Rachael E. Mellen is a graduate of the University of London, U.K. (1974) with a BA (Honours) in education and history. She earned a postgraduate degree in Humanities from California State University Dominguez Hills in 2008. Rachael has published three books on English genealogy as well as numerous articles. She has given presentations on genealogical and historical topics since 1984 to many organizations including the National Archives (Chicago Branch) and the Newberry Library. For many years, Rachael accompanied her late husband Robert to Civil War reenactments with Battery G, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery. She is currently president of the LaSalle County Genealogy Guild and researching the life of William Byrne. Rachael lives with her daughter Alice in Peru, Illinois, within a mile of the home of Alice’s Civil War relative, William J. Kennedy. David A. Powell is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (1983) with a BA in history. He has published many articles in various magazines, and more than fifteen historical simulations. David’s primary focus has been on the epic battle of Chickamauga, and he is nationally recognized for his tours of that important battlefield. He is the author of many books on the subject, including The Chickamauga Campaign trilogy, The Maps of Chickamauga, and Failure in the Saddle. He is currently working on the second of what promises to be a five-volume history of the Atlanta Campaign. The first, The Atlanta Campaign: Volume 1: Dalton to Cassville, May 1-19, 1864, was released by Savas Beatie in 2024. David and his wife Anne live with their trio of bloodhounds in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. He is now retired and writes full time.