Kennard Wiggins
Writer, Historian, Lecturer, Artist

Biography

I love writing history.

Here are my published books:

Histories of Newark Delaware, 1758-2008, Contributing Author Wallflower Press, 2007

Delaware Air National Guard, Arcadia Publishing, 2008

Delaware Army National Guard, Arcadia Publishing, 2010

Dover Air Force Base, Arcadia Publishing, 2011

Delaware Aviation, Arcadia Publishing, with Jan Churchill, 2014

Delaware in World War I, History Press, 2015

America's Anchor, A Naval History of the Delaware River and Bay, McFarland Publishing, 2019

Delaware Patriot Heroes: Robert Kirkwood and Peter Jaquett, History Press, 2024

The Air National Guard, The Early Years 1946-1965, Fonthill Media, 2024

Projects in the works.

I'm always either collecting new ideas or reviving old projects. I almost never get writers block, but am instead a bit restless and tend to hop from one idea to the next. Here are two works in progress:

A ship's history of the
USS Wilmington

I'm in the process of researching and writing a ship's history of the USS Wilmington and its sister ship USS Helena. Both date to 1897. Both served as gunboats in the Spanish American War. Wilmington explored the Orinoco and Amazon rivers and then was posted to China to patrol the Yangtze River. She barely survived a typhoon transiting from Hong Kong to Manila. She served as a training ship and was finally scrapped as the oldest ship in the US Navy after World War II. This is a work in progress. I have no publisher on this project at this writing.

Delawareans at Their Best:
A comprehensive history of the Delaware National Guard

Two of my earliest projects were pictorial histories of the Delaware Army and Air National Guard. They were great projects on which to "cut my teeth", but the publisher's format required minimal text. After all the research I had done, I wanted to write a really complete history of this orgization to which I had dedicated decades of my life. The Delaware Heritage Commission has agreed to publish this book, but it is still in pre-production and I do not have a publication date to share at this writing, but hopefully sometime in 2025.

I like to talk about history.

"I am a natural introvert who has managed to survive in an extroverted world."

I have given talks and lectures over many years on the books listed above, as well as other topics related to local military history, and culture. I've been to venues throughout the area including libraries, museums, and historical societies. I usually put together a Powerpoint slide deck with images, maps, and photos of my topic. Sometimes I bring a relevant artifact. If you need a speaker, please contact me at kennard.wiggins@gmail.com. You can review a partial list of my speaking topics here.

I enjoy drawing and painting.

"I used to think I was an artist. Now I think I am a writer."

I was originally trained as a fine artist and later worked as a designer, art director in the advertising industry for the first two decades of my professional life. I often illustrate some of the topics I am writing about. I sketch very frequently, especially when I travel and I have dozens of sketchbooks on my shelves dating back to college years.

Gallery: Paintings

Below is a sampling of recent paintings in acrylic.

Sunrise Farm

Fish Morning

Blue Cap Farm

Pride of Baltimore

Squall offshore

Lighthouse

Christmas Barn

Lightship Delaware

Morning sky

Fair Winds

Storm Clouds

The Second USS Delaware

Rothwell Farm

Gallery: Watercolors

Below is a sample of my art in watercolor and colored pencil.

Gallery: Drawings

My favorite artform is keeping sketchbooks. I try to contribute regularly and I have dozens of them produced over a lifetime. The artwork below are drawings that are a bit more formal for display.