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James McPherson, Craig L. Symonds share $50,000 Lincoln Prize

Source:Canadian Press (2-11-09)

Two authors of books on Abraham Lincoln's military leadership have been named winners of the Lincoln Prize and will share the $50,000 cash award, organizers announced Thursday, the 200th anniversary of the president's birth.

James McPherson, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War history,"The Battle Cry of Freedom," was cited for"Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief." The other winner was Craig L. Symonds for"Lincoln and His Admirals: Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy, and the Civil War."

The award, given for outstanding Civil War scholarship, was founded in 1990 by businessmen-philanthropists Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman.

Previous winners include Doris Kearns Goodwin, Kenneth Burns and McPherson, in 1998, for"For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War."