
Jeffry D. Wert
Jeffry Wert is a well-known Civil War historian. After receiving a B.A. and M.A. in History, Wert had articles published in several magazines and journals and has currently written six books.
Jeffry Wert's interest in history first began after an eighth grade school field trip to the Gettysburg battlefield. After high school he graduated cum laude with a B.A. from Lock Haven University, and a M.A. from The Pennsylvania State University, both in History. He worked for many years as a history teacher at Penns Valley Area High School in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania.
Wert is well-known as a Civil War historian, and has currently published six books on various Civil War topics. His writing has also appeared in many publications, such as The Civil War Times Illustrated and Blue and Gray. One of the defining aspects of Wert's books is the personal detail. He utilizes letters and journals of soldiers and often uses their words to describe a wide array of war subjects including camp life, commanding officers, and battles. A Brotherhood of Valor chronicles the campaigns of two infantry units: The Iron Brigade fighting for the Union, and the Stonewall Brigade, fighting for the Confederate States. Wert tells the same story objectively from both points of view. He describes the excitement of the troops rallying before the start of the war, and the subsequent hardships of battle that they must endure later on. Jonathan Bing et al. praise Wert in a review in Publishers Weekly: "Through skillful use of period letters, diaries and action reports, Wert paints a vivid portrait of the Confederate and Union soldiers who bled together across the killing grounds of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania." Wert also received strong praise for Gettysburg, Day Three from Mark Bradley in the Civil War Times Illustrated. Bradley says that "Wert recounts unit positions and maneuvers in sufficient detail to satisfy even the most exacting Gettysburg aficionado." Adding later in the article that "Wert should be congratulated for accomplishing such a daunting task: a complete narrative of the third day at Gettysburg has been long overdue." Wert's sixth novel, The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac, was published in 2006.
He currently lives with his wife, and together they have two children, Jason and Natalie.
- From Winchester to Cedar Creek: The Shenandoah Campaign of 1864. Carlisle, PA: South Mountain Press, 1987.
- General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier: A Biography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.
- Custer: The Controversial Life of George Armstrong Custer. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996.
- A Brotherhood of Valor: The Common Soldiers of the Stonewall Brigade, C.S.A., and The Iron Brigade, U.S.A. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999.
- Gettysburg, Day Three. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001.
- The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005.
- Bing, Jonathan, et al. "A Brotherhood of Valor: The Common Soldiers of the Stonewall Brigade, C.S.A., and the Iron Brigade, U.S.A." Publishers Weekly 245 (Dec 1998): 41.
- Bradley, Mark L. "Gettysburg: Day Three." Civil War Times Illustrated 40 (2001): 14-16.
- "Jeffry D. Wert." Simon and Schuster Online. 2006. 11 Apr. 2006. <>http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Jeffry-D-Wert/1823159>.