Biography
I was born and raised in the historic seaport town of Beaufort, North Carolina. Upon graduating from East Carolina University in 1986, I entered the U.S. Army as an Ordnance Corps Second Lieutenant. Because of Beaufort's historic significance and close proximity to Fort Macon, I have always had an interest in the American Civil War. My mother's great uncle, a Confederate artilleryman was captured at Fort Macon during the Union siege of April 1862. 80 years later my father served at Fort Macon in the Army's Coastal Artillery. Dad and his unit were deployed to the North Carolina coast immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
My interest in the war grew in 1988 while stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. My life long friend and fellow lieutenant at the time, Mike Haer invited me to come along for a visit to Fort Donelson National Military Park. Before long, Mike and I made trips to several other battlefields in middle Tennessee. Because Mike originated from the state of Illinois I had to endure countless tales of "Uncle Billy's Boys" marching through the South. To counter his assaults against my southern roots, I in turn started to study more and more about the war, especially the contributions of North Carolina troops. I guess I can blame Mike for my interest in "Uncle Billy." Since early 2000 I have devoted much of Civil War research to studying Sherman's Carolinas Campaign of 1865.
Because of my Ordnance Officer background I focused my master's thesis on Sherman's logistics operations. My thesis, completed in 2002, "The Role of Union Logistics in the Carolinas Campaign of 1865" became the genesis for my first book, co-authored with Mark Smith "No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar" Sherman's Carolinas Campaign: Fayetteville to Averasboro. Released in 2006 by Ironclad Publishing, Inc., the book has done well and is currently on its second printing.
Currently, co-author Mark Smith and I are working on our next
book which covers an often neglected aspect of the Carolinas Campaign, the Battle of Wyse Fork. As a solo project I am working on a book called "Final Roll Call" Confederate Losses during the 1865 Carolinas Campaign.
When not researching the Carolinas Campaign, I am active in reenacting, metal detecting and collecting Civil War artillery ordnance, specific to North Carolina battles. I am blessed with a wonderful wife, the former Traci L. Thompson of Morehead City, North Carolina and two great children, my son, U.S. Army 1LT Wade Sokolosky, a helicopter pilot and my daughter Karmen, a graduate of East Carolina University.