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Born: 8/19/1947
Lebanon native Trout has been interested in the Civil War most of his life and is the author of several books on the topic, including Galloping Thunder.
Civil War Historian Robert J. Trout was born in Lebanon in 1947. He has been a lifelong educator as well as scholar of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart. He lives in Myerstown.
Robert J. Trout was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on August 19, 1947. He was the son of Jay and Hilda Trout. After his high school years, Trout attended Millersville State College (now Millersville University), earning a teaching degree. While he was in high school, he met Judith A. Margut; they married in 1969. The couple has two children: Robert E. Lee and Desiree K. (Trout) York. Immediately after marriage, Robert Trout began teaching elementary school in the Eastern Lebanon County School District.
After nearly eighteen years of teaching, Trout began writing. He had found the subject that would be the focus of his writing life back in high school: the Civil War. Since that time, he has published several books on the subject. His interest in Robert E. Lee drew him to the Civil War, and his books have focused on Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart. Each of Trout's books brings together scholarship and the study of diaries and letters to paint pictures of the men in the command of General Stuart. As Charles R. Bowery writes, Trout is a "preeminent historian of Robert E. Lee's mounted arm."
In addition to his books, Trout has been very active in the Civil War history community. Scholastically, he has been a past editor of Southern Cavalry Review. He is also a member of the Stuart-Mosby Historical Society and the Virginia Historical Society. He continues to live in retirement in Myerstown.
- Riding with Stuart: Memoirs of an Aide-de-Camp. Shippensburg, PA: White Mane, 1993.
- They Followed the PlumeA The Story of J.E.B. Stuart and His Staff.. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 1993.
- With Pen and Saber: The Letters and Diaries of J.E.B. Stuart's Staff Officers. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 1995.
- In the Saddle with Stuart: The Story of Frank Smith Robertson of Jeb Stuart's Staff. Gettysburg, PA: Thomas Publication, 1998.
- Galloping Thunder: the Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2002.
- "The Hoss:" Officer Biographies and Rosters of the Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion. N.p.: JebFlo Press, 2003.
- Memoirs of the Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion: Moorman's and Hart's Batteries. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press,2008.
- Memoirs of the Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion, Volume 2: Breathed's and McGregor's Batteries.Knoxville, TN:University ofTennessee Press,2010.
- After Gettysburg: Cavalry Operations in the Eastern Theater July 14, 1863 to December 31, 1863. Hamilton, MT: EagleEditions, Ltd.
Fiction:
- Drumbeat: The Story of a Civil War Drummer Boy. Shippensburg, PA: White Mane Books, 2006.
- The Story of Red Eye: The Miracle Horse of Gettysburg. Paths of History Publishers, 2009.
- Journey to Gettysburg: One Family's Civil War.Paths of History Publishers, 2012.
- Windrider.Paths of History Publishers, 2012.
- The Last Elf: Quest for the Elfin Orb.Paths of History Publishers, 2012.
- Bowery, Charles R. Rev. of Galloping Thunder: The Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion, by Robert J. Trout. CWN Book Reviews. 2002. 28 Jan. 2006. <>http://www.civilwarnews.com/reviews/bookreviews.cfm?ID=410>.
- "Galloping Thunder." Stackpole Books. 2002. 28 Jan. 2006. <>http://www.stackpolebooks.com/cgi-bin/StackpoleBooks.storefront>.
- "Robert J(ay) Trout." Gale Literary Database: Contemporary Authors Online. 12 June 2002. 28 Jan. 2006. <>http://www.galenet.com>.
