Edward Henry Bonekemper III (1942-2017)[2] was a military historian, teacher, and writer. Bonekemper 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 a frequent speaker at the Smithsonian Institution.
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] |
In 1964,[3] 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.[4][5]
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.[5][6]
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.[4] 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.[5]
Bonekemper was also a retired Coast Guard Reserve Commander.[4][5]
For eight years (2003–10),[7] 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.[4][8] He was an adjunct professor of Constitutional History at the American Military University.[4]
Bonekemper wrote articles for many publications including The Washington Times, The Journal of Afro-American History, and The Journal of Negro History.[6]
From 1998 onward, Bonekemper published non-fiction books about the Civil War.[5] 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 book review editor of Civil War News.[5]
Bonekemper gave over ten lectures at the Smithsonian Institution about the Civil War.[5] He also spoke at hundreds of Civil War roundtable 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's and Lee's Civil war generalships.[7]
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).[9]
Throughout his career, Bonekemper earned numerous awards. These include:[4]
Books