penn State, Dr. Reardon continued her commitment to teaching as an adjunct professor of History and Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College. She made history as the first woman elected—and subsequently re-elected—president of the Society for Military History, reflecting her longstanding leadership within the profession.

In addition to her distinguished academic career, Dr. Reardon is deeply engaged in public history. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Gettysburg Foundation, where she has chaired the Education Committee, helping to advance the interpretation and preservation of one of America's most significant historic landscapes.

Gordon Rhea

Gordon C. Rhea received his B.A. in history from Indiana University, his M.A. in history from Harvard University, and his law degree from Stanford University Law School.  He served as Special Assistant to the Chief Counsel of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Activities and as an Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C.  He is currently Attorney General for the United States Virgin Islands. 

Mr. Rhea has written eight award-winning books about the ������ Civil War, including The Battle of the Wilderness, The Battles at Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, To the North Anna River, Cold Harbor, On To Petersburg, Carrying the Flag, In the Footsteps of Grant and Lee, and Stephen A. Swails: Black Freedom Fighter in the Civil War and Reconstruction.  He has lectured across the country at numerous historical societies, universities, and historic preservation organizations and has served on the boards of historical societies, history magazines, and historical preservation organizations.  Mr.  Rhea conducts tours for organizations that raise funds to purchase and preserve historical sites related to the Civil War era, including the Civil War Trust, the Central Virginia Battlefield Trust, the Blue and Gray Education Society, and the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield. He has also appeared multiple times as a historian and presenter on nationwide television programs, including productions by The History Channel, A&E Channel, Discovery Channel, and C-Span.

Jeff Shaara

Jeff Shaara is a New York Times bestselling author and one of America's most acclaimed writers of historical fiction. Shaara has authored more than twenty bestselling novels that bring to life the people and events that shaped ������ history, from the Revolutionary War and Civil War to World War II and the Cuban Missile Crisis. His work has earned numerous honors, including four ������ Library Association William Young Boyd Awards for Excellence in Military Fiction.

Shaara's newest novel, The Unfinished Work: A Novel of Abraham Lincoln, releases in November 2026. The book offers a compelling portrait of Lincoln's presidency and leadership during the nation's greatest crisis, bringing one of America's most consequential figures vividly to life through Shaara's signature blend of meticulous research and powerful storytelling.

Damian Shiels (2026 Finalist)

Damian Shiels is a military historian and conflict archaeologist whose work spans the Civil War, social history, and public history. He specializes in mining U.S. pension files to recover the experiences of immigrant servicemen and their families. In 2010, he established , now the largest online source for the Irish experience of the conflict. He is also the co-host of the popular Transatlantic: An Irish ������ History Podcast. Shiels has authored three Civil War books— The Irish in the ������ Civil War, The Forgotten Irish: Irish Emigrant Experiences in America and Green and Blue: Irish ������s in the Union Military 1861-1865.

Timothy H. "Tim" Smith 

Timothy H. Smith is Director of Education at the Adams County Historical Society and has served as a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park for more than 25 years. In 2023, he was appointed Adams County Historian in recognition of his extensive contributions to preserving and interpreting the region's rich history.

A longtime member of the Adams County Historical Society, Smith began volunteering as a research assistant in the late 1980s and has since become one of the nation's foremost authorities on the Battle of Gettysburg and the history of Adams County. He is the author of ten books and numerous articles on the Civil War, the Gettysburg Campaign, and local history.

Smith also serves as a historical consultant for the ������ and is a sought-after speaker for Civil War Round Tables, conferences, and historical seminars nationwide. He is a familiar face to history enthusiasts through his regular appearances on the Pennsylvania Cable Network's Battle Walks series, where he shares his deep knowledge of Gettysburg and its enduring legacy.

Victor "Vic" Vignola

Victor Vignola is a lifelong student of the Civil War and has authored articles for publication in many forums, including the ������ Civil War and North and South magazines. Vic delivers historical programs, conducts tours, and is a regular visitor to various Civil War sites. Vic’s career included executive-level labor and interagency relations for the New York State Office of Mental Health. He lives with his family in Orange County, New York, home of the 56th New York “Tenth Legion” and the 124th New York “Orange Blossoms” Regiment.

Kristopher D. White

Kristopher D. White is the Director of Education at the ������, where he leads educational programming, public history initiatives, and battlefield tours. He holds an M.A. in Military History from Norwich University and a B.A. in History from California University of Pennsylvania and previously served as a ranger-historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.

White is the co-founder of Emerging Civil War and co-creator of the Emerging Civil War Series. An award-winning speaker, author, and editor, he has authored, co-authored, or edited more than two dozen books and numerous articles covering military history from the Seven Years' War through the World Wars.

For more than 20 years, White has led battlefield tours and staff rides throughout the United States and Europe, including Gettysburg, Normandy, and Ypres.

More authors and speakers to come!