Gordon C. Rhea received his B.A. in history from Indiana University, his M.A. in history from Harvard University, and his law degree from Stanford University Law School.  He served as Special Assistant to the Chief Counsel of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Activities and as an Assistant United States Attorney in Washington D.C. and the United States Virgin Islands.  He has been in the private practice of law since 1983.


Mr. Rhea has written seven award-winning books about the American Civil War, including The Battle of the WildernessThe Battles at Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow TavernTo the North Anna RiverCold HarborOn To PetersburgCarrying the Flag, and In the Footsteps of Grant and Lee.  He has lectured across the country at the invitation of numerous historical societies, universities, and historic preservation organizations on topics of military history and the Civil War era and has served on the boards of historical societies, history magazines, and historical preservation organizations, including the Civil War Library and Museum, Philadelphia, the North and South magazine, and the Charleston South Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.  Mr.  Rhea conducts tours for organizations that raise funds to purchase and preserve historical sites related to the Civil War era, including the Civil War Trust, the Central Virginia Battlefield Trust, the Blue and Gray Education Society, and the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield. He has also appeared multiple times as a historian and presenter on nationwide television programs, including productions by The History Channel, A&E Channel, Discovery Channel, and C-Span.

Upcoming Speaking Events

March 2, 2023

Mr. Rhea will be speaking at the Cobb County Civil War Roundtable in Marietta, Georgia, comparing the generalship of Grant and Lee during the 1864 Overland Campaign

March 13-15, 2023

Mr. Rhea will be speaking at three Civil War roundtables in Tennessee – in Knoxville, Kingsport, and Crossville – about Stephen A. Swails, an African American hero of the Civil War, the first African American commissioned as a combat officer in the U. S. military, and a major figure in Reconstruction

April 10-15, 2023

Mr. Rhea will be conducting a tour of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and Yellow Tavern battlefields for the Blue and Grey Education Society. See Tours – Blue and Gray Education Society.

Recent Published Works