James McPherson and Craig Symonds Win 2009 Lincoln Prize

 

 

 

(Gettysburg, PA, February 12, 2009)-Two books that re-define Abraham Lincoln's command of the largest army and navy of the 19th century will share the 2009 Lincoln Prize, which is endowed by Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman and administered by Gettysburg College.

The winners are James McPherson for Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief and Craig Symonds for Lincoln and His Admirals: Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy, and the Civil War. Each author will receive $25,000 and a bronze replica of Augustus Saint-Gaudens life-size bust, "Lincoln the Man." McPherson, who won the prize in 1998, is the George Henry Davis Professor of American History Emeritus at Princeton University. Symonds, who was a finalist in 1993, is Professor of American History Emeritus at the United States Naval Academy. A formal ceremony will take place April 7 in New York City. The Lincoln Prize is one of the nation's most generous awards in the field of American history.  For more information, read the Press Release.