News Briefs
News Briefs — August 2021
Originally published August 2021 · pp. 16–17
Introducing the Antietam Institute A group dedicated to studying the Battle of Antietam and the 1862 Maryland Campaign have organized the Antietam Institute, a member-based 501(c) (3) non-profit educational and philanthropic organization dedicated to providing and supporting a wide range of educational and scholarly endeavors. The Institute will provide many educational experiences, such as a fall conference, spring symposium, publications, and other events. The Institute’s first official event, the First Annual Fall Conference, will be held on weekend of October 15–17, 2021, and feature several presentations, three battlefield excursions, a panel discussion, and keynote address by a prominent authority on the battle and campaign. In addition, the first one-day Annual Spring Symposium will be held April 23, 2022, and will showcase a variety of presentations and discussions about the 1862 Maryland Campaign. Plans are also being made for leadership forums and teacher programs. The Institute will also publish a number of works relating to the Maryland Campaign, including a bi-annual publication of the Antietam Journal. Its first edition will be available just before the 159th anniversary of the 1862 Maryland Campaign. The Institute will also serve as a publishing house for other research and scholarship, including The Brigades of Antietam (2021), and The Artillery Units of Antietam (2022). The Antietam Institute will house a Historical Research Center (HRC), an online locus for collecting, preserving, and disseminating in digital form, historical information related to the 1862 Maryland Campaign. Institute members will have direct access to these unique source materials. The Institute intends to make donations to battlefield parks, local preservation groups, and other historical organizations that share the Institute’s goals of promoting the 1862 Maryland Campaign. Individuals with an interest in the 1862 Maryland Campaign are encouraged to visit the Institute’s website (antietaminstitute.org) or email info@antietaminstitute. org.
Donald S. Frazier Receives Houston Civil War Round Table’s “Frank E. Vandiver Award of Merit”
HOUSTON, Texas—May 23. Continuing a 39-year tradition, the Houston Civil War Round Table (HCWRT) announces that it has awarded the Frank E. Vandiver Award of Merit to Dr. Donald S. Frazier. The Vandiver Award recognizes outstanding contributions to Civil War scholarship or preservation efforts by an individual or an institution. Presented annually, the award honors the memory of Dr. Frank Everson Vandiver (1925–2005), a renowned Civil War historian and one of the earliest members of HCWRT. HCWRT selected Dr. Frazier for this year’s award based on his contributions to the historiography of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the Civil War as well as his service as a Civil War tour guide, speaker, and preservationist over a career spanning more than three decades. A native Texan, Don Frazier did his undergraduate work at the University of Texas at Arlington; and he received a Ph.D. in history from Texas Christian University where he began his long association with the late Grady McWhiney. A history professor at McMurry University in Abilene for many years, Dr. Frazier is currently the Director of The Texas Center at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas. A prolific writer on the Civil War in the West, Dr. Frazier is especially noted for his four books on the war in Louisiana and Texas. He is at work on an addition to his Louisiana Quadrille, a book chronicling the Red River Campaign. In announcing the award to Dr. Frazier, President Mike Harrington commented: “It is a real privilege to honor yet another outstanding member of the Civil War community, especially one who has extended Civil War historiography to beyond the Mississippi River.” An oversized wooden Minié ball symbolizing the award was presented to Dr. Frazier at the monthly meeting of HCWRT on May 20, 2021. Lynda Crist, a long-time member of HCWRT and editor of the Jefferson Davis Papers at Rice University, was the first Vandiver Award recipient in 1982. Other past winners include Gary Gallagher, Ed Bearss, Richard Sommers, William C. “Jack” Davis, Ed Cotham, Frank O’Reilly, Don Troiani, James “Bud” Robertson, Eric Jacobson, Gordon Rhea, James McPherson, Wilson Greene, and Brian Steel Wills. The addition of Don Frazier to this distinguished group of Vandiver Award winners only adds to its luster.
