Year in Review: In Memoriam
The Civil War field lost two giants in 2020, both of whom made real impacts on us at Emerging Civil War. Coincidentally, both were well known for their work with battlefield tours, specifically.
In July 2020, Ted Alexander died. Ted was the former historian at Antietam National Battlefield and director of the Chambersburg Civil War Seminars. In 2016, Ted was the inaugural recipient of the Emerging Civil War Award for Service in Civil War Public History (click here for details). You can read our remembrance of Ted Alexander here.
In September 2020, Ed Bearss died after suffering a heart attack. Ed, former chief historian for the National Park Service, was a household name in the Civil War world because of his tireless tour and lecture schedule. You can read our remembrance of Ed Bearss here.
Another loss in September had Civil War repercussions: Winston Groom. Best known as the author of Forrest Gump, Groom wrote an excellent trilogy about the Civil War in the West. You can read our remembrance of Winston Groom here.
As someone who has attended the Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce’s Civil War seminars, aka “The Ed & Ted Show,” for almost 30 years, it’s hard to believe that Ted Alexander and Ed Bearss are no longer with us.
As a student of the American Civil War, Ted always had the top Civil War historians, speakers and tour guides from Dennis Frye, Dr. James McPherson, Dr. Richard Sommers to Jeff Wert and Eric Wittenberg.
At the top of Ted’s seminars speakers/tour guides was as Dennis Frye referred to as The National Archives: Edwin C. Bearss, Purple Heart Winner, Historian, tour guide and a giant of battlefield preservation.