Cathey and Waddey Awarded Robertson Prize

Originally published February 2018 · p. 21

WOODBRIDGE, N.J.—M. Todd Cathey and Gary W. Waddey have been selected as the winners of the 2016 Dr. James I. Robertson Jr. Literary Prize for Confederate History by the Robert E. Lee Civil War Library & Research Center of Central New Jersey. Cathey and Waddey’s volume, Forward My Brave Boys! A History of the 11th Tennessee volunteer Infantry, CSA, is published by Mercer University Press of Macon, Ga. The Robertson Prize Committee believes it is one of the finest regimental histories of a Confederate unit published in recent years. The book on the 11th Tennessee, which fought in all the western theatre’s major battles of the Civil War, is written in a beautiful and engaging style and fully demonstrates the exhaustive research of the authors. The authors provide excellent context while simultaneously allowing the men of the 11th to speak of their trials and tribulations through four exhaustive years of warfare. The book also includes a full biographical roster of the soldiers of the 11th Tennessee and dozens of pictures of the men. This is truly how a regimental history should be written! The Dr. James I. Robertson Jr. Literary Prize was established in 2000 to honor Dr. Robertson for his outstanding contributions and teaching in the field of Civil War and Confederate History as, at the time, the Alumni Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at Virginia Tech University.