Robert K. Krick

Robert K. Krick is a distinguished Civil War historian, author and longtime battlefield preservation advocate. He served for 30 years as chief historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, where he helped advance public understanding of the Civil War and the preservation of its historic landscapes.

A native of California, Krick developed an early interest in Civil War history after receiving a copy of Douglas Southall Freeman's Lee's Lieutenants as a child. He went on to build a career with the National Park Service, working at Fort McHenry and Fort Necessity before joining Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in 1972. He retired from the National Park Service in January 2002.

Krick is widely recognized for his scholarship and has authored numerous books and articles, including Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain, Conquering the Valley: Stonewall Jackson at Port Republic and The Smoothbore Volley That Doomed the Confederacy: The Death of Stonewall Jackson and Other Chapters on the Army of Northern Virginia.

Beyond his historical research and writing, Krick played an important role in the modern battlefield preservation movement. In 1987, he helped found the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites, a predecessor of the American Battlefield Trust, and served as its first vice president. During his tenure at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, the park expanded from fewer than 3,000 acres to more than 8,000 acres.

Through decades of scholarship, public service and preservation advocacy, Krick has helped protect significant Civil War landscapes and deepen public understanding of the events that took place on them.