Civil War Book Awards

By Stephen Davis · Originally published November 2016 · pp. 38–39

The late Jerry Russell (1933-2003) believed in Civil War Round Tables. He helped establish ten of them in Arkansas and dozens more elsewhere, always believing that round tables help sustain interest in the war, including preservation of historic sites. He founded the National Congress of Civil War Round Tables in 1975 to foster communication among the scores of round tables around the country. One such group was the Civil War Round Table of Arkansas, founded at Little Rock in March 1964. The CWRTA began to bestow a special Jerry L. Russell Award to individuals for “significant contributions to Arkansas Civil War history” and to battlefield preservation. Other Civil War Round Tables, of course, give various awards for individual accomplishments advancing our common cause. A number of them are bestowed for distinguished published scholarship on the war—

book awards for authors. We’ve looked around a bit, and notice at least a half-dozen CWRTs which sponsor an annual book award: Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Fort Worth, Kalamazoo, New York and Philadelphia. There are doubtless more; please let us know about yours by e-mailing me at BookReviews@ CivilWarNews.com. We’re always interested in spreading word about Civil Warriors’ amor librorum.

Richard Barksdale Harwell Award — The Civil War Round Table of Atlanta Since 1989 the Atlanta Civil War Round Table has presented its Richard Barksdale Harwell Award for the best Civil War book published in the preceding year. The award, which currently carries a $4,000 prize, was named for “Rick” Harwell (1915-1988), distinguished librarian, bibliographer and author. Harwell, a graduate of Emory University, held positions at Duke, Emory and the University of Georgia among other institutions. He was the author of The Confederate Reader (1957), followed by its

Union counterpart the year after. In granting permission for his name to be used, Harwell stipulated that the award title should include his middle name, for his distinguished Southern ancestry. First winner of the award in 1989 was William D. Matter for If It Takes All Summer: The Battle of Spotsylvania (University of North Carolina Press, 1988). The Civil War Roundtable of Atlanta has presented Chicago historian and author David Powell with the 2016 Richard Barksdale Harwell Award for the second volume of his Battle of Chickamauga trilogy: Glory or the Grave: The Breakthrough, the Union Collapse, and the Defense of Horseshoe Ridge,

September 20, 1863 (Savas Beatie Publishing, 2015). In addition to his three-volume The Chickamauga Campaign, Powell is the author of The Maps of Chickamauga, and Failure in the Saddle: Nathan Bedford Forrest, Joe Wheeler, and the Confederate Cavalry in the Chickamauga Campaign which was also honored with the Harwell Award in 2010. Powell addressed the monthly meeting of the Atlanta Roundtable on September 13, 2016, with a program comparing the performance of two key generals in the battle: Daniel Harvey Hill and Alexander McDowell McCook. The Harwell Award honors the late Richard Barksdale Harwell, who was the first President of the Civil War Round Table of Atlanta. While any book on the subject of the Civil War may qualify for consideration, entries are judged by the Harwell Award Committee on a variety of factors including originality of subject or treatment, historical accuracy, effectiveness of presentation, and the extent of contribution to Civil War literature. The website for the CWRTA, lists all of the Harwell winners http://

Daniel M. & Marilyn W. Laney Book Prize — The Austin Civil War Round Table The Round Table of Austin named its annual book award for Daniel M. and Marilyn W. Laney for their work in preserving Civil War battlefields. It has been given since 1996 to an author whose book “best advances the knowledge of the Civil War’s military or political events and the Americans who took part in them.” A committee of the Round Table publicizes the prize, solicits submissions and chooses the winner. Most recent honoree was Donald S. Frazier for his Blood on the Bayou: Vicksburg, Port Hudson and the Trans-Mississippi (Texas A & M, 2015). Dr. Frazier, who teaches at McMurry University in Abilene, was presented the award with its stipend of $2,000 at the ACWRT’s meeting of last June 23. He also won the Laney Prize in 2010 for Fire in the Cane Field: The Federal Invasion of Louisiana and Texas, January 1861-January 1863 (State House Press, Abilene, 2009).

