Biography of Bryan S. Bush

Bryan S. Bush was born in 1966 in Louisville, Kentucky and has been a native of that city ever since.  He graduated with honors from Murray State University with a degree in History and Psychology.  Bryan has always had a passion for history, especially the Civil War.  He has been a member of many different Civil War historical preservation societies, has consulted for movie companies and other authors, coordinated with other museums on displays of various museum articles and artifacts, has performed as an extra in Civil War films, has written for magazines (e.g., Kentucky Civil War Journal, North South Trader's Civil War Magazine^3 and Back Home In Kentucky^4), has given lectures and participated in symposiums, and worked for many different historical sites.  Bryan has always fought hard to maintain and preserve Civil War history in the Western Theater.

book highlight Louisville and the Civil War: A History & Guide.  This book traces the Civil War in Louisville and gives the reader a sense of how the city looked towards the Union and the Confederacy.  This includes discussion of how Louisville turned from a very pro-Union city towards supporting the Confederacy, or at least the Lost Cause. read more about it

In 1998, Bryan published his first work: The Civil War Battles of the Western Theatre, which was given good reviews by North & South Magazine^5 and Kentucky Monthly^6.  Kentucky Monthly said Bryan S. Bush "has with his first book created a needed addition to any serious Civil War library."  The book remains one of Turner Publishing's better sellers regarding Kentucky history.

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Bryan is available for lectures and book signings.  Contact him for availability and rates.

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In subsequent years, Bryan has published five additional works: Terry's Texas Rangers (2002), My Dear Mollie (2003), Lloyd Tilghman (2006), Butcher Burbridge (2008), Lincoln and the Speeds (2008) and Louisville and the Civil War (2008); and contributed several articles to Kentucky's Civil War 1861-1865 (2005).  Bryan has been a Civil War reenactor off and on since 1994, portraying an artillerist.  For five years Bryan was on the Board of Directors and curator for the Civil War Museum of the Western Theater^16 in Bardstown, Kentucky.  Bryan was co-chairman for the Battle of Corydon in 2001, 2003 and 2005.  In December 2005, Mr. Bush completed his Master's Thesis at the University of Louisville.

Bryan is currently seeking employment in an environment of research, preservation, curating or teaching in the historical field.  Serious inquiries only.

Past Events Featuring Bryan S. Bush

Following is a list of past symposiums and lectures involving Bryan:

2009

Frazier International History Museum, Louisville, Kentucky. "Louisville During the Civil War." November 7, 2009.

Hardin County Public Library, Elizabethtown, Kentucky. "Louisville During the Civil War.". November 7, 2009.

Starting at Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville During the Civil War Bus Tour. October 10, 2009.

Hardin County Public Library, Elizabethtown, Kentucky. "Butcher Burbridge". October 3, 2009.

Octagon Hall — 150th Anniversary Celebration/Fundraiser, Franklin, Kentucky. PowerPoint presentations: "Abraham Lincoln and the Speeds" and "Butcher Burbridge". September 19, 2009.

Louisville Free Public Library - Highlands/Shelby Park Branch, Louisville, Kentucky. "Louisville During the Civil War." August 29, 2009.

Memorial Auditorium, August meeting of the Louisville Historical League^17, Louisville, Kentucky. "James Guthrie." August 16, 2009.

Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky. "Abraham Lincoln and the Speeds." July 12, 2009.

Rowan County Courthouse, Morehead, Kentucky. "Abraham Lincoln and the Speeds." June 6, 2009.

University of Louisville Thrust Theatre, Louisville, Kentucky. Panel discussion about Lincoln's time in Louisville (after a staged reading of the play "Lincoln in Louisville"), with Dr. Charles B. Strozier, Prof. of History, John Jay College; Dr. Thomas Mackey, Chair, Department of History U of L; Gerald Tietz, Prof. of Law, Temple University; and Dr. Blaine Hudson, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Prof Pan-African Studies, U of L. June 5, 2009.

March meeting of the Central Ohio Civil War Round Table, Columbus, Ohio. "Union General Stephen Gano Burbridge." March 11, 2009.

Louisville Free Public Library - Okolona Branch, Louisville, Kentucky. "Abraham Lincoln and the Speeds." February 28, 2009.

2007

The Cynthiana-Harrison County Public Library, September meeting of the Harrison County (Kentucky) Historical Society, Cynthiana, Kentucky. "Union General Stephen Gano Burbridge." September 20, 2007.

Historic Locust Grove, September meeting of the Louisville Historical League^17, Louisville, Kentucky. "Louisville in the Civil War." September 16, 2007.

Logan County Public Library, Russellville, Kentucky. "Union General Stephen Gano Burbridge." August 8, 2007.

Shepherdsville Library, Shepherdsville, Kentucky. "Union General Stephen Gano Burbridge." June 21, 2007.

Riverside Regional Public Library, various locations in Southeast Missouri. "Confederate General Lloyd Tilghman." June 3-6, 2007.

Southwest (Louisville) Regional Library, Valley Station, Kentucky. "Louisville in the Civil War." February 26, 2007.

Kenwood Elementary School, Louisville, Kentucky. "The Civil War Soldier." February 15, 2007.

2005

Kentucky Book Fair^12 Civil War Symposium, Frankfort, Kentucky. Moderator: Gary Matthews. Members of the symposium were Dr. Charles Bracelen Flood, Betty J. Gorin and Bryan S. Bush. November 12, 2005.

Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site, Perryville, Kentucky. "The 5^th Company, Washington Artillery at Perryville." October 8-9, 2005.

Hardin County, Kentucky Tourism. Special Guest Speaker: "Morgan's Christmas Raid of 1862." September 10, 2005.

Battle of Corydon, Corydon, Indiana. "Civil War Nurses." July 9-10, 2005.

2003

Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site, Perryville, Kentucky. "The 8^th Texas Cavalry, Terry's Texas Rangers at the Battle of Perryville." October, 2003.

Battle of Corydon, Corydon, Indiana. "My Dearest Mollie: The Civil War Letters of Brig. Gen. Daniel F. Griffin and the Battle of Corydon." July 12-13, 2003.

Hardin County Civil War Days. "My Dearest Mollie: The Civil War Letters of Brig. Gen. Daniel F. Griffin of the 38^th Indiana Infantry." September 6, 2003.

1995

Carnegie Center for Art and History, New Albany, Indiana. "The Last Days Leading Up to Appomattox, April, 1865." April 1995.