Kevin Pawlak
Kevin Pawlak is a Historic Site Manager for the Prince William County Office of Historic Preservation. He is also a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Antietam National Battlefield, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, and South Mountain State Battlefield. Kevin serves on the Board of Directors of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association, the Save Historic Antietam Foundation, and the Antietam Institute, where he serves as the editor of The Antietam Journal.
Previously, Kevin has worked or completed internships at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, and the Mosby Heritage Area Association.
Kevin is the author of eight books on the American Civil War, including three books in the Emerging Civil War Series.
A full listing of Kevin’s Emerging Civil War articles can be found here.
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Kevin is also a member of the Emerging Civil War Speakers Bureau. His available presentations are listed below:
Antietam Endgame
Examines the last three days of the Maryland Campaign, September 18-20, 1862, and its repercussions for the campaign.
“We labor under many disadvantages”: The Confederate Medical Corps in the Maryland Campaign of September 1862
Discusses the actions of the Army of Northern Virginia’s medical corps from late August to Early October 1862 and its successes and failures during the battle of Antietam.
“The General Result Was In Our Favor”: George b. McClellan in the Maryland Campaign
Challenges common notions about George McClellan’s performance in the Maryland Campaign and the outcome of that campaign.
Federal High Command at Antietam: Their biographies, Backgrounds, and Relationships
Examines the Union corps commanders at the Battle of Antietam – where they came from, where they fought, and how they interacted with one another.
“Raised from Obscurity”: The Cavalry Battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville on the Road to Gettysburg
Discusses the often-overlooked series of cavalry battles fought in the Loudoun Valley from June 17-21, 1863.
Water to his Front, Water to his Rear: Robert E. Lee Defends the Confederate High Water Mark at Sharpsburg
Evaluates Robert E. Lee’s decision-making related to the Battle of Antietam: why did he fight there, when did he decide, and what did he hope to do at Antietam?
John Brown’s Raid
What did John Brown hope to accomplish by raiding the Harpers Ferry arsenal, and why did he fail? This talk will explore in detail the raid and its aftermath.
A Seared Soul: The Fall of Fitz John Porter
Fitz John Porter was a rising star in the United States Army at the beginning of the Civil War. By the end of the war, he was no longer a general in that army. This talk will examine Porter’s role in the Civil War and the court martial that expelled him from it.
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Publications
Books
- Shepherdstown in the Civil War: One Vast Confederate Hospital. (The History Press, 2015.)
- To Hazard All: A Guide to the Maryland Campaign, 1862. (Savas Beatie, 2018.) (co-authored with Robert Orrison)
- Antietam National Battlefield. (Arcadia Publishing, 2019.)
- Ohio at Antietam: The Buckeye State’s Sacrifice on America’s Bloodiest Day. (The History Press, 2021.) (co-authored with Dan Welch)
- John Brown’s Raid: Harpers Ferry and the Coming of the Civil War, October 16-18, 1859. (Savas Beatie, 2023.) (co-authored with Jon-Erik M. Gilot)
- Such a Clash of Arms: The Maryland Campaign, September 1862. (Casemate Publishers, 2023.)
- Never Such a Campaign: The Battle of Second Manassas, August 28-30, 1862. (Savas Beatie, 2024.) (co-authored with Dan Welch)
- Commanders of Antietam. Sharpsburg, MD: The Press of the Antietam Institute, 2024. (co-authored with Bradley M. Gottfried, eds.)
