Edward H. Bonekemper
Edward Henry Bonekemper III (1942-2017) was a military historian, teacher, and writer. Bonekemper wrote frequently about slavery, the American Civil War, and Union and Confederate generals. Bonekemper was a frequent speaker at Civil War Roundtables as well as a frequent speaker at the Smithsonian Institution. Education. In 1964, Bonekemper graduated cum laude from Muhlenberg College with a bachelor's degree in American history. While attending Muhlenberg, he was given two awards based on his educational performance (best thesis; best American history CPA). Bonekemper later earned his master's degree in American history at Old Dominion University . He completed his Juris Doctor at Yale Law School. He was a native of Pennsylvania, and resided on Willow Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania at the time of his death. He was involved in the community. Career. In January 2003, Bonekemper retired as a federal government attorney after 34 years of service. Within these 34 years, he worked 16 years as a lead hazardous materials transportation attorney for the United States Department of Transportation, and four years as the lead coal strip mining regulatory attorney at the United States Department of Interior. 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. Bonekemper was also a retired Coast Guard Reserve Commander. For eight years (2003–10), he taught military history part-time and was a visiting lecturer at his alma mater, Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania. Bonekemper also was an instructor in American Constitutional History and Maritime Law at the United States Coast Guard Academy. He was an adjunct professor of Constitutional History at the American Military University. Bonekemper wrote articles for many publications including "The Washington Times", "The Journal of Afro-American History", and  The Journal of Negro History. From 1998 onward, Bonekemper published non-fiction books about the Civil War. 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. Between 2010 and 2016, he was book review editor at Civil War News. Bonekemper gave over ten lectures at the Smithsonian Institution about the Civil War. He also spoke at hundreds of Civil War round-table meetings, the Delta Queen, the Lincoln Forum of the District Columbia, the Chautauqua Institution, and numerous other events. Bonekemper  made appearances on C-SPAN to discuss Grant and Lee's Civil war generalship. Family. Born in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, Edward H. Bonekemper III was a son of Edward H. Bonekemper II and Marie Bonekemper (née Adams), and had been married for 53 years to Susan Bonekemper (née Weidemoyer). Awards. Throughout his career, Bonekemper earned numerous awards. These include: Publications. Books