ECW Honors Gary Gallagher with Award for Service in the Field of Civil War Public History

Originally published October 2021 · p. 1

Emerging Civil War has selected Dr. Gary W. Gallagher as the 2021 recipient of the Emerging Civil War Award for Service in the Field of Civil War Public History. The award recognizes the work of an individual or organization that has made a significant impact on the field of public history in a way that better helps the general public connect with America’s defining event. “It is fair to say there would be no Emerging Civil War without Gary W. Gallagher,” said Editorin-Chief Chris Mackowski. “It’s true, there is no direct trail of bread crumbs that leads from Gary to ECW, but there is not a one of us who has not been inspired by Gary or touched by his work.” Historian Bert Dunkerly added that Gallagher’s impact on the field has been immeasurable. “He cares about all aspects of the history field,” he said: “research, preservation, publications, and has always worked to advance the field on all fronts.” ECW Contributor Chris Heisey explained it thus: “If George Washington aptly earned the moniker ‘indispensable,’ I think Gary Gallagher has earned that modern sobriquet in the field of Civil War studies for certain.” Gallagher retired in June 2018 as the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War and Director of the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia. A native of Los Angeles, California, he received his B.A.

from Adams State College of Colorado (1972) and his M.A. (1977) and Ph.D. (1982) from the University of Texas at Austin. An archivist at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library for ten years, he began his academic career in 1986 at Penn State University, where he taught for twelve years and headed the Department of History for five. He joined the faculty of the University of Virginia in 1998. He is the author or editor of more than forty books, most recently The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis from Louisiana State University Press. He has served as editor of three book series for the University of North Carolina Press: ♦ ♦ ♦

“Civil War America,” with more than 115 titles “Military Campaigns of the Civil War,” 10 titles “The Littlefield History of the Civil War Era,” 15 titles

He appeared regularly on the Arts and Entertainment Network’s series “Civil War Journal” as well as participating in more than five dozen other television projects in the field. Among his many awards, he is the recipient of the Cavaliers’ Distinguished Teaching Professorship for 2010–2012, the highest teaching award conveyed by the University of Virginia, and the Philip Merrill Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Arts Education from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni in 2013.

Active in the field of historic preservation, he was president from 1987 to mid-1994 of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites, an organization with a membership of more than 12,500 representing all 50 states. He also served as a member of the Board of the Civil War Trust and has given testimony about preservation before Congressional committees on several occasions. Previous recipients of ECW’s Award for Service in Civil War Public History include Dave Ruth, John Coski, D. P. Newton, Dave Roth, and Ted Alexander.