John F. Marszalek is an American historian who served as Executive Director and Managing Editor of the Ulysses S. Grant Association and The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant project from 2008 to 2022.

Background and education

Marszalek was born in Buffalo, New York. He received his bachelor's degree from Canisius College in 1961. He received a Master's Degree in 1963 and his Ph.D. in 1968, both from the University of Notre Dame.

Career

Marszalek taught at Canisius College and Gannon University before moving to Mississippi State University for the remainder of his career. After 29 years as a professor, Marszalek retired in 2002 to become Professor Emeritus. In 1994 he was appointed the William L. Giles Distinguished Professor. From 1998 to 2012, he served as the Director of the Mississippi State University Distinguished Undergraduate Scholars Program.

Ulysses S. Grant Association and Papers of Ulysses S. Grant

After John Y. Simon's death in July 2008, Marszalek became the Executive Director and Managing Editor of the Ulysses S. Grant Association and The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant project. He was instrumental in the move of Grant's papers from Southern Illinois University Carbondale to Mississippi State University. With Anne Marshall's appointment as his replacement in 2022, Marszalek was named Executive Director Emeritus of the Ulysses S. Grant Association.

Research

Over the course of his career, Marszalek has published more than 300 articles and book reviews and written or edited 13 books. His research has primarily focused on the American Civil War, specifically Civil War generals Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and Henry Halleck, but he has also written on local Mississippi history, the history of racial conflict at West Point, and the Eaton affair.

Awards and other achievements

Marszalek's book Sherman: A Soldier's Passion for Order was a finalist for the 1993 Lincoln Prize. The Mississippi Historical Society awarded Marszalek the Richard Wright Literary Award for lifetime achievement by a Mississippi author and the B.L.C. Wailes Award for national distinction in history, the society's highest award. On April 13, 2018, Marszalek won the Nevins-Freeman Award, the most prestigious honor given by The Civil War Round Table of Chicago. Showtime made Marszalek's book Court Martial: A Black Man in America, into the motion picture Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker. As of 2022, Marszalek serves on the Executive Committee of The Lincoln Forum.

Publications