ECW Welcomes Dwight Hughes

Dwight Hughes has been treating ECW readers to a lot of great naval history in his guest posts here, so we thought it was about time to say, “Welcome aboard!”

Dwight graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1967 with a major in history and government. He served twenty years as a Navy surface warfare officer on many oceans in ships ranging from destroyer to aircraft carrier and with river forces in Vietnam (Bronze Star for Meritorious Service, Purple Heart). He taught Naval ROTC at the University of Rochester, earning an MA in Political Science, and later completed an MS in Information Systems Management from USC. Dwight’s second career was software engineering, primarily in electronic mapping for the U.S. Geological Survey. A ridge in Antarctica is named for him in recognition of contributions to Antarctic databases and information services.

Dwight’s current calling builds on a lifetime of study in naval and Civil War history to translate a love of the sea and ships into an understanding of our Civil War heritage, and to communicate that heritage in an educational and entertaining manner. His first book, A Confederate Biography: The Cruise of the CSS Shenandoah, came out in 2015, and he has published in Naval History Magazine.

Dwight is a life member of the U.S. Naval Institute, a member of the Naval Historical Foundation and of the National Maritime Historical Society. He lives with his wife, Judi, in the woods near Nokesville, VA, just down the road from the Bristoe Station battlefield.