Ed Bearss, a former chief historian for the National Park Service, has passed at 97.
Ed Bearss, a former National Park Service chief historian with a penchant for Civil War history, has passed away at the age of 97.
Bearss passed away Tuesday, peacefully and surrounded by family.
The Montana native's Park Service career began in 1955 at Vicksburg National Military Park, where he served as the park historian. While there he was instrumental in locating the resting place of the Union gunboat Cairo.
A decorated U.S. Marine veteran of the Pacific Theater of World War II, he attended college and graduate school on the GI Bill before pursuing a distinguished career in the Park Service. In 1981, Bearss became the chief historian for the Park Service, a position he held until he retired in 1995. During his career Bearss completed several detailed studies for the agency and has authored many books. In 1990, he was a featured commentator on the Ken Burns' The Civil War.
As one of the powerful voices in that documentary, Bearrs brought history alive for millions of Americans with his deep voice and evocative descriptions, a style once described by the Washington Post as nearly “Homeric monologues.” Although a prolific author on topics in military history, including a three-volume history of the Vicksburg Campaign, Bearss was particularly dedicated to the importance of preserved landscapes and how they enhance the understanding of the past. He was among the originators of the modern battlefield preservation movement and a devoted tour guide, travelling up to 200 days per year into his 90s.
“For those of us who value the preservation and perpetuation of American history, few figures are more revered than Ed Bearss. His knowledge, passion and energy were without equal, and he will be missed tremendously by so many,” said American Battlefield Trust President James Lighthizer. “Ed’s decades-long commitment to protecting special places and making the stories of our past come to life laid the groundwork for organizations like ours, which will embody his legacy for generations to come. The Trust — our board and staff, as well as our members and supporters — send deepest condolences to the entire Bearss family.”
Although he gravitated toward history at an early age, his passion was the Civil War – he even called his favorite milk cow “Antietam,” a release from the Battlefield Trust said.
After graduating from high school in 1941, Bearss spent the summer hitchhiking across the country to visit battlefields. Bearss returned home and, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, followed in the footsteps of his father and Medal of Honor–recipient older cousin to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps. He left for the South Pacific in mid-July 1942 but was severely wounded on January 2, 1944, during the Battle of Suicide Creek on the island of New Britain, injuries that limited his dexterity for the remainder of his life.
Bearss was perhaps the greatest battlefield guide to ever walk a historic landscape, the release added. Writing in Smithsonian Magazine in 2005, author Adam Goodheart described his presentation style as being a “battlefield voice, a kind of booming growl, like an ancient wax-cylinder record amplified to full volume—about the way you'd imagine William Tecumseh Sherman sounding the day he burned Atlanta, with a touch of Teddy Roosevelt charging up San Juan Hill.”
At the request of the Bearss Family, in lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Ed Bearss may be made to the American Battlefield Trust. Recognizing the special place that these battlefields held in his heart, such gifts will be used to secure additional lands associated with the Vicksburg Campaign. Please visit www.battlefields.org/RememberingBearss for more information.
Story Categories:
A copy of National Parks Traveler's financial statements may be obtained by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: National Parks Traveler, P.O. Box 980452, Park City, Utah 84098. National Parks Traveler was formed in the state of Utah for the purpose of informing and educating about national parks and protected areas.
Residents of the following states may obtain a copy of our financial and additional information as stated below:
- Florida: A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR NATIONAL PARKS TRAVELER, (REGISTRATION NO. CH 51659), MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING 800-435-7352 OR VISITING THEIR WEBSITE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.
- Georgia: A full and fair description of the programs and financial statement summary of National Parks Traveler is available upon request at the office and phone number indicated above.
- Maryland: Documents and information submitted under the Maryland Solicitations Act are also available, for the cost of postage and copies, from the Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401 (410-974-5534).
- North Carolina: Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 888-830-4989 or 919-807-2214. The license is not an endorsement by the State.
- Pennsylvania: The official registration and financial information of National Parks Traveler may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling 800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.
- Virginia: Financial statements are available from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 102 Governor Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.
- Washington: National Parks Traveler is registered with Washington State’s Charities Program as required by law and additional information is available by calling 800-332-4483 or visiting www.sos.wa.gov/charities, or on file at Charities Division, Office of the Secretary of State, State of Washington, Olympia, WA 98504.
National parks and their natural resources belong to you. The National Parks Traveler works to ensure you know how these essential places are being cared for.
Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter
Unsubscribe at any time.
INN Member
The easiest way to explore RV-friendly National Park campgrounds.
Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.
Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.
You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.
Comments
From all reports, a ife well lived.
