I was born and raised in Philadelphia and developed an interest in the Civil War when I was about 11 or 12 years old.  I went off to college and left behind my interest in history and it was not reignited until I returned to Philadelphia about 25 years later.  In between, I continued my education and earned a Ph.D. in Zoology and became a full-time faculty member, then a department head, then a dean, then a chief academic officer, and finally a college president.  I served in that capacity for 17 years before retiring in 2017. While I miss the ability to make a difference in people’s lives, I enjoy being in control of my time (actually I share that responsibility with my wife!).

After we retired we left Southern Maryland and settled in Fairfield, Pennsylvania, just west of Gettysburg. The aging process and prospects of health issues caused us to move to a one-story home in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania (Penn National Community), just east of Chambersburg in 2020 (just before the Pandemic). We moved yet again in 2023 to a beautiful home in the same community. I am able to get to Gettysburg within 30 minutes and Antietam within 50 minutes.

I spend a lot of time writing about the Civil War.  Much of my early writings were about the Gettysburg Campaign.  I also wrote two brigade-level histories to honor the units/men who hailed from my new homes.  Finally, I developed an interest in telling the history of the Eastern Theater of the Civil War in maps.  Nine books have been published (First Bull Run, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Maps of the Cavalry in the Gettysburg, Bristoe Station/Mine Run, Wilderness, Spotsylvania).  My should be out in March, 2020. I am almost finished with the Peninsula/Seven Days Campaign and half-way through the Petersburg/Appomattox Campaigns). That means all I have left are: Chancellorsville, and the two Shenandoah Valley Campaigns (1862 and 1864). I am also working with ean Chick on the Maps of the Shiloh Campaign volume.

A wise man once corrected me when I told him I would do things differently in retirement. He just smiled and said, “You are Brad and you won’t change much.” He was right! I still wake up between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. to answer emails and write, still drive too fast, and tend to be too adamant about things.

Oh, I am also a Gettysburg Licensed Town Guide and an Antietam Battlefield Guide. I volunteer at the Antietam Battlefield Visitor Center every other Wednesday afternoon and am a “Battlefield Ambassador.”

I am married to the love of my life, Linda, and have two of my own children and have inherited two of hers.  We also have five grandchildren among us.

I am blessed.

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