Speaker: Gene Schmiel

Presented by the Lifelong Learning Institute, Manassas

This event is open to the public. For more information about the Lifelong Learning Institute, Manassas, visit lli-manassas.org

In the summer of 1861, both North and South brimmed with confidence that a single, glorious victory would end the conflict before it truly began. That decisive clash, everyone believed, would unfold at Manassas. As a result, every soldier worth his salt—and one remarkable woman—rushed to take part in what they imagined would be the war’s grand finale. Among those who faced combat for the first time at the First Bull Run on July 21, 1861 were names that would soon echo through history: Jefferson Davis, William Tecumseh Sherman, “Stonewall” Jackson, Ambrose Burnside, Joseph Johnston, J.E.B. Stuart, George Custer, and many others whose courage proved just as vital, though history often overlooks them. Gene Schmiel will examine not only the famed leaders but also the lesser-known figures who found their footing—and their destiny—on that fateful field. Copies of Gene’s book, Civil War Baptism of Fire: First Battle of Bull Run, will be available for purchase.

Gene Schmiel is a retired U.S. Department of State foreign service officer who was also an assistant professor of history at St. Francis University in Pennsylvania. He holds a Ph.D. in history from The Ohio State University and has written over 30 books about the Civil War and related topics. His first, Citizen-General: Jacob Dolson Cox and the Civil War Era , was published in 2014 by Ohio University Press. A companion book, My Dearest Lilla: Civil War Letters Home by General Jacob D. Cox, was published in 2023. He co-authored the first biography of General Irvin McDowell, Searching for Irvin McDowell: The Civil War’s Forgotten General, also in 2023. Dr. Schmiel is a native Ohioan who lives in Gainesville, Virginia, on the border of the Manassas battlefield. He has spoken to LLI previously on a variety of topics.