Edwin Cole Bearss is a United States Marine Corps veteran of World War II and noted military historian and author on the American Civil War and World War II eras. He is a popular tour guide of historic battlefields for The Smithsonian Associates. He served as Chief Historian of the National Park Service from 1981-1994 and is currently Chief Historian Emeritus.
Born on June 26, 1923 in Billings, Montana, he grew up on the family cattle ranch near Sarpy, Montana and graduated from Hardin High School in 1941. He then hitchhiked around the U.S., visiting his first Civil War battlefields. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1942 and by July was on a troop transport to the Pacific War. Wounded in battle, he was honorably discharged from the Marines as a corporal in 1946.
He received a B.S. degree in Foreign Service studies from Georgetown University in 1949. He worked for three years in the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office in Maryland and used his spare time to visit numerous Civil War battlefields in the East. He received his M.A. in history from Indiana University in 1955. He received honorary doctorates from Lincoln College in 2005 and Gettysburg College in 2010.
He became a historian at Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi and was promoted in 1958 to Southeast regional historian, spending the majority of his time on the road, visiting virtually every battlefield in the country. In 1961, as popular interest in the Civil War increased with the centennial celebrations, he became recognized as one of the most knowledgeable on the battlefields and enlisted to develop a variety of new parks, including Pea Ridge and Wilson's Creek.
He was transferred to Washington, D.C. in 1966 and named Chief Historian of the NSP in 1981. From 1994-1995, he served as special assistant to the director. After his retirement in 1995, he received the title Chief Historian Emeritus.
Bearss lives in Arlington County, Virginia.
Born on June 26, 1923 in Billings, Montana, he grew up on the family cattle ranch near Sarpy, Montana and graduated from Hardin High School in 1941. He then hitchhiked around the U.S., visiting his first Civil War battlefields. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1942 and by July was on a troop transport to the Pacific War. Wounded in battle, he was honorably discharged from the Marines as a corporal in 1946.
He received a B.S. degree in Foreign Service studies from Georgetown University in 1949. He worked for three years in the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office in Maryland and used his spare time to visit numerous Civil War battlefields in the East. He received his M.A. in history from Indiana University in 1955. He received honorary doctorates from Lincoln College in 2005 and Gettysburg College in 2010.
He became a historian at Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi and was promoted in 1958 to Southeast regional historian, spending the majority of his time on the road, visiting virtually every battlefield in the country. In 1961, as popular interest in the Civil War increased with the centennial celebrations, he became recognized as one of the most knowledgeable on the battlefields and enlisted to develop a variety of new parks, including Pea Ridge and Wilson's Creek.
He was transferred to Washington, D.C. in 1966 and named Chief Historian of the NSP in 1981. From 1994-1995, he served as special assistant to the director. After his retirement in 1995, he received the title Chief Historian Emeritus.
Bearss lives in Arlington County, Virginia.
