Edward H. Bonekemper | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Education | American History, Law |
Alma mater | Muhlenberg College, Old Dominion University, Yale Law School |
Subjects | Slavery, Civil War, and Union and Confederate generals |
Spouse | Susan Weidemoyer [1] |
Edward Henry Bonekemper III (1942-2017) [2] was a military historian, teacher, and writer. He wrote frequently about slavery, the American Civil War, and Union and Confederate generals. He was a frequent speaker at Civil War Roundtables as well as at the Smithsonian Institution.
Born in Hatfield, Pennsylvania in 1942, Edward H. Bonekemper III was a son of Edward H. Bonekemper II and Marie Bonekemper (née Adams). He married Susan Bonekemper (née Weidemoyer) in 1964. [3]
In 1964, [4] Bonekemper graduated cum laude from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in American history. While attending Muhlenberg, he was given two awards based on his educational performance (Best Thesis and Best American History CPA). He later earned his master's degree in American history at Old Dominion University, and completed his Juris Doctor at Yale Law School. [5] [6]
From 1969 to January 2003, Bonekemper worked as a federal government attorney. Within these 34 years, he worked for 16 years as a lead hazardous materials transportation attorney for the United States Department of Transportation, and for four years as the lead coal strip mining regulatory attorney at the United States Department of Interior. [5] During this time, he was also writing for Navy and Coast Guard publications. He was a speaker and teacher for the Coast Guard and Interior and Transportation Departments. [6]
Bonekemper was also a retired Commander in the Coast Guard Reserve. [5] [6]
For eight years (2003 to 2010), [7] Binekember taught military history part-time and was a visiting lecturer at Muhlenberg College, his alma mater. Bonekemper was also an instructor in American Constitutional History and Maritime Law at the United States Coast Guard Academy, [5] [8] and an adjunct professor of Constitutional History at the American Military University. [5]
Bonekemper wrote articles for many publications including The Washington Times , The Journal of Afro-American History, and The Journal of Negro History. [9]
From 1998 onward, Bonekemper published non-fiction books about the Civil War. [6] His interest in Civil War history grew after multiple conversations with his father-in-law about this particular topic. His first book took him seven years to complete. [8]
Between 2010 and 2016, he was the book review editor of Civil War News. [6]
Bonekemper gave more than ten lectures at the Smithsonian Institution about the Civil War. [6] He also spoke at hundreds of Civil War roundtable meetings, the Delta Queen, the Lincoln Forum of the District of Columbia, the Chautauqua Institution, and numerous other events. Bonekemper made appearances on C-SPAN to discuss Grant's and Lee's Civil war generalships. [7]
At the time of his death in 2017, Bonekenper resided in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He had been married to Susan Weidemoyer Bonekemper for 53 years. [6] [9]
Throughout his career, Bonekemper earned numerous awards. These include: [5]
Books
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Thaddeus Stevens was an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, being one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party during the 1860s. A fierce opponent of slavery and discrimination against black Americans, Stevens sought to secure their rights during Reconstruction, leading the opposition to U.S. President Andrew Johnson. As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee during the American Civil War, he played a leading role, focusing his attention on defeating the Confederacy, financing the war with new taxes and borrowing, crushing the power of slave owners, ending slavery, and securing equal rights for the freedmen.
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William Worth Belknap was a lawyer, Union Army officer, government administrator in Iowa, and the 30th United States Secretary of War, serving under President Ulysses S. Grant. Belknap was impeached on March 2, 1876, for his role in the trader post scandal but was acquitted by the Senate. Belknap was the first cabinet secretary in U.S. history to be impeached.
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Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th president of the United States (1869–1877) following his success as military commander in the American Civil War. Under Grant, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and secession, the war ending with the surrender of Robert E. Lee's army at Appomattox Court House. As president, Grant led the Radical Republicans in their effort to eliminate vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African American citizenship, and pursued Reconstruction in the former Confederate states. In foreign policy, Grant sought to increase American trade and influence, while remaining at peace with the world. Although his Republican Party split in 1872 as reformers denounced him, Grant was easily reelected. During his second term the country's economy was devastated by the Panic of 1873, while investigations exposed corruption scandals in the administration. Although still below average, his reputation among scholars has significantly improved in recent years because of greater appreciation for his commitment to civil rights, moral courage in his prosecution of the Ku Klux Klan, and enforcement of voting rights.