Robert A. Ford was born in Camp Chaffee, Arkansas, to a military family. He grew up in a diverse assortment of places, such as Fort Leavenworth, on the Kansas plains, Fort Ord, on California’s Monterey Peninsula, and Fort Gulick, Panama. Robert developed a lifelong interest in the people and events of the past. Growing up, he collected artifacts he could dig from the ground─projectile points, musket balls, and antique bottles, to name only a few. He attended Washington and Lee University, where he put his interests in history and the military to good use. He graduated magna cum laude in 1977, after which he spent four years in the U.S. Army, most of it in Germany. He completed active duty as a captain, then returned to graduate school, receiving his J.D. degree magna cum laude from Wake Forest University in 1984. He practiced as a trial lawyer for over 30 years, specializing in medical malpractice cases. He retired in 2017, and has used the time to indulge his interest in the military history of the American south. The southern Revolutionary War is a particular interest. Robert lives within walking distance of the Guilford Courthouse battlefield, and the southern Revolution was a natural attraction for him. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife and a huge collection of musty books on the Revolution.