THE CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE OF NEW YORK PRESENTS THE 60TH ANNUAL FLETCHER
PRATT LITERARY AWARD FOR BEST NON-FICTION CIVIL WAR BOOK OF 2015 AT ITS
600TH MEETING TO JAMES M. MCPHERSON FOR

“EMBATTLED REBEL: JEFFERSONDAVIS AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF”

From Left to Right: Award Committee Member, Charles Mander; Fletcher
Pratt Award Winner, Dr. James M. McPherson; Award Chairperson, Patrick
Falci; Award Committee Member, William Finlayson

On May 11, 2016, The Civil War Round Table of New York presented the
60th Annual Fletcher Pratt Literary Award for best non-fiction book of
the year to the legendary Civil War Historian and Author, James M.
McPherson.

 The prestigious Fletcher Pratt Award was presented by Patrick Falci,
Past President of the Civil War Round Table of New York and Chairperson
of the Fletcher Pratt Awards Committee, along with Award Committee
Members and former Past Presidents Charles Mander and William Finlayson,
to the 1989 Pulitzer Prize Winner and the George Henry Davis ’86
Professor Emeritus of United States History at Princeton University, Dr.
James M. McPherson for “Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander
in Chief.”

Awards Chairperson Patrick Falci informed Professor McPherson that this
was indeed an “historic” meeting for The Civil War Round Table of
New York, being the 60th annual presentation of the Round Table’s most
prestigious literary award and that it was occurring at the Club’s
600th meeting during its 65th season. Dr. McPherson then came to the
podium and enlightened the Round Table’s members and their guests with
his penetrating insights and dry humor. Although history has not been
too kind to Jefferson Davis, Professor McPherson took another tack and
told the Jefferson Davis military story from West Point to the Mexican
War to his time as Secretary of War under the Pierce administration. He
then explained his relationships with his generals, especially the
complicated relations between himself and Joseph E. Johnston and his
excellent working relationship with Robert E. Lee, all the time
interweaving the actual events, battles and reactions to those events.
It was a wonderful evening that ended with a spirited question and
answer session.

The Fletcher Pratt Award was established in 1956. One of the charter
founding members of the Civil War Round Table of New York, Fletcher
Pratt was a prolific writer. Pratt authored 16 books, including six on
the American Civil War. At a meeting of the board of directors held on
June 19, 1956—just eight days after his untimely death—James D.
Horan proposed that a Fletcher Pratt Literary Award be established as a
memorial to a distinguished member and the second president of the Round
Table (1953-54). Approved unanimously as proposed, the award, in the
form of a scroll, is presented to the author or editor of the best
non-fiction book on the Civil War published during the course of a
calendar year. Previous winners have included such Civil War luminaries
as Bruce Catton, Burke Davis, Allan Nevins, Harry Hansen, Shelby Foote,
Clifford Dowdey, Edwin Coddington, John Y. Simon, David Donald, William
C. Davis, William McFeely, Stephen Sears, Richard McMurray, Edward
Longacre, James I. Robertson, Noah Trudeau, Steven Woodworth, Wiley
Sword, Gary Gallagher, Gordon Rhea, Joseph T. Glatthaar, Amanda Foreman,
Allen Guelzo, and Ed Bearss, just to name a few.

James M. McPherson is the “dean” of contemporary Civil War Writers.
Born in North Dakota, he received his B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus
College in St. Peter, Minnesota in 1958 and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins
University in 1963 where he studied under C. Vann Woodward. His most
famous work, of course, is his one-volume study of the Civil War,
“Battle Cry of Freedom” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1989. He
is the George Henry Davis ’86 Professor Emeritus of United States
History at Princeton. Some of his other books include: For Cause and
Comrades: Why Men Fought in The Civil War; Crossroads of Freedom:
Antietan 1862; and This Mighty Scourge.

Founded in 1951, The Civil War Round Table of New York generally meets
on the second Wednesday of the month from September to June. Members
assist each other with research, discuss preservation strategy for
endangered battlefields, and listen to distinguished speakers as they
talk about a particular aspect of the war. For the 2015-2016 Season, the
meeting location is The 3 West Club at 3 West 51st Street in Manhattan.

For more information on the Civil War Round Table of New York, please
contact The Civil War Round Table of New York at our mailing address:
139-33 250th Street, Rosedale, New York 11422. Or, if you prefer, call
718-341-9811, or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please check out our
website at www.cwrtnyc.org.