News & Announcements Director Dr. Chris Magra Publishes Three Essays on the American Revolutionary War Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War | University of Tennessee, Knoxville The Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War is pleased to announce that its Director, Dr. Chris Magra, has recently published three online essays exploring key […]
The Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War is pleased to share that its director, Dr. Chris Magra, was invited to give a talk on John Sevier at the East Tennessee History Center as part of its History Happy Hour series on July 21, 2026. This invitation reflects Dr. Magra’s standing as a leading scholar of […]
Michael Mlekodaj is the Curator of the Lenoir Museum at the Norris Dam State Park. He welcomed community members, history enthusiasts, and area readers on July 16, 2026 for a special book talk featuring Dr. Chris Magra. The event offered guests an engaging opportunity to hear directly from Dr. Magra about his new book on […]
The Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War is pleased to share that its director, Dr. Chris Magra, appeared on June 10, 2026 on the podcast Military Historians are People, Too! to discuss his career, his work as a historian, and his new book on the military history of the Declaration of Independence. During the conversation, […]
The Medal of Honor Center in Chattanooga TN hosted a special screening of the Ken Burns PBS documentary on the American Revolution on June 5, 2026. Medal of Honor recipient Dwight Birdwell, Pulitzer prize winning historian Alan Taylor, and our own Director Chris Magra discussed the importance of military service with an audience of teachers […]
Center Director Dr. Chris Magra gave a lecture at the Salem Maritime National Park for the Essex National Heritage Commission on May 21, 2026. The lecture was part of a series of talks related to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolutionary War. Dr. Magra talked about how and why commercial fishermen fought in the […]
On May 4, 2026, Dr. John C. McManus, currently at Missouri University of Science and Technology, visited the Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War. During his time at the University of Tennessee, Dr. McManus, then a graduate student, worked with Dr. Charles Johnson in the early 1990s, interviewing World War II veterans. Many of […]
On May 4, 2026, the Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War director, Dr. Chris Magra, interviewed retired Army Colonel Gerald York. Colonel Gerald York (Ret.) is a U.S. Army veteran and grandson of Alvin C. York, World War I Medal of Honor recipient. Born in 1947, he was raised in Tennessee and commissioned […]
Center Inter, Lily Beall, won first place at UT’s Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium! This is a huge accomplishment! This award comes with a certificate, a medal, and a monetary prize. We at the Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War warmly congratulate Lily for her wonderful accomplishment! Lily researches on women who […]
The Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War’s intern, Lily Beall, spoke at the University of Tennessee’s Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium on her work about women who served during World War II. Lily shared her research that women were invaluable to the war effort. For more information on women who served during […]