Kraig McNutt is the Director of The Center for the Study of the American Civil War (CSACW), which houses the Kraig McNutt Civil War Collection. The CSACW was founded in 1995.  He has been a serious student of the American Civil War since the early 1980s and has been publishing Civil War related content on the Web since 1995.

McNutt publishes two major Civil War blogs. Combined they respectively receive tens of thousands of views a month.

The Civil War Gazette is a blog of a more general nature, though it tends to focus on the so-called Western Theater of the Civil War. He also maintains and produces the most comprehensive and most visited blog on the Battle of Franklin (www.BattleofFranklin.net). Both of these web sites result in many inquiries each month from his blog readers who are looking for more information on Civil War ancestors, relatives, and research questions on the Civil War.

McNutt is known for his creative use of new media technology. He launched the first Civil War Internet-podcast called Grapevine Dispatches (currently not active). Two of the more technologically creative applications of he has created are (1) The Civil War Gazette search engine, and (2) The Battle of Franklin interactive Google map.

McNutt is active in historic preservation in his community (Williamson County, TN) and is proud to be a member of the Civil War Preservation Trust. He has lived in Franklin, Tennessee with his family since 2000.

Mr. McNutt is available for speaking at schools, Civil War round-tables, charitable events, conferences, programs, symposiums, etc. To contact him email him at tellinghistory[at]yahoo.com

Recommendations on behalf of Mr. McNutt

Long forgotten and seldom understood, the breathtaking events which swirled around Franklin, Tennessee in late 1864 are regaining their appropriate place in history. Many claim to be interested in telling and preserving this vital American story, but few do it with the passion of Kraig McNutt. His knowledge and integrity may only be exceeded by his energy, all of which make a respected member of the Civil War community in Middle Tennessee. My earnest hope is that his contributions last for many years to come.

Eric Jacobson, author and historian

Kraig McNutt is a scholar and storyteller of such passion that he can do what very few can. Mr. McNutt can breathe life into stories almost forgotten and can make the spirit burn at both the heinous atrocities and heart-breaking courage shown by all who were touched by this unforgettable time in history. It is a joy and honor to hear him speak and read his educated interpretations.

Michelle Place, best-selling author, historian and historical interpreter

Kraig McNutt brings with him not only years of study and understanding, but the necessary passion to make the cold facts of history come alive. Driven by that passion, Kraig has honed his studies into scholarship and his scholarship into understanding. As the Civil War slips further and further into a dim past, we are fortunate to have Kraig breathing life back into the story.

Robert Hicks, best-selling author of The Widow of the South

Kraig McNutt is an enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and passionate student of the Civil War. He has for a number of years maintained one of the finest websites on the conflict and possesses, along with a wealth of knowledge, a deep inner appreciation of what the war meant for those who lived through it and for us their descendants. I highly recommend him to groups seeking a top-flight Civil War speaker.

Steven E. Woodworth, Professor of History, Texas Christian University

Kraig McNutt is an omnivorous reader, thinker, writer, researcher, advocate, and speaker–not only on the American Civil War, but on a host of other historical and cultural issues. His educational and professional background would indicate that he is qualified to speak on many of these issues–but, we all know folks who are qualified yet they bore us to tears. Not Kraig. His lively and engaging style makes history come alive.

George Grant, Pastor, Parish Presbyterian Church
Founder, King’s Meadow Study Center

The study of the American Civil War has recently come into its own in Franklin [Tennessee] is fortunate to have Kraig McNutt living, collecting and sharing his knowledge with us. His interaction and contributions to the Williamson County Historical Society has been substantial. Having Kraig in a discussion group raises the bar and broadens the horizon for everyone.

Rick Warwick, Historian
The Heritage Foundation of Franklin & Williamson County

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The CSACW is primarily focused on the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

About the Western Theater Wikipedia writes:

The Western Theater was an area defined by both geography and the sequence of campaigning. It originally represented the area east of the Mississippi River and west of the Appalachian Mountains. It excluded operations against the Gulf Coast and the Eastern Seaboard, but as the war progressed and William Tecumseh Sherman’s Union armies moved southeast from Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1864 and 1865, the definition of the theater expanded to encompass their operations in Georgia and the Carolinas.

The CSACW researches and collects items on the following topics of interest related to the Civil War:

• Sherman’s 1864 campaign, especially his March to the Sea, and his Atlanta action.
• Hood’s Middle Tennessee campaign, particularly the Battles of Franklin and Nashville.
• Regiments the CSACW focuses on include Indiana (11th Cav., and the following infantry units: 44th, 58th, 63rd, 65th, 80th, 120th and 128th; and Kentucky (Union) 6th Cavalry.
• Tennessee actions and battles, including: The Battle of Shiloh, Forts Henry and Donelson, Battle of Stone’s River, the Battle of Thompson’s Station, Hood’s Retreat
• Middle Tennessee locations and related: Franklin, Nashville, Brentwood, Triune, Thompson’s Station, College Grove, Williamson County.
• Battles of Corinth (MS), and Iuka.
• Miscellaneous: Robert Smalls, the Wallace-Taylor boys of Gibson County, Beaufort, S.C., Slavery, Irish songster Barney Williams, Harper’s Weekly, Leslie’s Illustrated, and daily Civil War newspapers.

If you have letters, documents or items of related interest you’d like to share with the CSACW please contact us. We’d be delighted to make them more accessible through the CSACW with your permission.

Mr. McNutt is active in Civil War preservation efforts in Williamson County, Tennessee, and is an active member of the Williamson County Historical Society and The Franklin Civil War Roundtable. He holds several; academic degrees, both undergraduate and graduate, with concentrations or majors in history, philosophy, communications, theology, languages, archaeology and information science.