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.
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Comments
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."