Historians, Guides & Speakers

Rick Atkinson (Event Keynote Speaker)

Rick Atkinson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and one of America's most acclaimed military historians. He has written eight bestselling narrative histories spanning the Revolutionary War and World War II, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning An Army at Dawn and the #1 New York Times bestseller The Guns at Last Light. His current Revolution Trilogy chronicles America's fight for independence, beginning with The British Are Coming and continuing with The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777–1780. Renowned for his meticulous research and engaging storytelling, Atkinson has earned widespread praise for bringing the people, campaigns, and turning points of history vividly to life.

Dr. Richard "Rick" Bell (American Battlefield Trust Prize for History Finalist)

Richard ("Rick") Bell, Ph.D. is Professor of History at the University of Maryland and an award-winning historian of the American 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 American 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.

Daniel Davis

Dan Davis is Principal, Interpretation and Special Projects at the American Battlefield Trust. He is a native of Fredericksburg, VA, where his love for the Civil War began on childhood trips to local battlefields. Dan is a graduate of Longwood University with a bachelor’s degree in Public History. Dan has worked as a Ranger/Historian at Appomattox Court House National Historical Site and the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. He is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles on the Civil War.

David Duncan

David Duncan is the President of the American Battlefield Trust. David joined the American Battlefield Trust in March 2000 after 14 years in the direct marketing, political, and charitable fundraising industry. His work was recognized three times by the American Association of Political Consultants for effectiveness. A native Virginian, he graduated from James Madison University with a BS in Telecommunications and a minor in Music Composition. He is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Direct Marketing Association of Washington, which has awarded the Trust 15 awards for marketing excellence. David spent more than 20 years as the organization’s primary fundraiser and Chief Development Officer before being named, in October 2020, to take over the top spot following the retirement of longtime president O. James Lighthizer. David can identify three Civil War ancestors; two from the 54th VA Infantry with the Army of Tennessee, while the third was a lieutenant in the 57th VA Infantry (Armistead’s Brigade, Pickett’s Division, July 3, ’63). 

Kate Egner

Kate Egner graduated from the College of William and Mary with a M.A. in American History and has a B.A. in Historic Preservation and Classics from the University of Mary Washington. Kate has experience in historic archaeology, architecture, and quantitative and digital history. As a John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library Fellow at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, she has transcribed records of the Williamsburg Public Store (1775-1780) and is continuing her research on the store’s customers, goods, and functions in Revolutionary Virginia. A member of the State Historical Records Advisory Board, the Virginia Association of Museums, and The Company of Military Historians, she was previously a curator for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in Williamsburg, Virginia, and is currently the Senior Manager, Digital Content, at the American Battlefield Trust.

Kenneth Gavin

Kenneth A. Gavin is a seasoned professional with nearly 25 years of experience in the fields of public history, public relations, and senior management in the non-profit sector. 

As an interpretive guide at Valley Forge National Historical Park for the past 19 years, he has conducted hundreds of tours. He also served as a key consultant and actor for the park’s official orientation film, Determined to Persevere, and partners with the National Park Service on its living history programs there.

Previously, Ken served as a guide in the Gettysburg area and in Olde City Philadelphia in conjunction with Teaching American History Grant programs sponsored by the United States Department of Education. 

He possesses over two decades of substantial experience with living history programs relative to the American Revolution and American Civil War eras in partnership with county, state, and federal agencies. He currently serves as commander of the recreated Spencer’s Additional Regiment and the Adjutant of the Continental Line.

A strong believer in historic education and preservation, Ken has served in executive leadership positions on the boards of several museums, historic sites, and other non-profit entities. He is currently employed part time by the State of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry, where he serves as Park Project Specialist for Semiquicentennial Living History Programs, as well as Washington Crossing Historic Park in Pennsylvania, where he serves as Senior Consultant for Public History Programming. 

