Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College
Encyclopedia
The Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College
is a non-profit organization created to promote the study of the Civil War Era. The Institute was founded in 1982 by historian and Gettysburg College
professor Gabor Boritt
, an Abraham Lincoln
and American Civil War
scholar. The Institute helps coordinate a number of Civil War
-related events, including the Lincoln Prize
, the Michael Shaara Prize, the Robert Fortenbaugh Memorial Lecture, annual programming designed to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
, as well as a week-long summer conference that hosts 300 participants annually. In 2007, Pennsylvania
Governor Ed Rendell
named the Civil War Institute the administrative head of the Pennsylvania Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, which was created to honor the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's
birth. The Civil War Institute and Pennsylvania Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission have offices on North Washington Street and in the Gettysburg Railroad Station
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
.
, the Battle of Fredericksburg
, Robert E. Lee
, the navy and the cavalry. The theme for 2008 is Abraham Lincoln
, and falls during the 199th anniversary of his birth. While most participants live in Gettysburg College
dorms during the week, local attendees can choose to forgo living expenses and commute each day. The conference, generally running from Sunday to Saturday, is usually held during the last week of June. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are lecture days, where participants attend morning, afternoon and night sessions with Civil War historians. Tuesday is reserved for a day-long tour to an area related to the conference's central theme. In past years, the conference has traveled to the Antietam National Battlefield
, Fredericksburg, Virginia
, Washington, D.C.
and Petersburg, Virginia
. Thursday generally consists of half-day tours of the Gettysburg National Battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
.
Lecturers and tour guides are chosen for recent scholarship and expertise on the conference's central theme. The Institute has hosted a number of Lincoln Prize
and Pulitzer Prize
-winning authors, including James M. McPherson
, Ken Burns
, Doris Kearns Goodwin
, Allen C. Guelzo
, Richard Carwardine
, and others. Ed Bearss
, Chief Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service
, has been providing tours at the conference for several years.
The 2009 conference will be the 27th Civil War Institute summer conference. Dr. Gabor Boritt
is the Director of the Institute, while fellow Gettysburg College
Professor Allen C. Guelzo
serves as Associate Director.
is a $50,000 prize given annually for the year's best scholarly work on Abraham Lincoln
and the American Civil War
. The prize is endowed by Lewis Lehrman
and Richard Gilder
and administered through the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College.
To see a list of Lincoln Prize recipients, click here
.
. The prize was founded by Jeff Shaara, a best-selling historical novelist, in honor of his father, Michael Shaara
. Michael Shaara
was the Pulitzer Prize
-winning author of the The Killer Angels
, a novel about the Battle of Gettysburg
.
The Prize is administered by the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College.
-related topic, aimed at appealing to the general public while still providing strong scholary undertones. The lecture is held on November 19 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
, on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's
Gettysburg Address
. The Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College coordinates the lecture.
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
. Although Lincoln
actually gave the Gettysburg Address
in the adjacent Evergreen Cemetery
, the National Cemetery provides the most room for spectators.
Past speakers at the Dedication Day Ceremonies have included Tom Brokaw
, Jeff Shaara, Lynne Cheney
, Sandra Day O'Connor
, William Rehnquist
, and others. The 2008 speaker was film director Ken Burns, and the 2009 speaker was Academy Award winning actor Richard Dreyfuss.
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
is a non-profit organization created to promote the study of the Civil War Era. The Institute was founded in 1982 by historian and Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
professor Gabor Boritt
Gabor Boritt
Gabor S. Boritt was the Robert Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College. Born in World War II Hungary, he participated as a teenager in the 1956 revolution against the Soviet Union. He escaped to the United States, where he received his...
, an Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
scholar. The Institute helps coordinate a number of Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
-related events, including the Lincoln Prize
Lincoln Prize
The Lincoln Prize, endowed by Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman and administered by the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, has been awarded annually since 1991 for the best non-fiction historical work of the year on the American Civil War. It is named for U.S...