Contacts: T. Scott Wilkey
HCWRT Communications Chair [email protected]
C. Michael Harrington HCWRT President [email protected] 713-899-3726
Newly renovated Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Visitor Center and Museum now open New exhibits showcase more artifacts from the museum collection Republic, Mo.—National Park Service officials were joined by Senator Roy Blunt, Congressman Billy Long, and members of the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation at a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 28, 2021, to mark completion of the 18-month, $3.5 million renovation project and welcome visitors back to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Visitor Center and Museum. NPS staff and volunteers in period uniforms celebrated with a special artillery firing. Administered by the National Park Service, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield preserves the site of the first major battle of the Civil War in the West. The Confederate victory on August 10, 1861, focused greater national attention on the war in Missouri, leading to greater Federal military action. The park features a significant museum collection and substantial research library in addition to a well-preserved battlefield, 5-mile tour road, historic structures including the 1852 Ray House, a preserved section of the historic Wire Road, and hiking and horseback riding trails. “It is my honor to bring this project to a successful conclusion and welcome visitors, near and far, to once again learn more about this significant historical event and experience the new exhibits,” said Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Superintendent Sarah Cunningham. “We could not have accomplished this substantial improvement to the visitor experience and protection of the collection without the strong partnership of the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation, the work of many dedicated employees and volunteers, and the support of the National Park Foundation.” The renovation added approximately 1,800 square feet of new museum exhibit space, enabling visitors to view the park’s extensive collection of Civil War artifacts. It features the original “Lyon bed,” where the body of Union General Nathaniel Lyon was laid after his death during the battle of Wilson’s Creek. Visitors will also see new displays of the park’s impressive collection of edged weapons and firearms, including a rare Model 1860 Henry repeating rifle, recently donated to the park by the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation. The museum provides several interactive and accessible audio-visual displays and virtual displays, making it possible for people to view historic weapons demonstrations and digitally view fragile artifacts and other items in storage. Improvements also include a redesign of the bookstore, information desk and bathrooms, added curatorial storage and employee workspaces, and a new HVAC system to ensure long-term preservation of museum artifacts and visitor comfort. All the renovations, including expansion of the museum, were kept within the existing footprint of the Visitor Center complex. The John K. and Ruth Hulston Civil War Research Library also will also be reopened to the public starting Saturday, May 29. Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation President Garin Ferguson commented, “Our Foundation is pleased to have played a significant role in completing the visitor center renovation project by providing a portion of the funding, purchasing important artifacts, and contributing to the funding of stateof-the-art video interpretations. The new museum exhibits will enhance the experience of more than 200,000 visitors who come to Wilson’s Creek each year. We are confident that this project exemplifies our mission of preserving and protecting Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield.” “The renovated Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Visitor Center and Museum will put historical interpretation at the fingertips of park visitors, connecting more people to the heritage we share,” said National Park Foundation President and CEO Will Shafroth. “The National Park Foundation is grateful for the innovative, public-private partnership funding model that helped bring this project to life, matching $500,000 in philanthropic support from the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation with $500,000 in federal funding authorized and appropriated for NPF under the National Park Service Centennial Act.” Beginning today, the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Visitor Center and Museum is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entrance fees will resume on Saturday, May 29. Details on park hours, fees and passes are available on the park’s website and the new NPS app. Consistent with CDC recommendations, people who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear masks indoors and in crowded outdoor spaces. Masks are required for everyone on all forms of public transportation. Additional details are available at www.nps.gov/coronavirus. As conditions are subject to change, visitors should check the park’s website and social media channels for details on operations before they visit.
Awards for Excellence in U.S. Army History Writing FORT BELVOIR, Virginia — The Army Historical Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Awards. The 2020 awards honor books and articles published in 2020.
Book Awards Biography Courage Above All Things: General John Ellis Wool and the U.S. Military, 1812–1863, by Harwood P. Hinton and Jerry Thompson (University of Oklahoma Press)
Operational/Battle History The US Volunteers in the Southern Philippines: Counterinsurgency, Pacification, and Collaboration, 1899–1901, by John Scott Reed (University Press of Kansas) Institutional/Functional History Civil War Supply and Strategy: Feeding Men and Moving Armies, by Earl J. Hess (Louisiana State University Press) Journals, Memoirs, and Letters Rangers Led the Way: WWII Army Rangers in Their Own Words, by Chris Ketcherside and George Despotis, MD (Schiffer Military) Unit History To the Last Man: A National Guard Regiment in the Great War, 1917–1919, by Jonathan D. Bratten (Army University Press) Reference and Compilation Civil War Flags of Tennessee, by Stephen D. Cox (University of Tennessee Press)
Article Awards Academic Journals “‘Our Army will hut this Winter at Valley Forge’: George
Washington, Decision Making, and the Councils of War,” by Ricardo A. Herrera. Army History, Fall 2020. Journals and Magazines “‘Ernie Was One of Us’”, by Roy Morris Jr. MHQ–The Quarterly Journal of Military History, Autumn 2020.
The book award winners receive a plaque honoring the book and a $1,000 cash award. The article award winners also received a plaque and a $250 cash award. The Army Historical Foundation, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, is dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of the American soldier. Its goal is to promote greater public appreciation for the contributions that America’s Army — Regular, Reserve, and National Guard — has made to the nation in 244 years of service. The Foundation is the principal fundraiser for the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, Va., which opened to the public on November 11, 2020. In addition to fundraising for the National Museum of the United States Army, the Foundation’s projects and activities include refurbishment of historical Army buildings; acquisition and conservation of historical art, artifacts, and documents; support of Army history education programs; historical research; publication of historical materials on the American soldier; and providing counsel and support to private and governmental organizations committed to the same goals as the Foundation. The AHF Distinguished Writing Awards program was established in 1997 to recognize authors who make a significant contribution to the literature on U.S.
Army history. Each year nominations are submitted to the Awards Committee by publishers and journal editors. A small group of finalists are selected, and a final judging is made. The winners are announced in the spring. Thank you to all the book publishers and journals/magazines who submitted nominees for this year’s awards. For more information on the Foundation and its activities, please view the AHF website at www.armyhistory.org.