In accepting the inaugural honor for her Longstreet biography, historian Elizabeth Varon described battlefields as "wellsprings of new knowledge and expertise"

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The nomination window for the 2025 American Battlefield Trust Prize for History is now open, with publishers invited to submit outstanding works of relevant military history and biography from calendar year 2024 through December 31.

In accepting the inaugural $50,000 award late last month, winner Dr. Elizabeth Varon, PhD., noted: "When we invest in battlefield preservation we are investing not only in saving landscapes but also in promoting education, and preserving certain habits of mind — the careful, patient, rigorous study of evidence, both material and literary; the appreciation of expertise, both professional and amateur; and the realization that no matter how useful and constructive our various new technologies can be, there is no substitute for seeing and experiencing a landscape with your own eyes."

Varon, an acclaimed professor at the University of Virginia, won the prize for her biography Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South, while D. Scott Hartwig and Friederike Baer received honorable mention for I Dread the Thought of the Place: The Battle of Antietam and the End of the Maryland Campaign and Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War, respectively.

The Trust launched the Book Prize for History in 2022 to amplify the integral connection between the grounds on which the nation's formative conflicts were decided and the fundamental role these landscapes play for the scholars and historians who help new generations more deeply understand the past, making them, in Varon's words, "wellsprings of new knowledge and expertise."

According to Trust president David Duncan, "The significance of the battlefields on which the fate of our nation was decided is coming into even greater focus as the nation nears the 250th anniversary of our founding. And as the threat of their destruction through mega development and unregulated data centers persists, the time to act is now – lest they have disappeared by the tricentennial."

The Prize is awarded to a work of military history or biography that underscores the essential role of the nation's military conflicts on the founding, formation and endurance of our nation. The award is sponsored by a generous donor and seeks to encourage authors to create works that showcase the value of historic battlefields and to galvanize readers around the urgent need for preservation to protect these lands.

Nominations for the 2025 Book Prize for History will be accepted until December 31, 2024. The qualifying works must have been published in the preceding calendar year and focus on history or biography related to the three conflicts that are central to the Trust's mission: the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and the Civil War. Nominations are first narrowed by an initial selection committee, chaired in the inaugural year by noted Civil War historian Dr. Gary Gallagher, who helped found the Trust nearly 40 years ago. Previous judges were: James Kirby Martin (Cullen Professor Emeritus, University of Houston), James McPherson (Pulitzer Prize winner, George Henry Davis '86 Professor Emeritus of United States History at Princeton University) and Joan Waugh (Professor Emeritus, UCLA). 

The winner and two runner-up finalists will be announced this spring. Publishers inquiring about submission guidelines and official rules may email bookprize@battlefields.org.

About the American Battlefield Trust
From a grassroots organization started by historians nearly 40 years ago, the American Battlefield Trust has grown into one of the most successful nonprofit, heritage land preservation organizations in the nation. The Trust is dedicated to preserving America's hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected more than 57,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War, representing more than 155 sites in 25 states from Massachusetts to New Mexico. Its 350,000 members and supporters believe in the power of place and the continued relevance of our shared history to modern American society. Learn more at www.battlefields.org.

(Publishers inquiring about submission guidelines and official rules may email bookprize@battlefields.org.)

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SOURCE American Battlefield Trust