With support from the University of Richmond
History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Historians in the News
12-31-69

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."