Ben Wynne, Ph.D.

Ben Wynne

Professor, History

Phone678-717-3569

Office locationStrickland Academic, 123, Gainesville

Area(s) of Expertise: History of American South, Southern history, Antebellum American History, Civil War history

Overview

Author and historian Ben Wynne is a native of Florence, Mississippi. He earned his doctorate in history at the University of Mississippi and currently serves as professor of history at the University of North Georgia in Gainesville, Georgia. He is the author of numerous works on southern history and culture and American history in general.

Courses Taught

  • U.S. History to 1877
  • U.S. History from 1877
  • World History from 1500
  • A Multi-Cultural History of Blues and Rock and Roll Music
  • Race and Ethnicity in America
  • History of the South through the 19th Century
  • History of the South in the 20th Century
  • Civil War and Reconstruction
  • The Civil Rights Era
  • History of American Sports
  • Images of the South Through Film
  • The American West

Education

  • Ph.D., History, University of Mississippi, 2000
  • M.A., History, Mississippi College, 1995
  • B.B.A., Business Administration, Millsaps College, 1984

Research/Special Interests

Research interests include southern culture, particularly music and politics, as well as antebellum American history and Civil War studies.

Publications

I. Books:

The Man Who Punched Jefferson Davis: The Political Life of Henry Stuart Foote, Southern Unionist. Louisiana State University Press, 2018.

In Tune: Charley Patton, Jimmie Rodgers, and Roots of American Popular Music. Louisiana State University Press, 2014. [Audio edition, 2017]

Mississippi’s Civil War: A Narrative History. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2006. [Paperback edition, 2015]

A Hard Trip: A History of the 15th Mississippi Infantry, C.S.A., 1861-1865. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2003. [Paperback edition, 2010]

A Hound Dale Tale: Big Mama, Elvis and the Song That Changed Everything, Lousiana State University Press, 2024

Something in the Water: A history of Music in Macon, Ga, 1823-1980, Mercer Univeristy Press, 2021

II. Books Edited with Introduction

‘The Personal Observations of a Man of Intelligence’: Notes of a Tour of North America in 1861, by James Fergusson. Lambertville, NJ: The True Bill Press, 2009.

III. Book Introductions

  • Introduction: The Rise the Confederate Government, by Jefferson Davis. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2010.
  • Introduction: The Fall of the Confederate Government, by Jefferson Davis. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2010.
  • Introduction: Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War, by G.F.R. Henderson. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2006.
  • Introduction: Mosby’s Memoirs, by John S. Mosby. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2006.
  • Introduction: Recollections and Letters of Robert E Lee, by Robert E. Lee. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2004.

IV. Encyclopedia Entries:

Contributor to the following:

  • Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnicity (ABC-CLIO Forthcoming)
  • Encyclopedia of The Atlantic World, 1400-1900 (ABC-CLIO, 2017).
  • The Mississippi Encyclopedia (University Press of Mississippi, 2017).
  • Encyclopedia of the War of 1812 (The Bandy Heritage Center for Northwest Georgia, 2016).
  • Religion and Politics in America: An Encyclopedia of Church and State in American Life (ABC-CLIO, 2016).
  • Chinese-Americans: A History and Culture of a People (ABC-CLIO, 2015).
  • Imperialism and Expansionism in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection. (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2015).
  • Encyclopedia of Populism in America (ABC-CLIO, 2014).
  • American Civil War: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection (ABC-CLIO 2014).
  • Encyclopedia of the 1960s (ABC-CLIO, 2012).
  • Encyclopedia of the War of 1812 (ABC-CLIO, 2012).
  • Encyclopedia of Movies and American Culture (ABC-CLIO, 2011).
  • Encyclopedia of Native American History (Facts on File, 2011).
  • Encyclopedia of Slavery in the Americas (Facts on File, 2011)).
  • The Cultural Encyclopedia of Alcohol (ABC-CLIO, 2010).
  • America in World History (M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2010).
  • Sports in America from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century: An Encyclopedia (M.E. Sharp. Inc., 2011).
  • Encyclopedia of African-American History, 1896-Present (Oxford University Press, 2009).
  • Encyclopedia of Global Health (SAGE, 2008).
  • Encyclopedia of the Jazz Age (M. E. Sharp, 2008).
  • One Day in History: September 11, 2001 (HarperCollins and Smithsonian Books, 2007). One Day in History: July 4, 1776 (HarperCollins and Smithsonian Books, 2006).
  • One Day in History: December 7, 1941 (HarperCollins and Smithsonian Books, 2006).
  • Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War (ABC-CLIO, 2006).
  • Tariffs and Trade in U.S. History: An Encyclopedia (Greenwood Press, 2003).
  • The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2003).
  • Encyclopedia of the America Civil War. (ABC-CLIO, 2000).

V. Book Reviews

Reviews have appeared in the following academic journals:

  • Civil War History
  • Georgia Historical Quarterly
  • The Historian
  • Indiana Magazine of History
  • Journal of American History
  • Journal of Mississippi History
  • Journal of Southern History
  • Kansas History
  • Maryland Historical Magazine
  • Missouri Historical Review
  • New Mexico Historical Review
  • North Carolina Historical Review
  • Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
  • South Carolina Historical Magazine
  • Southwestern Historical Quarterly
  • Tennessee Historical Quarterly
  • Virginia Magazine of History and Biography

Work Experience

University of North Georgia, Department of History, Anthropology, and Philosophy, College of Arts and Letters—Professor of History (2005-present)

Valdosta State University, Department of History—Adjunct Professor (2005).

Florida State University, Department of History—Visiting Assistant Professor (2002-2004).

University of Mississippi, Department of History—Full Time Instructor (2000-2002).

Personal Information

Wife: Carly

Children: Lily and Cotton