Journalist and historian Marc Leepson of Middleburg, Virginia, is the author of seven books, most recently Lafayette: Lessons in Leadership From the Idealist General. His other books include Flag: An American Biography and Desperate Engagement, a history of the Civil War Battle of Monocacy. He has been published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Preservation Magazine, Smithsonian, the Washington Post, and the Baltimore Sun and is a contributor to the Encyclopedia Americana.