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Born: 7/12/1954
Sauers has written extensively on the Civil War, covering topics ranging from the Gettysburg Campaign to regimental battle flags in Advance the Colors!
Richard Sauers was born on July 12, 1954, in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. He began his career in researching U.S. military history, particularly the Civil War, by lecturing on the subject at several Pennsylvania colleges and universities. He has written several books and many articles on the Civil War, as well as U.S. war history in general. Today, he resides in White Oak, Pennsylvania.
Civil War scholar Richard Sauers was born on July 12, 1954, in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. The son of Marlin and Joyce Sauers, he began his collegiate education at Susquehanna University, where he earned his B.A. in 1976. He went on to earn his M.A. and Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University in 1987.
Sauers began his Civil War-oriented career by becoming a history lecturer in 1983, teaching at Susquehanna University, Pennsylvania State University, Lebanon Valley College, and Harrisburg Area Community College. From 1984 to 1990, he also worked as a historian at Harrisburg's Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee.
In 1991, Sauers left the teaching profession in order to focus more on writing books about the Civil War. He became editor at the Butternut & Blue Press, a publishing company located in Baltimore, Maryland that specializes in historical books, in 1992. Sauers was also employed at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, as its museum curator.
Sauer's fascination with the Civil War has led him to write a number of books on the subject. Gettysburg: The Meade-Sickles Controversy, published in 2004, is about historians' argument over whether or not the Union army's General Daniel E. Sickles disobeyed orders from General George Meade when he led his unit too close to the Confederate's lines on Little Round Top. Joseph G. Dawson, writing for the American Historical Review, says "Sauers does a good job of showing how during and after the war politics played important parts in the controversies... [he] has carried out an impressive job of research...students of Gettysburg will enjoy this book."
A book with a broader subject, America's Battlegrounds: Walk in the Footsteps of America's Bravest covers U.S. military history from the American Revolution until the present day, including information on national monuments, former battle sites and distinctive facts and landmarks. Says Reader's Digest editor Dolores York, "It's a unique blend of historic highlights, sidebars, maps and detailed tourist information. Visiting these sites is a powerful way to learn about American history and this book was designed to complement the experience."
Today, Sauers still regularly contributes articles to U.S. military magazines such as Civil War Times Illustrated and the Journal of Military History. The author also served as assistant editor for Gettysburg magazine and associate editor for North and South, a periodical put out by the Civil War Society. A recipient of the Archie K. Davis Fellowship for North Carolina scholars, given by the North Caroliniana Society, Sauers' passion for history makes him a dynamic member of the American Historical Association, National Geographic Society and Organization of American Historians.
Sauers, currently living in White Oak, Pennsylvania, is married to Ayn Sauers, a homemaker, and has a daughter named Victoria. In addition to history, he enjoys cooking, collecting post cards, and travel.
- The Gettysburg Campaign, June 3-August 1, 1863: A Comprehensive, Selectively Annotated Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982.
- Advance the Colors! Pennsylvania Civil War Battleflags. Harrisburg: Capitol Preservation Society, 1987.
- A Caspian Sea of Ink: The Meade-Sickles Controversy. Baltimore: Butternut and Blue, 1989.
- To Care for Him Who Has Borne the Battle: Research Guide to Civil War Material in the National Tribune, Volume I: 1877-1884. Jackson, KY: History Shop Press, 1995.
- (With wife, Ayn Sauers) Research Secrets of a Civil War Historian. Westover, MD: History Shop Press, 1995.
- Pennsylvania in the Spanish-American War: A Commemorative Look Back. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee, 1998.
- Fighting Them Over: How the Veterans Remembered Gettysburg in the Pages of the National Tribune. Baltimore: Butternut and Blue, 1998.
- Gettysburg: The Meade-Sickles Controversy. Washington: Brassey's, 2003.
- Guide to Civil War Philadelphia. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2003.
- America's Battlegrounds: Walk in the Footsteps of America's Bravest. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Association, 2005.
- Dawson, Joseph G. Rev. of Gettysburg: The Meade-Sickles Controversy, by Richard A. Sauers. The American Historical Review 109.4 (Oct. 2004): 1234.
- "Richard Allen Sauers." The Gale Literary Database: Contemporary Authors. 25 Oct. 2006. 16 April 2007. <>http://www.galenet.com>.
- Rosen, Judith. "Brand News." Publishers Weekly 252.5. (31 Jan. 2005): 33.
Photo Credit: "Richard A. Sauers, "The Boys in Blue & Gray"." 9-May-19. Photograph. Licensed under Fair Use. Cropped to 4x3. Source: Online Resource. Puget Sound Civil War Roundtable.