, the Michael Shaara Prize, the Robert Fortenbaugh Memorial Lecture, annual programming designed to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
, as well as a week-long summer conference that hosts 300 participants annually. In 2007, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
Governor Ed Rendell
Ed Rendell
Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...
named the Civil War Institute the administrative head of the Pennsylvania Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, which was created to honor the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
birth. The Civil War Institute and Pennsylvania Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission have offices on North Washington Street and in the Gettysburg Railroad Station
Gettysburg Railroad Station
-American Civil War:Train service to the depot was stopped when Jubal Early's Confederates burned the Rock Creek trestle on June 27, 1863. The depot's telegrapher, a young daughter of "Mr...
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
.
The Civil War Institute
The Institute hosts an annual summer conference on the Civil War, drawing over 300 people annually. Each year, the conference focuses on a different Civil War theme. Past themes have included the Battle of GettysburgBattle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
, Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, the navy and the cavalry. The theme for 2008 is Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, and falls during the 199th anniversary of his birth. While most participants live in Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
dorms during the week, local attendees can choose to forgo living expenses and commute each day. The conference, generally running from Sunday to Saturday, is usually held during the last week of June. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are lecture days, where participants attend morning, afternoon and night sessions with Civil War historians. Tuesday is reserved for a day-long tour to an area related to the conference's central theme. In past years, the conference has traveled to the Antietam National Battlefield
Antietam National Battlefield
Antietam National Battlefield is a National Park Service protected area along Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland which commemorates the American Civil War Battle of Antietam that occurred on September 17, 1862...
, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
. Thursday generally consists of half-day tours of the Gettysburg National Battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
.
Lecturers and tour guides are chosen for recent scholarship and expertise on the conference's central theme. The Institute has hosted a number of Lincoln Prize
Lincoln Prize
The Lincoln Prize, endowed by Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman and administered by the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, has been awarded annually since 1991 for the best non-fiction historical work of the year on the American Civil War. It is named for U.S...
and Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning authors, including James M. McPherson
James M. McPherson
James M. McPherson is an American Civil War historian, and is the George Henry Davis '86 Professor Emeritus of United States History at Princeton University. He received the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Battle Cry of Freedom, his most famous book...
, Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
, Doris Kearns Goodwin
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Doris Kearns Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer and historian, and an oft-seen political commentator. She is the author of biographies of several U.S...
, Allen C. Guelzo
Allen C. Guelzo
Allen Carl Guelzo is the Henry R. Luce III Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College, where he serves as Director of the Civil War Era Studies Program.Guelzo was born in Yokohama, Japan...
, Richard Carwardine
Richard Carwardine
Professor Richard Carwardine MA DPhil FRHistS FLSW FBA is president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford and was formerly Rhodes Professor of American History at St Catherine's College, Oxford. Before this he was Professor of American History at the University of Sheffield. He specialises in the early...
, and others. Ed Bearss
Ed Bearss
Edwin Cole Bearss , a United States Marine Corps veteran of World War II, is a military historian and author known for his work on the American Civil War and World War II eras and is a popular tour guide of historic battlefields...
, Chief Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, has been providing tours at the conference for several years.
The 2009 conference will be the 27th Civil War Institute summer conference. Dr. Gabor Boritt
Gabor Boritt
Gabor S. Boritt was the Robert Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College. Born in World War II Hungary, he participated as a teenager in the 1956 revolution against the Soviet Union. He escaped to the United States, where he received his...
is the Director of the Institute, while fellow Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
Professor Allen C. Guelzo
Allen C. Guelzo
Allen Carl Guelzo is the Henry R. Luce III Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College, where he serves as Director of the Civil War Era Studies Program.Guelzo was born in Yokohama, Japan...
serves as Associate Director.
The Lincoln Prize
The Lincoln PrizeLincoln Prize
The Lincoln Prize, endowed by Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman and administered by the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, has been awarded annually since 1991 for the best non-fiction historical work of the year on the American Civil War. It is named for U.S...
is a $50,000 prize given annually for the year's best scholarly work on Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The prize is endowed by Lewis Lehrman
Lewis Lehrman
For the Texas judge, see Debra Lehrmann.Lewis E. "Lew" Lehrman is an investment banker who actively supports the ongoing study of American history from a conservative perspective. He was presented the National Humanities Medal at the White House in 2005 for his scholarly contributions...
and Richard Gilder
Richard Gilder
Richard Gilder, co-founder of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, heads the brokerage firm Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co. The firm's specialty is trading leveraged stocks and shortselling. After working at the brokerage firm of A.G. Becker & Co., Gilder founded the firm now known as...
and administered through the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College.
