Dinner: 6 PM, Menu: Pecan Crusted Chicken, Mashed New Potatoes, Green Beans with Caramelized Onions, Garden Salad and Assorted Deserts. $20 per person, RSVP by responding to this email or by calling or texting Jim Rosenthal at 817-307-9263
Program: 7 PM
Location: UNT Health Science Center, MET Building, 1000 Montgomery, Fort Worth 76109, Room 109-111
We are pleased to announce that Neil P. Chatelain is the winner of the 2024 A. M. Pate, Jr. Award in Civil War history for his book “Treasure and Empire in the Civil War.” The Pate Award is given annually for the best book providing original research on the Trans-Mississippi sector of the Civil War. The Pate Award program was started in 2003. Neil Chatelain is our 21st honoree.
After presentation of the Award, he will give a talk on his book. It is a fascinating story. You don’t want to miss it! Copies of his book will be available at the meeting for purchase and author signing.
Across North America’s periphery, unknown and overlooked Civil War campaigns were waged over whether the United States or Confederacy would dominate lands, mines, and seaborne transportation networks of North America’s mineral wealth. The U.S. needed this wealth to stabilize their wartime economy while the Confederacy sought to expand their own treasury. Confederate armies advanced to seize the West and its gold and silver reserves, while warships steamed to intercept Panama route ships transporting bullion from California to Panama to New York. United States forces responded by expelling Confederate incursions and solidified territorial control by combating Indigenous populations and enacting laws encouraging frontier settlement. The U.S. Navy patrolled key ports, convoyed treasure ships, and integrated continent-wide intelligence networks in the ultimate game of cat and mouse.
“Neil Chatelain’s Treasure and Empire in the Civil War offers a deep and fresh examination of one of the more neglected aspects of the naval war fought between the United States and the Confederacy while also extending its considerable reach into related issues of concurrent wartime continental expansion, economic resource competition, and transnational politics.” – Andrew Wagenhoffer, Civil War Books and Authors
“A needed and readable adventure into the international politics and financially inspired intrigues that evolved as Confederate and Federals maneuvered for pieces of victory.” Sarah Kay Bierle, Managing Editor, Emerging Civil War
Neil P. Chatelain is an Assistant Professor of History at Lone Star College-North Harris. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Neil spent nine years as a U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer, both on active duty and in the Navy Reserve. He earned a B.A. in history from the University of New Orleans, an M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Houston, and an M.A. in history from the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
Neil is the vice president and editorial board chair of the historical non-profit organization Emerging Civil War, and specializes in researching naval activity of the United States Civil War.