My name is Zak Grupp, and I am a junior at Keene State College. I have a dual major in Elementary Education and History with a minor in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. I was born and raised on Long Island, New York and currently reside in Randolph, Vermont. I plan on completing my degrees here at Keene State and possibly my masters degree as well and hope to teach young students about the wonderful information history has to offer.

For my research project I plan to investigate gangs and outlaws during and after the Civil War and their connections to irregular warfare. I have always had an interest in 19th century outlaws and the lifestyle they lived. This project will address the transition from irregular warfare to gangs and what that transition was like for many. It will also compare some strategies and tactics that bushwhackers and guerrillas used with those of gangs after the Civil War. I also plan on doing research about how both the Union and Confederacy utilized irregular warfare and how they combated against it.