JOHN DAVID HOPTAKJohn David Hoptak was born on the 116th anniversary of the Battle of South Mountain, on September 14, 1978, in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. A lifelong student of the American Civil War, Hoptak holds a bachelor's degree in history from Kutztown Unversity and a master's degree in history from Lehigh University. Hoptak serves as an interpretative park ranger at the Antietam National Battlefield and teaches courses in American history, Civil War history and Mexican-American War history as an adjunct instructor at American Military University. He is the author of several other books, including First in Defense of the Union: The Civil War History of the First Defenders, Antietam: September 17, 1862 and Our Boys Did Nobly: Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Soldiers at the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam. Hoptak has also written articles for America's Civil War, Civil War Times and Pennsylvania Heritage and maintains a Civil War, themed blog at www.48thpennsylvania.blogspot.com. John and his wife, Laura, currently reside near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with their cats. Read More Read Less