A twenty-year veteran of higher education, Derek Maxfield is a recently retired professor of history and political science. During his tenure, he has been twice honored by SUNY – in 2013, Maxfield was awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities and in 2019, the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Though Maxfield’s early career in journalism and radio made him a talented writer early on, it was not until 2015 that he began writing professionally again. Invited to write for Emerging Civil War, Maxfield became a regular contributor. Soon after he was invited to write a book for the ECW series which became his first book Hellmira: The Union’s Most Infamous Civil War Prison Camp – Elmira, NY (Savas Beatie, 2020). Although he was happy to be offered the opportunity to publish, it was not the book he first wanted to write. Utterly fascinated with Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, the eccentric redhead had been a subject of study for Maxfield for decades. After the success of Hellmira, he finally got the opportunity to write a volume on Uncle Billy, which became Man of Fire: William Tecumseh Sherman in the Civil War (Savas Beatie, 2023).
Inspired by local living history events during the Civil War sesquicentennial, Maxfield was inspired to try his hand at acting and directing. He came up with the idea of dramatizing conversations between historic figures as a way to teach history. This led to a partnership with colleague Tracy Ford, who would go on to portray Gen. Sherman. Maxfield, who would portray Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, wrote a script which became “Now We Stand By Each Other Always.” Successful beyond the expectations of either Ford or Maxfield, the play toured the country for several years before the pandemic suspended performances. Once the pandemic began to wane, Maxfield developed a new play – “Grant on the Eve of Victory” – which he performs with his spouse Jess. Since then, new plays have been in development, including a three act play featuring Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Rush.
When he is not delivering guest lectures, writing, or performing, Maxfield
can be found at his home in Western New York with a cat in his lap while working on projects relating to his interests in genealogy, cemetery art, or Victorian deathways.
Derek D. Maxfield 