To see a list of Lincoln Prize recipients, click here
Lincoln Prize
The Lincoln Prize, endowed by Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman and administered by the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, has been awarded annually since 1991 for the best non-fiction historical work of the year on the American Civil War. It is named for U.S...
.
The Michael Shaara Prize
The Michael Shaara Prize for Excellence in Civil War Fiction is awarded annually to the best historical novel related to the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The prize was founded by Jeff Shaara, a best-selling historical novelist, in honor of his father, Michael Shaara
Michael Shaara
Michael Shaara was an American writer of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. He was born to Italian immigrant parents in Jersey City, New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University in 1951, and served as a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne division...
. Michael Shaara
Michael Shaara
Michael Shaara was an American writer of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. He was born to Italian immigrant parents in Jersey City, New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University in 1951, and served as a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne division...
was the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning author of the The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels
The Killer Angels is a historical novel by Michael Shaara that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. The book tells the story of four days of the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War: June 30, 1863, as the troops of both the Union and the Confederacy move into battle around...
, a novel about the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
.
The Prize is administered by the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College.
Robert Fortenbaugh Memorial Lecture
The Robert Fortenbaugh Memorial Lecture is an annual lecture on an American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
-related topic, aimed at appealing to the general public while still providing strong scholary undertones. The lecture is held on November 19 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
, on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
. The Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College coordinates the lecture.
Dedication Day Ceremonies
The Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College helps coordinate the annual Dedication Day Ceremonies which take place on and around November 19. The day's events are held in the Gettysburg National CemeteryGettysburg National Cemetery
The Gettysburg National Cemetery is located on Cemetery Hill in the Gettysburg Battlefield near the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and adjacent to Evergreen Cemetery to the south...
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
. Although Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
actually gave the Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
in the adjacent Evergreen Cemetery
Evergreen Cemetery (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania)
Evergreen Cemetery is a privately-owned rural cemetery near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with 5 notable interments: John L. Burns , Steve Courson , Marianne Moore , Eddie Plank , and Oscar Shaw...
, the National Cemetery provides the most room for spectators.
Past speakers at the Dedication Day Ceremonies have included Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
, Jeff Shaara, Lynne Cheney
Lynne Cheney
Lynne Ann Cheney is the wife of former United States Vice President Dick Cheney and served as the Second Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009...
, Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
, William Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
, and others. The 2008 speaker was film director Ken Burns, and the 2009 speaker was Academy Award winning actor Richard Dreyfuss.
See also
- Gettysburg CollegeGettysburg CollegeGettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
- Gabor BorittGabor BorittGabor S. Boritt was the Robert Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College. Born in World War II Hungary, he participated as a teenager in the 1956 revolution against the Soviet Union. He escaped to the United States, where he received his...
- Allen C. GuelzoAllen C. GuelzoAllen Carl Guelzo is the Henry R. Luce III Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College, where he serves as Director of the Civil War Era Studies Program.Guelzo was born in Yokohama, Japan...
- Lincoln PrizeLincoln PrizeThe Lincoln Prize, endowed by Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman and administered by the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, has been awarded annually since 1991 for the best non-fiction historical work of the year on the American Civil War. It is named for U.S...
- Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial CommissionAbraham Lincoln Bicentennial CommissionThe Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission was the Congressionally created 14-member federal commission focused on planning and commemorating the 200th birthday of the United States' 16th president on February 12, 2009. The commission served for ten years, from 2000 to 2010...
- Pennsylvania HallPennsylvania Hall (Gettysburg)Pennsylvania Hall is the Gettysburg College central administrative building and the college's oldest building. During the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, Pennsylvania Hall was used as a hospital for wounded troops of the Union and Confederate Armies...
- American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
- Gettysburg Railroad StationGettysburg Railroad Station-American Civil War:Train service to the depot was stopped when Jubal Early's Confederates burned the Rock Creek trestle on June 27, 1863. The depot's telegrapher, a young daughter of "Mr...
External links
- http://www.gettysburg.edu/civilwar/institute/
- http://www.palincoln.org/
- http://www.gilderlehrman.org/index.html