Robertson Prize Awarded To Rable

Originally published February 2017 · p. 9

WOODBRIDGE, N.J.—The Robert E. Lee Civil War Library & Research Center of Central New Jersey has awarded the 2015 Dr. James I. Robertson Jr. Literary Prize for Confederate History to George C. Rable for his volume Damn Yankees! Demonization & Defiance in the Confederate South published by Louisiana State University Press.

The prize committee cited the superbly written book, with an exhaustive level of research and the extensive use of primary sources, i.e. diaries, letters, speeches, and editorials, to support Mr. Rable’s contention that Southerners writings demonized Northerners, particularly Union soldiers, and helped steel the populace to endure the military setbacks during the war and set the stage for the “Lost Cause” mythology after the war.

The Robertson Prize was established in 2000 to honor Dr. James Robertson for his outstanding contributions and teaching in the field of Civil War historiography and Confederate History. He is the Alumni Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at Virginia Tech and the Executive director of the Virginia Center of Civil War Studies.

The Dr. James I. Robertson Literary Prize for Confederate History is currently accepting submissions for the 2016 Robertson Prize and details can be learned by contacting Lawrence Korczyk, prize chairman, at [email protected], to obtain a submission letter.