Emerging Civil War Book Awards and Roundtable Recognition

Originally published October 2017 · p. 14

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va.— Emerging Civil War (ECW) has announced the recipient of its inaugural book award: Grant Invades Tennessee: The 1862 Battles for Forts Henry and Donelson by Timothy B. Smith, Ph.D., published by the University Press of Kansas. “Tim Smith continues to do ground-breaking work illuminating the Western Tennessee campaigns,” said ECW’s Chris Kolakowski, author of books on Perryville, Stones River, and 1862 summer/fall campaigns in the Eastern Theater. The Emerging Civil War Book Award recognizes a work of Civil War history with a public history focus. Recipients are chosen by ECW’s stable of published authors, making the award the only peer-to-peer award given by Civil War writers to Civil War writers. This year’s award was given to a book published in 2016. “I am extremely grateful to be the first recipient of the Emerging Civil War Book of the Year Award,” Smith said. “Emerging Civil War is a delightful consortium of historians and knowledge, and is doing a wonderful job of promoting the study of the War. As such, to be named the inaugural winner of their book award is both humbling and gratifying. I thank them for their efforts and for their confidence in my work.” Smith’s book was chosen from a field of three finalists that also included Gathering to Save a Nation: Lincoln & The Union’s War Governors by Stephen D. Engle and Braxton Bragg: The Most Hated Man in the Confederacy by Earl Hess, both published by the University of North Carolina Press. “Grant Invades Tennessee is an outstanding addition to the historiography of the Civil War’s Western Theater and lives up to the high standard that Tim set with his earlier tomes on Shiloh and early battlefield preservation,” said ECW’s Chief Historian, Kristopher D. White. “Thorough research, combined with artful storytelling, really made this work stand out.”

ECW’s David Powell, author of award-winning books on Chickamauga, said, “Tim Smith’s understanding and analysis of Ulysses S. Grant’s western campaigns is second to none. That mastery is on full display here, in his work on Forts Henry and Donelson. Rich in tactical detail, Smith nevertheless fully examines the strategic context of the campaign, and especially what the fall of Fort Henry meant for the Confederacy’s hopes of defending the Southern heartland.” Grant Invades Tennessee serves as a companion volume to a pair of earlier Tim Smith works, Corinth 1862: Siege, Battle, Occupation (2012) and Shiloh: Conquer or Perish (2014), both also published by Kansas. “Tim Smith has completed his trilogy in splendid fashion,” said ECW’s Co-Managing Editor Daniel T. Davis, co-author of four books in the Emerging Civil War Series. Smith teaches history at the University of Tennessee at Martin. He is the author of many books, including The Untold Story of Shiloh: The Battle and the Battlefield; Rethinking Shiloh: Myth and Memory; The Golden Age of Battlefield Preservation, and several works related to Mississippi in the Civil War. Emerging Civil War writers also offered praise for the other two book award finalists. Of Hess’ book, Dave Powell said, “Hess has turned his prolific spotlight on Braxton Bragg, the Civil War community’s favorite punching bag. This new military biography does much to restore Bragg’s place as a commander of note. While Hess pulls no punches in examining Bragg’s faults, he also deals out fair praise for Bragg’s underappreciated qualities as a commander and strategist.” ECW’s Meg Groeling, author of The Aftermath of Battle: The Burial of the Civil War Dead singled out Engle’s book for praise. “Engle’s brilliant offering reminds his readers that the act of forming a more perfect union was never more clearly shown than in the efforts of Lincoln’s war governors,” Groeling said of the other book award finalist. “Engle has given the Civil War community a fine book that will resonate for a long time.”

Emerging Civil War is the collaborative effort of more than two-dozen historians committed to sharing the story of the Civil War in an accessible way. Founded in 2011 by Kris White and Chris Mackowski, Emerging Civil War features public and academic historians of diverse backgrounds and interests, while also providing a platform for emerging voices in the field. Initiatives include the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series of books published by Savas Beatie, LLC., the “Engaging the Civil War” Series published by Southern Illinois University Press, an annual symposium, a speaker’s bureau, and a daily blog: www. emergingcivilwar.com. Sylvia Frank Rodrigue to Receive Emerging Civil War’s Thomas Greeley Stevenson Award SPOTSYLVANIA, Va.— Emerging Civil War (ECW) has announced Sylvia Frank Rodrigue as the recipient of this year’s Thomas Greeley Stevenson Award. Rodrigue is an acquisitions editor for Southern Illinois University Press (SIUP), where she worked with Emerging Civil War to establish the new “Engaging the Civil War” books series. The first book in the series, Turning Points of the American Civil War, will be released this fall. The second book, Where Valor Proudly Sleeps: The Story of Fredericksburg National Cemetery by Donald C. Pfanz, will be released next spring. The Thomas Greeley Stevenson Award is given by Emerging Civil War to a person or organization that has made a significant contribution to Emerging Civil War’s success. “To collaborate with an academic press in a way that lets us further our public history mission has been a wonderful opportunity that would not have been possible without the confidence Sylvia has shown in ECW,” said ECW Editor-in-Chief Chris Mackowski. “She has a forward-thinking editorial vision and a keen editorial eye—not to mention deep wells of patience—which make her an exciting partner for developing books.” Mackowski added that Rodrigue has helped develop Southern Illinois University Press into one of the premier venues for publishing Civil War history. “The Press has a catalogue that’s interesting and absolutely firstrate,” he said. “ECW is proud to be part of it.” Rodrigue has been acquiring books for SIUP since 2004.

