LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY: ROBERT E. LEE AND THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN named winner:

2001 Douglas Southall Freeman Award

Murfreesboro, Tennessee---A new book on Gettysburg has been named winner of the prestigious 2001 Douglas Southall Freeman History Award. The winner, LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY: ROBERT E. LEE AND THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN, is authored by Scott Bowden and Bill; the first edition was published by Savas Publishing Company.

The award, named for the Pulitzer Prize-winning and distinguished historian Douglas Southall Freeman, is bestowed by the Military Order of Stars and Bars, a historical, patriotic, educational and non-political society chartered in 1938. The Freeman award is made for the best published book of hight merit in the field of Southern history beginning with the colonial period to the present time. As explained by Ronald T. Clemmons, chairman of the MOS&B Literary Awards Committee, determining the winning entry was not easy. "The judges had to consider the effectiveness of research, originality of thought, accuracy of statement, and excellence of style," Clemmons said. "We had several worthy entries for this year's award. Without a doubt, LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY had all these outstanding qualities. It deepens our understanding of the War Between the States, and is a most worthy recipient of the Douglas Southall Freeman History Award." Scott Bowden responded that he and Mr. Ward "are humbled and honored by the committee's decision."

Bowden and Ward's book is a study of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and other Southern leaders in the pivotal Gettysburg campaign of 1863. Released on April 7, 2001, the first printing of the book quickly sold out. Scott Bowden believes that the overwhelming response to LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY "centers around the resonating messages that the book contains, coupled with a unique organization that includes fresh perspectives on General Lee. This approach includes an in-depth analysis that has never before been presented." Co-author Bill Ward added: "As Gettysburg is the most written about battle in American history, we felt that our book had to be different. To accomplish this, we examine the decisions made by Lee and other Southern leaders within the context of the time that those choices were made. But we did not stop there. We went on to look at the critics of Lee's generalship and explore whether or not such critics really have any validity behind their charges." Bowden concluded that "the results are, in many instances, very surprising."

Among the prior recipients of the Douglas Southall Freeman History Award are: FIVE TRAGIC HOURS by James McDonough, FIGHTING FOR THE CONFEDERACY: THE PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF GENERAL EDWARD PORTER ALEXANDER edited by Gary W. Gallagher, THE CONFEDERACY'S FIGHTING CHAPLAIN: FATHER JOHN B. BANNON by Phillip T. Tucker, STONEWALL JACKSON: THE MAN, THE SOLDIER, THE LEGEND by James I. Robertson Jr., and TAKEN AT THE FLOOD by Joseph L. Harsh.


2001 General Nathan Bedford Forrest Southern History Award

Brownsville, Tennessee---On the occasion of our One Hundred and Fourth Anniversary, the Forrest Cavalry Corps is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2001 General Nathan Bedford Forrest Southern History Award is LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY: ROBERT E. LEE AND THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN, authored by Scott Bowden and Bill Ward; the first printing of the book was by Savas Publishing Company.

Founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1897 by former Confederate soldiers of Forrest's cavalry, the Forrest Cavalry Corps is a permanent organization that commemorates the officers and men who served under Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest during the War Between the States. In keeping with the educational and historical aspects of the Corps, the association also promotes research and scholarship in Southern history beginning with the colonial to the present time with the General Nathan Bedford Forrest Southern History Award. Competing among a host of entries for this year's award, LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY: ROBERT E. LEE AND THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN demonstrated great effectiveness of research, remarkable originality of thought, advised the reader of the intent of the book and then followed through with accuracy of statement and excellence of style.

Authored by Scott Bowden and Bill Ward, the winning entry is a study and analysis of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and other Southern leaders in the pivotal drama that unfolded in 1863 during the War Between the States.

Some of the previous winners of the Forrest Award include: RICHARD S. EWELL: A SOLDIER'S LIFE by Donald C. Pfanz (University of North Carolina Press), A LIFE OF ALBERT PIKE by Walter Lee Brown (University of Arkansas Press), and JEFFERSON DAVIS by Felicity Allen (University of Missouri Press).


2001 Grady McWhiney Award of Merit

Dallas, Texas---Two authors of a new book, LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY: ROBERT E LEE AND THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN, have been named winners of the 2001 Grady McWhiney Award of Merit. Scott Bowden and Bill Ward, both of Arlington, Texas, received the McWhiney Award of Merit at a ceremony on August 8, at the 167th regular meeting of the Civil War Round Table of Dallas.

The award, named for distinguished historian Grady McWhiney, who for fifteen years held the Lyndon Baines Johnson Chair of American History at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and who has authored numerous works on Southern history and the War Between the States, is given annually by the Civil War Round Table of Dallas "for significant contributions to the scholarship and preservation of Civil War history."

Pax Glenn, president of the Civil War Round Table of Dallas and chairman of the award selection committee, presented the winners with this year's award. Mr. Glenn told the members of the round table that the nominating recommendation which placed Scott Bowden and Bill Ward under consideration for the McWhiney award was of particular importance. "Bowden and Ward have created the bench-mark for the study of the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg as well as the study of the generalship of RObert E. Lee," Glenn read from the nominating letter. "This book will be the basis for a whole new generation of scholarship on Lee and his army. LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY should have as much impact on Confederate history as did Douglas Southall Freeman's LEE'S LIEUTENANTS."

In accepting the award, Scott Bowden stated that "receiving the McWhiney Award of Merit is a great honor. The authors are truly humbled by this distinction and we are proud to be listed alongside the other distinguished recipients."

The Civil War Round Table of Dallas meets on the second Wednesday of each month at Pierre's Restaurant overlooking the south shore of Bachman Lake. Dinner is served at 6:00 PM, followed by a program at 7:00 PM. Members of the public are welcome.

Scott Bowden, a resident of Arlington, Texas, is the author of twenty-two works related to Napoleonic and American military history. Bill Ward, also of Arlington, is a professor at the University of Texas-Arlington as well as in the Dallas County and Tarrant County college systems.


Named as Part of Curriculum at the United States Army Command and General Staff College

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas---A new study on Robert E. Lee and the Gettysburg campaign has been named as part of the curriculum at the United States Army's Command and General Staff College.

The college, which is divided into two schools, will use LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY: ROBERT E. LEE AND THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN in the upper-school---known as the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS)---as a text for the course entitled "Advanced Operational Studies Fellowship." The students, or "fellows," at SAMS, are officers currently holding the rank of Lt. Colonel, Colonel, or Brigadier General.

Robert M. Epstein, professor of history at the School of Advanced Military Studies who teaches the "Advanced Operational Studies Fellowship" course, describes LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY as "the finest study ever on Robert E. Lee's art of war and Confederate strategy. Inclusion of LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY as part of the course is an important addition for the 'fellows' at SAMS."

Authored by Scott Bowden and Bill Ward, LAST CHANCE FOR VICTORY is a detailed study and analysis of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and other Southern leaders in the pivotal drama that unfolded in 1863 during the War Between the States. Since the book's release on April 7, it has been named winner of the 2001 Douglas Southall Freeman History Award, as well as the 2001 General Nathan Bedford Forrest Southern History Award; the authors have also been named as winners of the 2001 Grady McWhiney Award of Merit "for significant contributions to the scholarship and preservation of Civil War history."

Scott Bowden, a resident of Arlington, Texas, is the author of twenty-two works related to Napoleonic and American military history. Bill Ward also lives in Arlington and is a professor at the University of Texas-Arlington, as well as in the Dallas County and Tarrant County college systems.