As I see and reflect the Civil War film by Ken Burns, I have to say the excitment that Prof. Bearss narrates Civil War events is unmatched throughout the whole documentary. He showed passion in history, using high and low voice tones, facial and hand gestures that gave the events a series of orchestral importance; so those listening to him, enjoyed a rythnm of unfolding social events. The US has lost a great historian...R.I.P. Prof. Ed Bearss.
One less "torch bearer" for CW history! But I can hear Ed leading tours in heaven now! Side by side with CW soldiers helping with the details. His energy and zeal will be missed.
From one old Jarhead to another, Semper Fidelis, Ed!
A lamp in the field of military historians has been extinguished, and we shall not see it lit again in our lifetimes."
The world is poorer for Ed's departure, and we shall not see his like pass this way again.==AC
Truly a legend.
As a young Park Ranger in 1986, a chance discussion with Ed Bearss led to a summer of lunch time discussions of the Civil War in Washington. Standing at Arlington house he laid out in vivid detail the camps and defenses surrounding Washington. Years later I ran into him at various times. He recognized me every time as though we had talked the day before. A charming person who influenced my love of history and career choices.
I had the pleasure of attending a lecture in a small group in Lenoir, NC, many years ago. A delightful speaker, I was spellbound by Mr. Bearss, as we all were. He will be missed, a true National treasure.
I was fortunate enough to tour several battlefields with Bears Brigade. One of my favorite memories was of Ed, swagger stick in hand, chasing a rather sketchy looking groundhog away while we were following Pickets charge. I learned so much from him.
I travelled with Ed on many tours, Civil War and others. He brought history alive rarely needing any notes. Truly a gentleman and scholar (although at times he was a character). A life well lived. Ed, thanks for enriching my life and the lives of so many others.
What a wonderful article. As the coordinator of many Civil War trips with the Smithsonian Associates, Ed is someone that has touched my life as well as the lives of so many others. May you rest in peace, our beloved Ed Bearss.
The passing of Ed is not only sad but, brings back SO many memories of lots of years walking ground with him, hearing him speak dozens and dozens of times to groups..all time well spent with a Giant! Being with him for extended periods was like having the National Archives with you. Such a warm, caring man who was never to big to ask your opinion or to truly be welcoming to others ideas and thoughts. Rest well Ed...you've earned it. He was a National Treasure, teacher , guide and most importantly to me....my Friend..as he was to everyone he met in his long journey here!
R.I.P , Ed Bearss .
I saw Ed speak at the Tri-Cities Civil War Round Table on a number of occasions. His attention to detail was the legendary. Rest in peace. You will not be forgotten.
I want, first, to express my honest gratitude and deep respect for former NPS Chief Historian Bearss' lifelong dedication and invaluable contributions to documenting and interpreting America's Civil War history and, second, to offer my sincere regrets on his passing. His contributions were critical in ensuring the preservation of important park units and in setting the stage for future discussions of how we approach the interpretation of our history for all Americans.
At the same time and at the risk of once again asking questions that may not be universally welcomed, I went directly from reading the news of former NPS Chief Historian Bearss' passing and seeing the well deserved tributes being offered here to reading a Washington Post article entitled "National parks are travel’s next frontier in the movement for racial equality" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/09/17/national-parks-travel-b...) by Kerry-Ann Hamilton, a self-identified Black woman. It was/is a genuinely joyous and upbeat article; however, it made me stop, once again, to reflect on how, despite our being well into the 21st century and many years after welcoming diversity became a stated NPS objective, our parks and our history are seen so differently by different people.
In her article, Ms Hamilton mentions being given a first-edition copy of Muir's seminal 1901 publication, “Our National Parks,” and how it remains a cherished keepsake for her. She mentions, with delight, her "jaunts" through Zion, Yellowstone, Denali, and other national parks, but also notes being "curious and concerned about not seeing others who look like me." And, she mentions how, after months of quarantine, she and her spouse made enthusiastic plans to visit Great Smoky Mountains, but had to cancel that trip after learning of "upsetting, racially-charged incidents" in North Carolina. They went to Acadia instead and had a good time, "and yet, it felt like a consolation prize."
Her article notes how, despite being a much larger proportion of the American population, only six percent of national park visitors identify as Black and she discusses some of the reasons for that low participation. She mentions one of the reasons being "psychological scars from generations of racist mistreatment" both "in folklore and in reality." And, she warns that "The U.S. population is on track to be majority people of color by 2045. Our national parks have to diversify, or they risk becoming irrelevant and indefensibly exclusionary."
So, I don't want to invade anyone's privacy and feel free to either not answer or just tell me to drop dead. I can take it. But, I would like to ask whether anyone who has offered admittedly well deserved tributes on former NPS Chief Historian Bearss' passing has any known African American heritage and, if not, why do we think that is?
