About

I’m a historian of American military chaplaincy, focused on the Civil War.

My dissertation, “In Myth and Memory: The Efficacy of New England Civil War Chaplains” (PhD in History, Liberty University, 2026), examines the effectiveness of the chaplains who served New England’s Union regiments.

This site is where I publish Jacob Shively’s letters as I transcribe and annotate them, along with essays drawn from the wider research. I began transcribing Jacob’s letters in earnest in 2017 and have worked steadily on reconstructing his story ever since.

Publications

• “In Myth and Memory: The Efficacy of New England Civil War Chaplains.” PhD diss., Liberty University, 2026.
• National Treasures: Bridging the Past and Present to Pave the Way for the Future. Gathering of Eagles Foundation, 2024.

Views expressed here are my own and do not represent the U.S. Air Force or the U.S. Government.