Richard W. Hatcher III is a native of Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1973 with a BA in History. His lifelong love of the subject began during the Civil War Centennial, and grew when he later worked as a seasonal employee at Richmond National Battlefield Park. Rick began working permanently with the National Park Service in 1976 and he retired as Historian from Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park in 2015. Rick is the author or co-author of numerous articles and books including the award-winning Wilson’s Creek, The Second Major Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It (2001), and Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove and is a regular on the Civil War speaking circuit.