His brain was a veritable filing cabinet and he brought the history of those places alive by transporting you there through his voice (if you heard it once, you would know it forever), his knowledge (a lot gleaned from sources only he could tap into) and his enthusiasm. Always interested to hear something new that his 'fellow campaigners' had discovered. A great man. Proud to have been one of his 'Brits'.
I knew Ed Bearss for more than 40 years and worked for him as one of his staff historians for 14 years when he was Chief Historian.
During this time, we handled many controversial studies, a four part study of the Man in Space Program, my Astronomy and Astrophysics NHL study, the Wolf Trap Administrative History, a study of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and a History of the National Park Service Park Police. These studies were done in a timely manner and correct in all respects but that did not stop some people in the upper echelons of the Interior Building or in Congress in taking exception to what we had to say. Ed was ever the loyal soldier and also “went to bat” for his employees. If there was heat to be taken Ed took the heat and left the rest of us alone. He always supported us and was loyal to his staff historians and we were loyal to him. We continued to work together until 1994 when Ed Bearss was forced to leave his position by the new Director after a change in Administration. Shortly after this, Ed retired from the National Park Service. I look back on this time as some of the best years of my government career.
Ed Bearss saw that only the best people were hired as historians and interpreters in the National Park Service. He gave me the responsibility to see that critical research was funded and Ed made sure that the conclusions of NPS research were protected from the vagaries of politics. Working in the Park History Program under Ed Bearss was a privilege. We all worked hard and enjoyed what we were doing. We were a well-oiled machine under Ed’s direction. I believe these were some of the most productive years in the history of the National Park Service History program. We supported the parks, the regional and park historians and provided the best quality interpretive programs for the American people.
We set a high-level bar for the accomplishment of park history studies that has not been equaled to this day. We worked with historians from the parks, regional offices and the Denver Service Center and let them all know that had the complete support of Ed Bearss, the Chief historian of the National Park Service. ED Bearss was the rock upon which the practice of history in the National Park Service reached its highest level of achievement.
Any one interested in Ed's career should read, Walking the Ground: The Making of American History,
Harry Butowsky
RIP. A great man and an institution. They broke the mold wit's this guy!!!
It's not fair! Ed lived so many lifetimes compared to the rest of us!
I was lucky enough this year to finally get to Vicksburg. This was a riverboat cruise stop. We toured the battlefield and I stood on the deck of the Cairo as I called Ed to thank him. It seemed appropriate. We had toured at Antietam, Gettysburg, and the annual January CWEA seminar in Sarasota was always a wonderful gathering of historians. Ed was usually the best presenter. He came to SC for our Roundtable several times. I even lunched with hime afew times due to the vagaries of seating. Ialways learned from his speeches and presentations and just plain conversation. Ed told of a bureaucrtic bit of crap being stopped at Lost Avenu in Gettysburg. Dean Schults owned the land which had to be crossed to access the trail. Dean grazed cows to keep the grass short. One beucrat asked him if he paid the permit to graze on government land. Dean said hi had not and asked the fee. He was told $50. Dean then noted his property had to be crossed for acces to Lost Avenue. When asked the fee he estimated $50. The bureaucrat dropped the matyter.
Ed was a real character and the genuine article. I first met him in 1973 as a young and green park historian at Appomattox Court House NHP. Every time our paths crossed thereafter he remembered my name and treated me like an equal in the NPS - which I hardly was! He will be missed!
I was lucky enough to thrill to many CW tours with Ed. So many memorable moments and a great learning experience. He will be missed.
"And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
Mr. Bears visited our Civil War Roundtable in Berks County, Pa. every year from 2012 to 2018. I had the great pleasure of being the photographer for the First Defender and still am. Ed was always such a gentleman and always enthralled us with his stories. He was a real treasurer. Starting in 2012 the roundtable arranged for Ed to appear and talk to our us every April or May of each year. When he did we always celebrated his birthday with a great cake and sang Happy Birthday to Ed and I know he loved it. The last time Ed spoke to us was in 2018. That year he talked to us about the name of our roundtable “The First Defenders” and anyone who studies the Civil War knows how important the First Defenders were. Afterward, Ed was asked to talk about some of his other experiences that he had had. He started talking about his military experiences. Coincidentally I had seen a movie just a few days before that was called “The Pacific”. It was about the Marines on Guadalcanal during World War 2 and one of the battles portrayed in the movie was a battle called Alligator Alley. It was a place where the Marines during a night battle killed hundreds of the enemy. The marines also suffered very badly. Ed started talking about this. He was at that battle. He was wounded and lost two of his best friends there. What an amazing man. Ed would always take time for members of the roundtable to have a picture taken with him. Whenever Ed appeared at our roundtable it would be a packed house. He was much loved and appreciated by our roundtable and will be sorely missed.
