Brandon H Beck

Dr. Brandon Hagy Beck, 80, unexpectedly passed away at his home in Columbus, Mississippi, early morning August 2, 2025. Brandon was born on Thursday, October 5, 1944, in Wilmington, Delaware. His parents, Dr. Lewis White Beck, renowned expert on German philosopher Immanuel Kant, and Mrs. Caroline Hagy Beck, daughter of medical doctor Dr. James Hagy of Abingdon, Virginia, raised him in Rochester, New York, and encouraged his interest in history, which was further reinforced by family in Griffin, Georgia, and Abingdon, Virginia, where he spent his summers as a boy.

Brandon earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Gettysburg College in 1966, his Master of Arts at the University of Virginia in 1968, and his Ph.D. in History at the University of Rochester in 1978. His primary areas of expertise were Ancient Egypt, the history of western civilization, European history, the Renaissance and Reformation, and the American Civil War. He spoke Turkish and a little German, and by the time he received his Ph.D. he was well-travelled, having lived in or visited many places in Europe and the broader Middle East, seeing important sites in-person, well before places became tourist locations. He taught courses at LaGrange College 1967–1969 (LaGrange, Ga.), Old Dominion University 1973–1975 (Norfolk, Va.), Phillips County Community College 1976–1983 (Helena, Ark.), Shenandoah University 1983–2006 (Winchester, Va.), Mississippi University for Women as an adjunct professor (Columbus, Miss.), and East Mississippi Community College as an adjunct (Mayhew and Scooba, Miss.).

Brandon was most well-known for his teaching about the American Civil War. He was a well-respected speaker and author on the subject, as well as a battlefield guide. He was the founder, director, and director emeritus of the McCormick Civil War Institute at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. The Institute hosted annual events with experts in the field of Civil War history who gave lectures and provided battlefield tours. Brandon wrote many books and articles over his lifetime. Twelve of his books were about the Civil War, beginning with The Three Battles of Winchester: A History and Guided Tour, published in 1988, and ending with Streight’s Foiled Raid on the Western & Atlantic Railroad: Emma Sansom’s Courage and Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Pursuit, published in 2016. He was considered the expert on the three battles of Winchester, Virginia. At the time of his death, Brandon was in the process of writing a book about Capt. Richard Wilbourn, who was with Stonewall Jackson when he was shot.

History was a lifelong passion for Brandon. He never stopped teaching, even after he retired. He was the featured speaker at numerous Civil War events, including the dedication of the Rodes’ Brigade Memorial Tablet at the Bloody Lane at the Sharpsburg Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland, in 2001; the Smithsonian Institute; a number of memorial events in several states; Civil War roundtables; historical societies; and other groups interested in the Civil War. Soon after moving to Columbus, Mississippi in 2006, he joined the Lewis Fellowship Sunday School class at the Methodist Church, where he gave short history lessons to the class, connecting them with the week’s biblical lessons.

He had a love for steam locomotives, both in the states and abroad. He loved to converse with the engineers, especially in Europe, and he would ride in the engines with them whenever he could. After the steam era passed, he brought locomotives into his home with O and HO model train layouts, always with steam locomotives and cars of that era and highly detailed scenery that he placed himself. He was also a steadfast fan of the New York Football Giants and the Boston Celtics, and he rarely missed watching their games on television. He enjoyed listening to classical music – Mendelssohn”s “Reformation Symphony” was a favorite – Gregorian chants, and traditional music from other countries. Every now and then he would listen to old-style country music, and recently he enjoyed listening to jazz.

He loved animals of all kinds, and over the years he and his wife took in several animals in need. Brandon had been known to stop and help turtles cross the road, help frogs out of the garage, protect mama birds and their newborns until they fledged, and take the time to move insects outside rather than end their lives inside. He and his wife even took an injured turtle from Columbus to a turtle rescue in Jackson in hopes that it could be saved. A photo of his family’s Great Dane, Bluetooth, named for Harold Bluetooth, king of Denmark (hence, a “Great Dane”) hangs by his desk at home with photos of other ancestors who served in the military. Family legend has it that his mother volunteered Bluetooth to be trained for duty with the U.S. armed forces for military service during the War, but alas, he was never called to duty.

Brandon is survived by his wife of 22 years, Melissa West Beck, originally from Salem, Virginia. He is most proud of his two sons from his previous marriage, Brian Hamilton Beck, married to Anay Cleaver Beck, and Kyle James Beck. Grandchildren are Malachi Thomas Beck, Joaquin William Beck, Lennox Harrison Beck, Eden Jane Marie Beck, and Will Emery Yost. He has tried to instill an appreciation for history in each of them. Brandon’s brother Hamilton Hammond Hagy Beck and wife, Marina A. Khmelevskaya Beck, also survive him, and they, along with Brandon’s son Brian, carry on the Beck tradition of being educators. He enjoyed a close relationship with his cousins, and he leaves them to watch over the younger generations.

The family will hold a private event with his closest friends at a later date to celebrate his life and scatter his ashes, along with those of his blue heeler Champ who he deeply loved, at a site he selected that he wished to remain undisclosed.