Wayne E. Motts
Biography
Chief Executive Officer
The National Civil War Museum
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Wayne E. Motts is the Chief Executive Officer of The National Civil War Museum, one of the largest museums in the country dedicated to the study, interpretation, preservation and exhibition of the American Civil War.
His professional resume is an impressive list of nationally recognized organizations. Wayne has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Adams County Historical Society, the Curator of the Cumberland County Historical Society, and Senior Research Historian for the TravelBrains Corporation. Wayne has been a Licensed Battlefield Guide at the Gettysburg National Military Park since 1988. In 2013, Wayne received the Emeritus Guide designation for more than twenty-five years of service, and as such was one of the youngest guides to be so recognized with that honor.
Wayne received his Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Military History from The Ohio State University. He received his Masters of Arts in American History from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.
Wayne is an accomplished author, publishing books and articles about the war including “Trust in God and Fear Nothing, General Lewis A. Armistead,” and (with James Hessler) “Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg; A Guide to the Most Famous Attack in American History.” Wayne can be seen on numerous television documentaries and videos produced by the History Channel, the TNT network, and the A&E channel.
An accomplished speaker, he has given hundreds of presentations about the war in 20 different states to a wide range of groups, historical bodies, and organizations including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
The authors at Pickett's Charge
James Hessler
Biography
James Hessler has been a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park since 2003.
His book Sickles at Gettysburg (Savas Beatie, 2009) was awarded the R.E. Lee Civil War Round Table’s “Bachelder Coddington Award” and the Gettysburg Civil War Round Table’s “Distinguished Book Award” as the most outstanding work on the Gettysburg Campaign.
His latest book, Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, was co-authored with Wayne Motts and was released in July 2015. It has been received very favorably by both readers and critics alike as the first battlefield guide ever published on the famous July 3 assault.
Jim has been a guest on Travel Channel, NPR, PCN-TV, Breitbart News, Civil War Radio, and Gettysburg Daily. He was one of the primary content designers for the Civil War Trust’s mobile Gettysburg application and animated maps. Jim has written several articles for Gettysburg Magazine and other national publications He is a frequent speaker at Civil War Round Tables and has taught courses for the Gettysburg Foundation and Harrisburg (PA) Area Community College.
James Hessler has been a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park since 2003.