I had the opportunity the hear Edwin C. Bearss speak twice. The first time was a Civil War Symposium at Vicksburg and at a General Grant Birthday Celebration at Georgetown, Ohio. There are two things I will never forget: On Saturday evening after Edwin had made his presentation at Vicksburg and had left for his flight home there was a small reception for all the presenters and attendees. Three of the historians including Jim McPherson gathered together to sing an old song from the Civil War. They all sang the song and at the same time did perfect imitations of Ed Bearss singing the song. I sure wish there was a YouTube video of their skit. The other memory was asking Ed about the the Ohio 83rd Regiment (the Greyhound Unit). George Sweeny, my great-grandfather, had served in this unit at Vicksburg. Michael, my youngest son, and I stood in awe while it told us about this famed regiment.
A fabulous story teller,always enraptured his audience. I first became a fan of his after watching Ken Burn's Civil War documentary. Rather ironic he passed two days before the 158th anniversary of the Battle of Sharpsburg.One of his many guided tours Antietam was the " single most costly days in Civil War history."
I recall one CW enthusiast in having heard Ed, for the first time, on a Gettysburg tour say to me, "it's as if when Ed looks up into the sky he is reading Civil War scripture from the undersides of passing white clouds - all so poetically expressed". Indeed, Ed was very much our poet laurate of Civil War history. A great American treasure for us all.
I am among the many who cherished Ed as colorful character, advocate for American history, and a teacher with passion, humility, brightness, and absolute gravitas.
Ed was advocating the preservation of battlefield landscapes before there was a Cultural Landscape Program in the National Park Service. He understood how the physical landscape was not just a place where something happened, but more, he encouraged us to look deeper and actually “read” the landscape as a way to understand any event in a larger environmental context. He gave support (and credibility) to the preservation of cultural landscapes as a fundamental component of America’s history and heritage.
Ed was cherished by all who had the privilege to work with him, take a road trip with him or, of course, walk a battlefield with him (if you could keep up). I feel like one of the lucky ones.
I feel so fortunate to have been able to take perhaps a dozen different tours with Ed. Every single one brought history to life and made even obscure battles meaningful. I will truly miss his stentorian voice that even at 95 really didn't need an amplifier to reach his audience on all but the bitterest, windiest days. Semper Fi, Ed!
I was fortunate to go on many of Ed's tours, as he brought to life places where my great-great-grandfather John Carmody served. John was an orderly for a succession of generals, and books tell you where various units were, seldom where the generals were. Ed knew, which helped me a lot. He was also great at describing the role topography played in battles, something books often don't do. I was very sorry to hear of his death, but so glad I was able to learn from him.
Once you met Ed you knew he was the real deal. Marine to his core!
Ed Bearass was responsible for doing the primary source research and field recon in 1969, forming the crucial historical argument in the creation of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (1976). His 1970 NPS report (which went to Congress for their consideration) is considered essential reading for Skagway, Alaska historians, and "The Bearss Report" is a cherished fixture on my bookshelf. Realizing it's value, I finally re-bound my copy of his full report in leather to survive its constant use as a reference. Though I never met him, I consider him to be a close personal friend. His clarity with words and his writing style always make me smile. And as the years tick by, his work only becomes more firmly grounded. I just wanted to thank you, Ed. There are lots of us who know that you did more than just the Civil War. You lead the way with your professional research on the Klondike Gold Rush, too. Millions of future Americans will benefit from your work. God Bless you, Ed Bearass. Steve Hites, Skagway, Alaska.
I WENT ON THREE DOZEN DAY TRIPS AND THREE OVERNIGHT TRIPS WITH ED. i LEARNED THINGS ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR THAT i NEVER COULD HAVE LEARNED FROM
BOOKS (UNLESS OF COURSE BOOKS ED HAD WRITTEN). i ALWAYS LOOKED FORWARD TO TRAVELING BACK IN TIME WITH ED, HE REALLY COULD FOR ONE DAY MAKE YOU BELIEVE IT WAS 1864. i WAS A PROUD MEMBER OF THE BEARSS BRIGADE.
Travelled from Williamsburg to Powhatan, Va to hear Ed speak one evening. What an eventful day in my life to hear such a wonderful speak from no notes on the battles of Richmond. A true gentleman is not lost from the speakers tour of historic battlefields.
Drove over a hundred miles to hear him speak in Powhatan Virginia. Was fortunate to sit at his table and talk about CW history. What a true treasure of CW historical knowledge with no notes. Truly a wonderful experience. To those that destroy our CW monuments history will repeat itself and you will be the loss. What a historical treasure have we lost to the heavens. Don