Biography

He specializes in Civil War and African-American history and is the author of three books, including Black Confederates and Afro-Yankees in Civil War Virginia (University of Virginia Press), named by Publisher's Weekly as one of 1995’s best nonfiction books. He has published articles, blogs, biographical entries, and essays for academic journals, books, dictionaries and encyclopedias, including The Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century, The Oxford Companion to American Military History, Virginia's Civil War, Virginia at War 1861, and Virginia at War 1865. He is an occasional book reviewer for The Journal of American History and The Journal of Southern History and is also a Wikipedia subject.

Professor Jordan’s research on the African-American experience includes essays in two University of Virginia Press monographs: The Key to the Door: Experiences of Early African American Students at the University of Virginia (2017) and The Founding of Thomas Jefferson’s University (2019). During the University’s 2015 Donning of the Kente Ceremony for graduating fourth-year students, he was one of two faculty members who received special recognition by the Office of African-American Affairs for his “contributions and dedication to the students of the University community.” He was an historical advisor for The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference (2002), the 2003 motion picture Gods and Generals, and the 2011 PBS documentary series The American Experience: Robert E. Lee. Professor Jordan serves on the Gettysburg Foundation Historians’ Council, the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission’s (VA250) African American Advisory Council and is a former member of the Museum of the Confederacy’s Board of Trustees, the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission Advisory Council, and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees.