Brian Caldwell Pohanka

Background

Brian Pohanka was born on March 20, 1955 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States; the son of John and Jean Pohanka.

Education

Brian became fascinated by the War between the States as a boy, and even began conducting serious library research on the subject at the National Archives in Washington, when he was twelve years old. He graduated from Sidwell Friends School and later went on to earn a history degree from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.

Career

After graduation from college, Pohanka made his living as an editor for Time-Life's "Civil War" reference series and was also hired as a consultant for such films as Glory and Cold Mountain. In addition, he wrote extensively on the subject, publishing such works as Distant Thunder: A Photographic Essay on the American Civil War and An Illustrated History of the Civil War: Images of an American Tragedy. Pohanka had other Civil War related books to his credit, including several books of photographs or art for which he provided the text, such as The Civil War: An Aerial Portrait and Don Troiani’s Civil War.

As a hobby, Brian participated in Civil War battle reenactments, playing the role of captain of the 5th New York Infantry. He also campaigned actively to preserve historic lands as a member of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (later the Civil War Preservation Trust). His work in this area earned him recognition from the trust as Battlefield Preservationist of the Year in 2004.

Although the United States Civil War was his specialty, Pohanka also conducted research in other areas, including the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where Lt. Colonel George Custer met his end at the hands of the Sioux, and in Africa, where he studied sites of the Zulu wars. At the time of his death, he had completed a new history book about the 5th New York Infantry, which was scheduled to be published posthumously.

Achievements

• Pohanka consulted for Academy Award winning, Civil War related films, such as Glory and Cold Mountain. He was widely recognized as a leading authority on the Battle of Little Bighorn. Brian was named Battlefield Preservationist of the Year in 2004 by the Civil War Preservation Trust and the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust. The internship program, which makes it possible for students to spend their summers at sites that played a huge role in Pohanka’s life, was created in his honor. Pohanka was also a recipient of the Edwin C. Bearss Lifetime Achievement Award.

Works

More photos

• bok

  • A Summer on the Plains with Custer's 7th Cavalry: The 1870 Diary of Annie Gibson Roberts 1983

• book

  • Billy Heath: The Man Who Survived Custer's Last Stand

    (For more than one hundred twenty-five years virtually eve...)

    2003
  • A Duryee Zouave

    (This book relates the story of Thomas "Pony" Southwick’s ...)

    2002
  • Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now

    (To create Where Custer Fell, authors James S. Brust, Bria...)

    2005
  • Mapping the Civil War: Featuring Rare Maps from the Library of Congress 1992
  • Don Troiani's Civil War 1995

Politics

Pohanka was engaged in contemporary political activism, resisting a number of development projects on the sites of Civil War battles in Northern Virginia.

Views

Quotations: "There were 300,000 blacks in that war. We think their role has been badly neglected, and we hope this picture will encourage more black people to take an interest in the history."

"I was glad that the battle scene was graphic, violent and gory. That's what war is. It's not a bunch of people in costume. If it's not as violent and horrible as it really is, it's not being true to reality."

Personality

Brian Pohanka had a courtly bearing, quiet elegance, and intensity. He commanded respect from those around him and was a natural preservation leader. He trimmed his beard in what was known as the imperial style, popularized in the 1860's by the French emperor Napoleon III. Pohanka also wore the colorful French-style uniforms of the dashing troops called Zouaves, even down to his underwear.

Interests

• Civil War re-enactment

Connections

Brian Pohanka was married to Marylynne (Cricket) Bauer Pohanka.

Father:

John Pohanka

Mother:

Jean Pohanka

Spouse:

Marylynne (Cricket) Bauer Pohanka