Friends of Hanley Library to Host ‘Chancellorsville’ Author

BRADFORD – The Friends of Hanley Library will host alumnus and author Chris Mackowski to speak about his new book “Chancellorsville: Crossroads of Fire” at 7 p.m. Jan. 11 at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
The talk will take place in the Mukaiyama University Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons and is co-sponsored by the McKean County Historical Society/Old Jail Museum.

“Crossroads” recounts the events of the Battle of Chancellorsville, a major battle in the American Civil War frequently cited as Confederate commander Robert E. Lee’s greatest victory because the Southern army overcame odds of nearly three to one. The book also serves as a tour guide for the battlefield and is the latest book in a Civil War series that will be authored by Mackowski.

Mackowski is an associate professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, N.Y., and also works as a historian for the National Park Service at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, where he gives tours of four major Civil War battlefields, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness and Spotsylvania.

He is also the author of “Dark Close Wood: The Wilderness, Ellwood and the Battle that Defined Both” and co-author of “The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson.” He has written for Civil War Times, America’s Civil War and Blue & Gray. You can also find him on the Web, as the co-founder of the blog Emerging Civil War, www.emergingcivilwar.com.

In addition to his work on the Civil War, he has also written about the theater and has been active in local and regional theater productions.

Mackowski will also answer questions from the audience and sign copies of “Chancellorsville,” which will be for sale.

For disability-related needs, contact the Office of Disability Resources at (814)362-7609 or clh71@pitt.edu.