Biography
Sam McGuire was born and raised in Sylva, North Carolina, and earned his PhD from
the University of Georgia (2015). Dr. McGuire鈥檚 research focuses on the Civil War-era
in southern Appalachia鈥攅specially the postwar lives of black and white veterans, commemoration
and Memory, and sectional reconciliation. He has published essays on North Carolina's
Kirk-Holden War of 1870 and the 1913 National Grand Army of the Republic Encampment
at Chattanooga, Tennessee<i>. </i>His dissertation examines the post-Civil War lives
of black and white Union veterans who were members of the Grand Army of the Republic
(GAR) in East Tennessee. In particular, it explores southern Unionist memory, race
relations, and community in the southern highlands.<br><br>At WCU, McGuire teaches
undergraduate courses on US history, including courses on the American Civil War and
American religious history. He also teaches a graduate seminar on the 19<sup>th</sup>
Century South.<br><br>Dr. McGuire lives in Sylva with his wife, Heather, and two children.
He enjoys long-distance running, hiking, fly-fishing, & watching Georgia football.
Teaching Interests
American Civil War; Appalachian History; 19th-Century South; US Religious History;
NC History
