In the News

Pyrates of the Chesapeake

Don’t miss John Quarstein’s 3-book series, Pyrates of the Chesapeake. The first book is due in September of 2012.

Civil War historian, author and documentary producer John V. Quarstein will soon have another accolade by his name: novelist. Quarstein has signed with Koehler Books Publishing to write three fictional-historical novels about pirates of the Chesapeake Bay. The first will take place during the Civil War.

Quarstein is already a familiar name in coastal Virginia and among Civil War buffs nationally. He has published 14 books that include historical accounts of Ironclad fighting ships and of pivotal Civil War battles and personalities. He has also written about NASA’s Mercury moon project, shipbuilding during the Cold War and the New Deal Work Progress Administration program. He has written documentaries for public television stations and appears on Hampton Roads’ PBS-affiliate, WHRO, presenting historical snippets about the region. Quarstein is a lecturer, adjunct college professor and historical consultant. He served as director of the Virginia War Museum and an advisor to The Mariners’ Museum on Virginia’s Peninsula.

“We are proud and extremely fortunate to have such an accomplished author joining our stable of writers,’’ says John Koehler, founder and publisher of the independent book company based in Virginia Beach. “John wanted to try his hand at writing fiction and had formulated some very exciting ideas that, no doubt, will excite history buffs and fans of great storytelling.’’

Quarstein’s first book with Koehler publishing will be about Civil War pirates who roamed the Chesapeake Bay region and the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina. The setting and events will be historically accurate and enlivened with some fun and interesting fictional characters.

“This is going to be a fun read on a great topic of interest,’’ said Koehler. “We hope that this will be the first in a series of projects with John.’’

Release of the pirates novel is tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2012.

_________________

JOHN V. QUARSTEIN BIO

John V. Quarstein is an award-winning historian, preservationist, lecturer, and author. He served as historian for the city of Hampton’s 400^th anniversary. He previously worked for thirty years as the director of the Virginia War Museum and as consultant to The Mariners’ Museum’s MONITOR Center.

Quarstein has been involved in a wide variety of historic preservation initiatives including the creation of Civil War battlefield parks like Redoubt Park in Williamsburg or Lee’s Mill Park in Newport News as well as historic house museums such as Lee Hall Mansion and Endview Plantation. His current preservation endeavors feature the Rebecca Vaughan House, Lee Hall Depot, Causey’s Mill, Big Bethel Battlefield and Fort Monroe. John Quarstein also serves on several boards and commissions such as Virginia Civil War Trails, Virginia War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission Advisory Council and the Newport News Sesquicentennial Commission.

John Quarstein is the author of fourteen books, including FORT MONROE: THE KEY TO THE SOUTH, A HISTORY OF IRONCLADS: THE POWER OF IRON OVER WOOD, BIG BETHEL: THE FIRST BATTLE, and THE MONITOR BOYS: THE CREW OF THE UNION’S FIRST IRONCLAD. His newest book is SINK BEFORE SURRENDER: THE CSS VIRGINIA. He also has produced, narrated and written several PBS documentaries, such as JAMESTOWN: FOUNDATIONS OF FREEDOM and the film series CIVIL WAR IN HAMPTON ROADS, which was awarded a 2007 Silver Telly. His latest film, HAMPTON: FROM THE SEA TO THE STARS, is a Bronze Telly winner. His current film projects are PYRATES OF THE CHESAPEAKE and TREAD OF THE TYRANTS HEEL: VIRGINIA’S WAR OF 1812 EXPEREINCE.

Quarstein is the recipient of the national Trust for Historic Preservation’s 1993 President’s Award for Historic Preservation; the Civil War Society’s Preservation Award in 1996; the United Daughters of the Confederacy’s Jefferson Davis Gold Medal in 1999; and the Daughters of the American Revolution Gold Historians Medal in 2009. Besides his lifelong interest in Tidewater Virginia’s Civil War experience, Quarstein is an avid duck hunter and decoy hunter and decoy collector. He lives on Old Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia, and on his family’s Eastern Shore farm near Chestertown, Maryland.

JOHN V. QUARSTEIN BOOKS & FILMS

BOOKS

NEWPORT NEWS: A CENTENNIAL HISTORY, 1996

CIVIL WAR ON THE VIRGINIA PENINSULA, 1997

FORT MONROE: THE KEY TO THE SOUTH, 1998

HAMPTON AND NEWPORT NEWS IN THE CIVIL WAR, 1998

WORLD WAR I ON THE VIRGINIA PENINSULA, 1999

BATTLE OF THE IRONCLADS, 1999

CSS VIRGINIA: MISTRESS OF HAMPTON ROADS, 2001

A HISTORY OF IRONCLADS, 2006

OLD PPOINT COMFORT RESORT, 2008

THE MONITOR BOYS: THE CREW OF THE UNION’S FIRST IRONCLAD, 2011