Rate My Professor Michael Gabriel

Michael P. Gabriel serves as Professor of History in the Society, History, and Culture department at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. He holds a B.S. from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. from St. Bonaventure University, and a Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. His academic fields include Colonial and Revolutionary America, the Civil War, and Public History. Specializing in Early American History, Gabriel has dedicated his career to researching and teaching pivotal events and figures from this era.

Gabriel has authored and edited several significant publications. His books include Physician Soldier: The South Pacific Letters of Captain Fred Gabriel from the 39th Station Hospital (Texas A&M University Press, 2020), The Battle of Bennington: Soldiers and Civilians (The History Press, 2012), Quebec During the American Invasion, 1775-1776: The Journal of Francois Baby, Gabriel Taschereau, and Jenkin Williams, co-edited with S. Pascale Dewey (Michigan State University Press, 2005), and Major General Richard Montgomery: The Making of an American Hero (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2002). He has published five books in total and contributed articles such as "The Schwalm Military and Naval Collection at Kutztown University" in The Hessians: Journal of the Johannes Schwalm Historical Association (2021) and essays "Why Did Britain Fail to Achieve a Decisive Victory in Canada in 1776?" and "Who Was Responsible for Britain's Defeat at Saratoga?" in History in Dispute: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (Gale, 2003). Ongoing projects include The Canadian Campaign, 1775-1776 (Vol. 2, Revolutionary War 250-Year Commemorative Campaign Pamphlet, US Army Center of Military History) and "Or Molly Stark Sleeps a Widow": The Battle of Bennington, August 16, 1777.

Gabriel has received prestigious honors, including the 2011 Chambliss Faculty Research Award, the 2006 Arthur and Isabel Wiesenberger Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the David Library of the American Revolution Research Fellowship, obtained during research on Battle of Bennington pension records. In his teaching philosophy, drawn from faculty interviews, he emphasizes knowing the subject matter thoroughly, maintaining organization with structured daily plans, and engaging students by prompting questions to keep them involved. He observes that students are attracted to history courses on wars like the Civil War and World War II, as well as social issues, and encourages pursuing passions, noting his own fulfillment in history at Kutztown University.