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On April 2, Dr. Chris Mackowski, professor and associate dean of undergraduate programs in the Jandoli School of Communication, moderated a program at the Gettysburg Film Festival. Mackowski was “in conversation” with New York Times bestselling author Jeff Shaara and author Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of the former general and president. The topic of the conversation was “Commanders and Chiefs: Washington, Grant & Eisenhower.” (Photo above courtesy of Gettysburg Images.)

On April 10, Mackowski was the keynote speaker for the Brandy Station Battlefield Foundation’s annual dinner. He spoke about Ulysses S. Grant’s effort to write his memoirs while facing financial ruin and dying of throat cancer.

On April 18, Mackowski spoke about “The Battle of Belmont and the Rise of Ulysses S. Grant” at the annual Civil War Symposium sponsored by the Carnegie Library and Music Hall in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. The symposium’s theme was “Small Battles/Big Outcomes.” The Battle of Belmont, a small affair in November 1861, was the first time Grant led men in battle during the Civil War. Although Grant achieved mixed results, the battle paved the way for a career that allowed him to eventually lead the United States to victory in the war.