Ken has also been a preferred model and central figure for the works of noted historical artists Don Troiani and Jeff Trexler. He is a frequent guest on the Addressing Gettysburg Podcast as well as The History Things Podcast and is consulting Adams County Historical Society regarding Semiquincentennial programming as a member of its Council of Historians.

Will Greene (American Battlefield Trust Prize for History Finalist)

A. Wilson Greene is the former president and CEO of one of the Trust’s predecessor organizations, the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites.  He served sixteen years with the National Park Service at a variety of historic sites. Will served as the Executive Director of Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier from 1995-2017. He holds degrees in history from Florida State University and Louisiana State University. Greene is a frequent lecturer and study leader for the Smithsonian Institution, the Blue and Gray Education Society, and he has spoken to more than 100 Civil War Round Tables and provided more than 50 tours to special interest history groups. He is currently working on an in-depth trilogy of the 1864-65 Petersburg Campaign.

Phillip S. Greenwalt

Phillip S. Greenwalt is the co-founder of Emerging Revolutionary War and a full-time historian with Emerging Civil War. He is the author or co-author of seven books on the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars. He currently works for the National Park Service.

Michael C. Harris

Michael C. Harris is a graduate of the University of Mary Washington and the American Military University. He has worked for the National Park Service in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Fort Mott State Park in New Jersey, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission at Brandywine Battlefield. Mike has conducted tours and staff rides of many of the East Coast battlefields and is certified and currently teaches in the Philadelphia region. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife Michelle and son Nathanael. His first book, Brandywine, was awarded The American Revolution Round Table of Richmond Book Award in 2014. His most recent book, Fighting for Philadelphia, won the 2026 Society of the Cincinnati Book Award.

Dr. Chris Mackowski 

Chris Mackowski, Ph.D. is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Emerging Civil War and serves as series editor for the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series (Savas Beatie) and the Engaging the Civil War Series (Southern Illinois University Press). He is a professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, located on the Spotsylvania Battlefield.

A former historian with the National Park Service at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Mackowski has led tours at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and the Stonewall Jackson Death Site. He is the author or co-author of more than a dozen Civil War books, with articles appearing in many of the field's leading publications, and serves on the national advisory board of the Civil War Chaplains Museum in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Mark Maloy

Mark Maloy has worked for the National Park Service for more than 15 years. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in History at the College of William & Mary and his Master’s Degree in History from George Mason University. He is a regular contributor to the blog Emerging Revolutionary War and has authored two books on the Revolutionary War: Victory or Death: The Battles of Trenton and Princeton and To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston.

Rob Orrison

Rob Orrison serves as the Director for the Prince William County Office of Historic Preservation. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Historic Preservation at Longwood University and received his Master’s Degree in Public History from George Mason University.  He is a regular contributor to the blog Emerging Revolutionary War and has authored two books on the Revolutionary War: A Single Blow: The Battles of Lexington and Concord and All That Can Be Expected: The Battle of Camden.

Alex Robb

Alex Robb has been the Interpretive Programs Specialist for FWCP since January 2024. He has been a Revolutionary War reenactor and researcher for close to a decade. He graduated from the College of New Jersey with a degree in History and Secondary Education in 2021. At Washington Crossing Historic Park in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Robb oversees living history programming and facilitates field trips and outreach programs for thousands of people each year

Kristopher D. White 

Kristopher D. White is the Director of Education at the American Battlefield Trust and co-host of the Trust's popular Boom Goes the History podcast. He holds an M.A. in Military History from Norwich University and a B.A. in History from California University of Pennsylvania. Before joining the Trust, he served as a ranger-historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park and has taught continuing education history courses at the Community College of Allegheny County.

A frequent lecturer and award-winning speaker, White is the co-founder of Emerging Civil War and co-creator of the Emerging Civil War Series. He has authored, co-authored, or edited more than two dozen books and numerous articles spanning subjects from the Seven Years' War through the World Wars. For more than two decades, he has led battlefield tours and military staff rides across the United States and Europe, including Gettysburg, Normandy, Ypres, and many other historic landscapes.