Dr. Jennifer Murray, Director
Dr. Jennifer M. Murray is a Civil War historian specializing in military history. She received her Ph.D. in 19th Century American History at Auburn University (Alabama) and her Master’s degree from James Madison University (Virginia). She earned her Bachelor’s from Frostburg State University (Maryland). Prior to being appointed the Director of the George Tyler Moore Center, Murray taught at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.
Murray’s first book, On A Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933-2013 was published by the University of Tennessee Press in 2014. While Gettysburg is the most studied battle of the Civil War, On A Great Battlefield offers a pioneering interpretation that moves the discussion beyond the July 1863 battle to an exploration of the history of the battlefield landscape. Murray’s research considers the nexus of preservation, interpretation, and memory at Gettysburg National Military Park from 1933, when the National Park Service acquired the battlefield, through the battle’s sesquicentennial in 2013. A second edition of this book, with a new preface, was published in June 2023, which updated the narrative to cover the park’s history through 2023.
Dr. Murray is currently writing her second book, tentatively titled Meade at War: The Military Life of George Gordon Meade, a biography of Union general George Gordon Meade. This is a comprehensive biography of Meade, from his birth in 1815 until his death in 1872, with, of course, a particular focus on Meade’s Civil War career. This forth coming work provides an opportunity to explore issues of high command within a fractured and politicized Army of the Potomac and addresses questions on the nature of civil–military relations, popular opinion, the media, and notions of a decisive battle. Murray’s work also considers Meade’s military performance at each level of command (brigade, division, corps, and finally army commander) and explores his relationship with his civil and military superiors and subordinates.
Murray is also the co–editor of a forthcoming volume titled, They Are Dead and Yet They Live: Civil War Memories in a Polarized America, to be published by the University of Nebraska Press in February 2026. This collection of essays explores the use (and abuse) of Civil War memory in modern America, from the Civil War Centennial and the civil rights era through the political turmoil of the present day. Murray’s chapter, “The Politics of Civil War Memory in America’s Military: The Battle to Rename Nine U.S. Army Bases,” explores the history and contemporary controversy over the naming of U.S. Army bases after former Confederates.
In addition to her academic profile, Murray remains active in public history. She is a featured speaker at Gettysburg College’s Civil War Institute and numerous Civil War Round Tables across the country. She worked for the National Park Service at Gettysburg National Military Park as a seasonal interpretive ranger for nine summers. Murray also worked seasonally at the C&O Canal National Historical Park, stationed at Ferry Hill.
Murray has published book chapters in edited collections and has written articles for Civil War History and Civil War Times. She has also led study abroad trips to World War and World War II battlefields in Europe, mentored undergraduate and graduate student research, and facilitated student internships at various national and state parks.
A native of Pennsylvania, Murray grew up in Frostburg, Maryland. She is incredibly excited to be living and working among such critically important Civil War landscapes and to be the director of Shepherd’s Civil War Center.
Kristen Marino, Program Coordinator
Kristen Marino holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Museum Studies from Beloit College in Wisconsin, with a focus on Costa Rican petroglyphs and human osteology. Before relocating to the eastern panhandle, she was employed as an archaeologist and curation specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, where she authored numerous technical reports on the curation needs of federal archaeological and archival collections. Locally she’s served on Charles Town’s Historic Landmarks Commission and as a board member for the Peter Burr House (West Virginia’s oldest wood-frame house). She previously worked at the Old Opera House Theatre in Charles Town, a nonprofit historic theatre and arts centre.