We are pleased that Blair Hosford is serving as the First Vice-President of the Civil War Round Table of Kansas City in 2026-2027. Blair provided the following biographical information:
I was born in Houston, Texas, but was only there very shortly, as my father soon went into the Navy in WWII. I then lived with my mother and grandparents in an
apartment on the Country Club Plaza, until my father returned from overseas in 1946. We then moved to Johnson County, where I have lived ever since.
I met my wife Lyn during my undergraduate college days at KU, as her brother was a pledge in a fraternity I was in at KU. I went over with her brother to see the new puppy the family had and as the saying goes the rest is history. Last year we celebrated our 59th wedding anniversary. I might add that Lyn has also been with me on several battlefield excursions and tours with the American Battlefield Trust.
I attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence and received a B.A. Degree in history and political science and then attended KU Law School where I received a J.D. degree. My first full-time job after graduating law school was for UMB Bank, handling wills and trust, but the bulk of my career was with the engineering firm of Black & Veatch, where initially I handled regulatory and environmental requirements and permitting for coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities. In later years, I was also involved in health and safety, risk management, contracts, insurance, and construction litigation. I finished up my working life as a Deputy General Counsel for the Missouri Public Service Commission, and lastly as Corporate Counsel for Terracon, Inc., a geotechnical engineering, environmental, and construction testing firm.
My interest in history started in high school when I took a summer school course taught like a college lecture course. My main interest in college actually was European history from about 1900 to 1939, with an emphasis on Russian History during the period just before and after World War I. My Civil War interest really developed later, when I realized that I had two great, great grandfathers that fought in the war - on my father’s side for the Union (William Blair) and on my mother’s side for the Confederacy (Jeremiah Cravens). William Blair was wounded and captured at Shiloh and was exchanged, but he died of his wounds. He is buried at the National Cemetery in Nashville. Jeremiah Cravens fought all over the area of Missouri and Arkansas and was at the battles of Pea Ridge, Lone Jack, Lexington, Independence, Westport, and Mine Creek and managed to survive the war.
I don’t recall exactly what year I became interested in the Civil War Round Table, but a friend of mine suggested that we should attend. The meetings were still at the Homestead Country Club at that time, and I have been attending regularly since that first meeting. I am also a Color Bearer with the American Battlefield Trust.
