Cory M. Pfarr — Author, Historian, Poet

About Cory

Cory M. Pfarr works for the Department of War (formerly Defense). He is the award-winning author of Longstreet at Gettysburg: A Critical Reassessment (2019), Righting the Longstreet Record at Gettysburg: Six Matters of Controversy and Confusion (2023), The Federal Signal Service at Antietam: Stations, Officers and Battlefield Intelligence on America’s Bloodiest Day (2026), and the poetry collection Embers in the Silence: A Pilgrimage Through Memory, Flame, and Light (2026).

His essays and scholarship have appeared in Gettysburg Magazine, North & South Magazine, Emerging Civil War, Studies in Intelligence, and The Massachusetts Historical Review. His work has been featured on the Pennsylvania Cable Network and C-SPAN’s American History TV, and he has presented his research at the U.S. Army War College.

In addition to his historical writing, his poetry explores themes of memory, faith, family, loss, and the passage of time.

He lives in Fallston, Maryland, with his wife and three children.

Reviews

A quiet corner of a home library features a deep charcoal armchair draped with a neatly folded gray wool blanket, facing a small round side table of dark-stained oak. On the table rests a single hardback book with a dust jacket hinting at Civil War history, paired with a slender, clothbound volume of poetry about faith and loss. A porcelain mug of tea sends a faint wisp of steam upward. Golden hour light filters through unseen blinds, forming gentle bands of light and shadow across the spines of books that fill the background shelves. Shot from a slightly elevated, three-quarter angle with a shallow depth of field, the composition feels intimate, inviting, and sophisticated, perfectly suited for reflective reading.

James A. Rosebrock, President of the Antietam Institute, author of The Artillery of Antietam

“At last—a revealing and much-needed examination of the Federal Signal Service’s key role at the Battle of Antietam.”

A weathered leather-bound journal embossed with subtle gold filigree rests open on a dark walnut writing desk, its creamy pages filled with neat, slanting lines of handwritten verse about war and memory. Beside it lies a stack of archival-looking hardback Civil War volumes, their spines faded blue and gray. A brass fountain pen with a black lacquer barrel bridges the space between history and poetry. Soft late-afternoon window light streams in from the left, casting long, contemplative shadows and a warm glow on the desk’s grain. Shot at eye level with a shallow depth of field, the background bookshelves blur into a gentle bokeh, creating a sophisticated, photographic realism that feels intimate, reflective, and quietly scholarly.

Nancy Siegel, Ph.D., Professor of Art History, Towson University

From the shadows of youthful conflict and constructed memories of embattled history into light-filled reflections upon personal desire and yearning, Embers in the Silence is an intimate collection of poems which moves the reader through various stages of loss and love, ultimately resting with the author’s enduring belief in hope and faith. Pfarr is a gifted wordsmith, inviting us into his personal evolution which resonates with universal appeal.