Frank Morral

Frank Morral was a professor of English at Carleton College for forty-two years. He and his wife now live on Nantucket. His interest in the island's history was sparked with the discovery that his wife's great-grandfather, George Allen Backus, had fought in Company I, Massachusetts 20th Infantry from Antietam to Cold Harbor and neither his wife nor her siblings, all born on the island, were aware of him. The discovery of this hidden history in her family led to his current research on the...See more

Frank Morral was a professor of English at Carleton College for forty-two years. He and his wife now live on Nantucket. His interest in the island's history was sparked with the discovery that his wife's great-grandfather, George Allen Backus, had fought in Company I, Massachusetts 20th Infantry from Antietam to Cold Harbor and neither his wife nor her siblings, all born on the island, were aware of him. The discovery of this hidden history in her family led to his current research on the military experiences of Nantucket's Civil War soldiers and sailors. Barbara Ann White is a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association and a retired public school history teacher. Her previous books are A Line in the Sand: The Battle to Integrate Nantucket Public Schools, 1825-1847 and Live to the Truth: The Life and Times of Cyrus Peirce: Crusader for American Public Education, Founder of the First Public Teacher Training School in the Nation. See less