Edwin C. Bearss • 1923-2020
With the passing of National Park Service Historian Emeritus Ed Bearss, we would like to offer a unique insight into the making of this legend.
Available for free download below, we pull from the archives and present the two part interview of Ed as published in the February & April 2000 issues of Blue & Gray Magazine. Interviewer Kieran McAuliffe provides an opportunity to learn about the man, and about the influences that created this legendary historian.
Edwin Cole Bearss, at the age of 76, is Historian Emeritus for the National Park Service and is considered the dean of all Civil War tour guides. He can outwalk, outtalk or outshout anyone who is fortunate enough to be on one of his many tours across battlefields in the United States, and now into Canada and Europe. His knowledge of the Civil War is legendary.
Ed Bearss is as interesting and colorful as any of the Civil War characters he talks about on his tours. But Ed rarely talks about himself. Here is an opportunity to learn more about the man, and learn more about the influences in his life that helped create this legendary historian. At the time of this interview, he had just finished guiding a group of fifty-five on a week-long tour for History America Tours, following Sherman’s march through Georgia, from Ringgold, almost at the Tennessee border, to Atlanta and on to Savannah.
We hope you enjoy the download below. RIP Mr. Bearss.
Blue & Gray Magazine 