Chris Calkins

Civil War historian Christopher M. “Chris” Calkins (1951-2026) was a longtime leader in battlefield preservation in Virginia, with a career spanning more than three decades in the National Park Service and later service with the Commonwealth of Virginia. An accomplished author and advocate for historic preservation, he helped protect significant battlefield landscapes around Petersburg and Appomattox and played an important role in developing Virginia's Civil War heritage tourism programs.

Calkins worked for the National Park Service for 34 years, serving at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park and Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park before concluding his federal career as historian and chief of interpretation at Petersburg National Battlefield. In 2008, he accepted the position of first full-time park manager of Sailor's Creek Battlefield Historical State Park. He retired from the National Park Service in July 2009 and began working full-time for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Calkins authored 12 publications and numerous articles and spoke nationally to Civil War and preservation groups. He was the author of the highly acclaimed Lee's Retreat driving tour, featured in Life and Southern Living magazines, which became a successful model for heritage tourism in Virginia and nationwide. He was also considered the “grandfather” of Virginia Civil War Trails.

Active in battlefield preservation efforts throughout his career, Calkins served for eight years on the board of directors of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (APCWS), a predecessor of the American Battlefield Trust. He helped broker the preservation of seven sites around Petersburg and Appomattox: Five Forks, White Oak Road, Hatcher's Run, Ream's Station, the Sixth Corps Breakthrough (now Pamplin Historical Park), Sailor's Creek, Lee's rearguard at Appomattox and Appomattox Station.

He was also responsible for developing the battlefield preservation plan for the proposed expansion of Petersburg National Battlefield by 7,238 acres, encompassing 12 major battlefields around the city.

Calkins appeared in interviews on the History Channel, A&E, Discovery Channel, HGTV and ITV in the United Kingdom. In 2014, he received an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History for his dedication to preserving Virginia's Civil War battlefield landscapes. He was one of three Virginians to receive the honor that year.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Calkins graduated from Longwood College (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia.

Chris Calkins passed away on April 1, 2026. His decades of service to historical interpretation, heritage tourism and battlefield preservation left a lasting legacy in Virginia and helped ensure that future generations could experience and understand these historic landscapes.