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Home » About Norwich » SGS Today »
News Article
Kris White leads a tour group at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park [photo courtesy of Kristopher White].
Military history duo collaborate on Civil War research
by Lisa Brucken, staff
© Aug. 7, 2009 Norwich University Office of Communications
Kristopher White and Christopher Mackowski seem an odd fit for a military history research team.
White, a 2009 graduate of Norwich University's Master of Arts in Military History (MMH) program, is a park ranger and historian at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia, while Mackowski is a journalism professor at St. Bonaventure University in New York State. But the two have collaborated on numerous published articles and have just finished their first book.
As a site supervisor, White lives in the national park's housing in an area that encompasses four major battlefields from the War Between the States.
"I am one of those people everyone loves to hate," said White. "I get to do what I love day in and day out."
His responsibilities as a public historian span from leading daily tours and staff rides for colleges and military organizations to manning the visitors' center and updating the website.
His experience with the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania park began with a summer internship in 2005 after he finished his undergraduate work at California University of Pennsylvania. At the end of the summer, the park offered White a position.
"I was hooked," he said.
While interning, White developed a friendship with Mackowski, a regular volunteer at the park.
Their friendship has proven to be fruitful professionally. After a colleague suggested White consider publishing an article, a conversation with Mackowski led them to join forces. The pair has since collaborated on eight published articles that have appeared in Civil War magazines. Their first book, The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson, was published in July 2009. They were commissioned by the National Park Service to update a 30-year-old book containing outdated information about the famous general's final two weeks of life.
It was Jackson who first sparked Mackowski's interest in Civil War history, when his four-year-old daughter was awestruck by a commanding statue of the general. Answering her questions required research, and the father-daughter team has remained engaged in historical research for the past 11 years.
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“It can be fascinating how battles or people are remembered in Civil War memory. Kris likes to get behind a myth to the real facts.”
— Chris Mackowski |
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While working on the book, White was also deep in study for his master's degree. A graduate education was a requirement of his position, and the military history program at the nation's oldest private military college seemed like a natural fit.
"It was a real challenge juggling everything," he said. "A great deal of long nights."
His capstone paper, the final project military history students complete in the 18-month program, was directly related to what he does every day at the park. White explored the western theater as the decisive center of the Civil War, which runs contrary to the popular perception that the Virginia area where he works is where the war was decided.
"It really helped me to understand where I am working better," said White.
Mackowski isn't surprised by what fuels White's interests. "He is a dynamic thinker and likes to be a myth buster," he said. "It can be fascinating how battles or people are remembered in Civil War memory. Kris likes to get behind a myth to the real facts."
Both enjoy the working relationship they have fostered.
After brainstorming a topic, White is responsible for digging for primary sources. "I throw a ton of material at Chris history-wise," he said. "I pull a great deal of research such as letters, diaries and official reports. We then meld that all together."
Mackowski said he and White have innately different instincts with research, probably because of their backgrounds.
"As a journalist, I want to get a pad of paper and interview someone for hours. Kris wants to find the dustiest historical volume he can and dig into its meaning," he said.
Once initial research is done, Mackowski writes the first draft, and then together they "edit, edit, edit," said White. After passing numerous drafts back and forth and asking peers to review it, the work goes to an editor for publication.
White admitted he is the "crankier one of the two," but because Mackowski has "done this for years and knows what he is doing, it makes my life easier and I learn a great deal along the way."
"Kris has such ready knowledge and is adroit in the history he knows," Mackowski said. "It's very impressive."
The pair is unlikely to end their collaborative relationship any time soon. Next up: an in-depth study of tactics at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
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