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Brianna Frakes

Assistant Professor
Brianna Frakes Headshot

Bio

Brianna E. Frakes is an historian of the American Civil War, with an emphasis on the military, social, and political dimensions of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Her research and teaching center around how everyday Americans understand the change that inevitably comes during and after conflict.

She earned her Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia. She also holds a master's degree in history from the University of Virginia and a bachelor's degree in history from Gettysburg College. Prior to joining the Chase Center, she taught at UVA, the University of Richmond, and in the Gettysburg College-Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History's MA program. She also was a grant writer with the American Battlefield Trust, helping to acquire over $3.5 million in grants to preserve battlefield land from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.

Her first book, No Safety for Union Men, examines the challenges and evolution of Union military occupation policies in Virginia and how the on-the-ground experience of military occupation shaped the various approaches to Reconstruction at the local, state, and federal level by Virginia's diverse citizenry. This book will be published by Fordham University Press in its "Reconstructing America" series. 

 

Areas of Expertise 

  • American Civil War era
  • Reconstruction era
  • American military history
  • Military occupation
  • Civil War memory and commemoration
  • The Early Republic
  • African American history
  • American slavery
  • History of Virginia
  • National unity and disunity
  • Historic preservation and battlefield preservation
  • Public history 

 

Courses Taught

  • CIVICLL 2130: America's Foundational Debates