Nevins-Freeman Award — The Civil War Round Table of Chicago In 1974 the Chicago Civil War Round Table established its annual Nevins-Freeman Award, given to an individual “whose advancement of American Civil War scholarship and support of the Round Table movement warrant special recognition.” The award was named for Allan Nevins (1890-1971), Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Ordeal of the Union (8 volumes, 1947-71) and Douglas Southall Freeman (1886-1953), who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1935 for his four-volume biography of Robert E. Lee. First recipient of the Nevins-Freeman Award was Bruce Catton (1974). Others include Bell I. Wiley, John Hope Franklin, Shelby Foote and James I. Robertson, Jr. Dennis E. Frye, Chief Historian at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, won the award in 2015 for his book September Suspense: Lincoln’s Union in Peril. The award features a generous financial donation to the historic preservation cause selected by the honoree.

A.M. Pate, Jr. Award in Civil War History — The Fort Worth Civil War Round Table The A. M. Pate, Jr. Award is given by the Fort Worth CWRT for outstanding research and published writing about the war in the Trans-Mississippi theater. The honor is named for “Aggie” Pate,” a Fort Worth businessman and philanthropist. A founding member of the local round table, he also supported Texas Christian University as well as other institutions of higher learning. The 2015 Award was presented last February to Kyle Sinisi for The Last Hurrah: Sterling Price’s Missouri Expedition of 1864 (Rowman Littlefield, 2015). Dr. Sinisi, who teaches at the Citadel, received the $1,000 award prize.

Albert Castel Book Award — The Kalamazoo Civil War Round Table This Round Table, established in 1957, recognizes outstanding books on the war in the Western Theater with its Albert Castel Award. To the recipient is given a $500 cash prize and a commemorative plaque with clock. The Castel Award is given on evennumbered years, most recently to Stephen M. Hood for John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General (Savas Beatie, 2013). Previous winners are Gary Ecelbarger, The Day Dixie Died: The Battle of Atlanta (New York, 2010) and Michael D. Pierson, Mutiny at Fort Jackson: The Untold Story of Fall of New Orleans (Chapel Hill, 2009). The honor is named for Albert Edward Castel III (1928-2014), who taught at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo from 1960 to his retirement in 1991. After the award was conceived in 2000, Dr. Castel agreed to have his name used for it, so long as his own work would be ineligible for consideration.

Fletcher Pratt Literary Award — The Civil War Round Table of New York The Annual Fletcher Pratt Literary Award was established in 1956, named for one of the charter members of the Civil War Round Table of New York. The award, in the form of a scroll, has been given to Burke Davis, Harry Hansen, William C. Davis and Edwin C. Bearss. The 60th Annual Award was given this past May 11 to James M. McPherson, George Henry Davis ’86 Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton University, for his Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief (Penguin Press, New York, 2014). It was the 600th meeting of the organization (founded in 1951), and was held on W. 51st Street in Manhattan. In addition to the Fletcher Pratt Award, the CWRTNY’s Bell I. Wiley Award “honors the non-literary and/or the artistic talents of those who have contributed to a greater understanding and preservation of any aspect of the Civil War.”

Michael A. Cavanaugh Book Award — The Old Baldy Civil War RoundTable Founded in January 1977 in Philadelphia, the Old Baldy CWRT carries the name of “Old Baldy,” the war horse of Gen. George G. Meade. The organization has established the Michael A. Cavanaugh Book Award for “an outstanding recent book for younger readers concerning important people or events of the Civil War Era.” This past September 14 the award was given to Doreen Rappaport of

New York City for her Abe’s Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln (illustrated by Kadir Nelson). Mike Cavanaugh is a founding member of Old Baldy, having served twice as president. He started the Civil War Book Exchange in October 1974 as a newsletter to help buffs, dealers and organizations buy, sell and trade Civil War books. Peter and Kay Jorgensen bought it in June 1986; three years later it took its current name, Civil War News.