One Person Can Make a Difference

Motts (B.A. History) alerted National Archives authorities that a document he saw for sale on e-Bay was an original letter written and signed by Confederate General Lewis A. Armistead, whom he has studied for years. During his master’s research, he had made copies of this and other letters signed by Armistead and was able to prove to the agents that something was amiss. After a year-long investigation, a man pled guilty to stealing and selling more than 100 historic documents, some signed by Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and George Custer. The National Archives honored Motts at special ceremony in June.

Motts’s father, Warren Motts, director of the Motts Military Museum in Groveport, Ohio, always encouraged his son’s interest in history—with the result that when he was only fourteen, he gave a lecture on the Battle of Gettysburg to a graduate education class at Ohio State. Later, as an OSU student himself, Motts felt fortunate to be in a history program which was related to his interest in military history: "Professors Joe Guilmartin, Allan Millett, and Williamson Murray expected high standards from their students. I felt very privileged to be among them."

Motts moved to Gettysburg in 1990 and earned a master’s degree in American History from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. One of the youngest individuals to complete the process to be a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park, he has been leading tours for 18 years and speaks on topics related to the American Civil War.

Considered the leading authority on Gen. Armistead, Motts has published the only biography on him, Trust in God and Fear Nothing: Lewis A. Armistead, CSA, and several other pieces about the American Civil War.

Motts is the executive director of the Adams County Historical Society located in historic Gettysburg. The College commends him for his citizenship and thanks him for helping to preserve America’s past.