She began her book-publishing career through a college internship at Stackpole Books in Mechanicsburg, Penn., where she worked as an assistant editor to William C. Davis and was instrumental in the publication of a number of Civil War books there, including Reflections on Lee: A Historian’s Assessment by Charles P. Roland. After five years at Stackpole, Rodrigue moved to Baton Rouge, La., to acquire history and political science books for Louisiana State University Press. Her subject areas at LSU Press included the American Civil War, Southern history, Louisiana history, political science, memoir, literary studies, and poetry. She acquired more than 180 books, including more than 120 related to the Civil War and Southern history. She has worked with such well-known authors as Robert K. Krick, Francis A. O’Reilly, Gordon Rhea, and ECW’s Eric Wittenberg. In 2004, Rodrigue launched Sylverlining, her freelance editorial consulting service, and began to acquire books for SIUP. Aside from the “Engaging the Civil War” Series, Rodrigue has developed several other book series for SIUP: “The World of Ulysses S. Grant,” edited by John F. Marszalek and Timothy Smith; The Concise Lincoln Library, which Rodrigue coedits with Richard Etulain; the “Looking for Lincoln” series, which Rodrigue coordinates with Sarah Watson; and the “Civil War in the Heartlands” Series, edited by Steven E. Woodworth and Charles Grear, focusing on Western Theater campaigns. “Both SIU Press and I are so proud of our association with ECW,” Rodrigue said. “I’m pleased to work with people who are excited about furthering interest among the general public about the Civil War—people who are patient and collaborative, and excellent at working with authors.” Rodrigue is also the author of two books of her own. With coauthor Faye Phillips, she wrote Historic Baton Rouge for the Foundation for Historical Louisiana. The two collaborated again on Images of America: Baton Rouge for Arcadia Publishing. Rodrigue volunteers at and is secretary for the board of the Easton (MA) Food Pantry. She also supports the Worldwide Fistula Fund and Women for Women International. She also volunteers for the Friends of the Ames Free Library in Easton. Emerging Civil War’s Thomas Greeley Stevenson Award is named after Brig. Gen. Thomas

Greeley Stevenson, a Union IX Corps division commander killed at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House in May 1864. Emerging Civil War holds its annual Symposium at Stevenson Ridge, located on the battlefield in the area where Stevenson was killed. Emerging Civil War Recognizes the Western North Carolina Civil War Roundtable as Its Roundtable of the Year SPOTSYLVANIA, Va.— Emerging Civil War (ECW) has selected the Western North Carolina Civil War Roundtable as its 2017 Civil War Roundtable of the Year. “The Western Civil War Roundtable has made robust use of Emerging Civil War’s speaker’s bureau, inviting our members out over and over, time and time again,” said ECW’s Chief Historian, Kris White. “They’re a great group of folks who always show warm hospitality.” Based in Sylva, N.C., in the state’s mountainous Appalachian region, the roundtable was founded in 1997 by the history department at Western Carolina University. Noted historian and professor Max Williams was the primary founder. During its subsequent tenure, the round table has had two presidents: Carrie Kirkman and Paul Turner. Currently the group has fifty-one members. “The Western North Carolina Civil War Round Table is greatly honored to receive this award from the Emerging Civil War Organization,” Turner said. “We appreciation the quality resources and support this cutting-edge organization has provided to for all our round tables. It is a privilege to be recognized.” Richard Smith, the vice president of the roundtable and chair of the programming committee, added, “To be honored by such a distinguished group of Civil War Scholars is, indeed, an honor.” The mission of the Western North Carolina Civil War Round Table, according to the group’s website, “is to promote interest in and disseminate knowledge of the American Civil War through various speakers at regular Round Table meetings and other special events. It shall also be a goal of the Round Table to promote, encourage, and support Civil War Battlefield Preservation.” Aside from its monthly meetings, the roundtable hosts two annual field trips, disseminates news about regional Civil War events, and publishes a monthly newsletter, which can be found on their website http://wnccwrt. blogspot.com.