The A. M. Pate, Jr. Award in Civil War History is presented each year by the Fort Worth Civil War Round Table. The Award is given for outstanding original research on the Trans-Mississippi sector (including Kansas and Missiouri) of the Civil War. To be considered a book must have been published in the last 24 months. A group of members of the Fort Worth CWRT are involved in the Selection Committee.
Winners of the Award receive $1,000 and are honored in a presentation in Fort Worth. All travel costs for the recipient are covered by the Fort Worth CWRT.
The Award is named in honor of the late A. M. Pate, Jr. - a Fort Worth businessman and philanthropist. "Aggie" Pate was involved in many history related activities including the founding of the Pate Museum of Transportation and the Fort Worth Civil War Round Table. He had a strong interest in encouraging research and scholarship and supported a number of institutions of higher learning including Texas Christian University and Texas Wesleyan.
Past winners of the Pate Award include Donald S. Frazier for his book Blood and Treasure: Confederate Empire in the Southwest, Gary D. Joiner for his book One Damn Blunder from Beginning to End: The Red River Campaign in 1864, Jerry Thompson and Lawrence T. Jones III for their book Civil War and Revolution on the Rio Grande Frontier: A Narrative and Photographic History and Steven Mayeux for his book Earthen Walls, Iron Men: Fort DeRussy, Louisiana, and the Defense of the Red River.
Entries for the 2009 Award should be received no later than September 30, 2009
Four copies of books submitted should be sent to:
Mr. Jim Rosenthal
c/o Tex-Air Filters
5757 E. Rosedale
Fort Worth, TX. 76112
For more information, send email to jimrosenthal5757@aol.com.
In the continuing effort to promote the study, research and preservation of the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi the Fort Worth Civil War Round Table is proud to announce the establishment of a new award - The A.M. Pate, Jr. Distinguished Service Award. The recipient of our first award is Dr. Gary Joiner of LSU-Shreveport.
Gary is a past recipient of the Pate Award for the best book on the Trans-Mississippi for 2005. He is a prolific writer with many other books and articles to his credit including - Mr. Lincoln's Brown Water Navy - the Runner-Up in our Pate Award competition for 2008. In addition, he is strong advocate for Civil War Battlefield preservation and has played an important role in the preservation of the battlefield at Mansfield.
Gary is also a cartographer. He once told me he "has given up sleep for maps." He has used his training and talents to map the important battles in the Trans-Mississippi. But he has also volunteered his time and expertise to the mapping of endangered Civil War battlefield sites - both on a regional and a national level. His efforts also resulted in the impressive GPS guide system used in Vicksburg National Military Park.
Finally, he has dedicated his time, efforts and talents to the development of other scholars interested in the research of the Trans-Mississippi. The 2007 Pate Award winner - Steven Mayeux - gives a lot of credit to the encouragement and support of Gary. Many others have also benefited from his efforts.
We are very pleased with our selection for the first Pate Distinguished Service Award and congratulate Gary Joiner for receiving this honor!
Dr. Stephen Dupree is the winner of the 2008 A. M. Pate, Jr. Award in Civil War History for his book Planting the Union Flag in Texas: The Campaigns of Major General Nathaniel P. Banks in the West. The award winner was chosen by a Committee of Fort Worth Civil War Round Table members.
Planting the Union Flag in Texas examines the five attempts by Banks and his forces to capture Texas for the Union. These began with the capture and loss of Galveston in 1862-1863, followed by the debacle at Sabine Pass, an invasion of Texas from Southwestern Louisiana, an amphibious assault on Southern Texas (which succeeded) and the ill-fated Red River Campaign. In most works these attempts at taking Texas are looked at as independent events. Through the work of the author we see how these events were all part of a unified campaign.
The book is the culmination of 10 years of research and writing by Dupree. Archie McDaniel in a review of the work states:
"The author's efforts remind us that the Civil War is not the exclusive preserve of the trained academic. Indeed Dupree's formal training in the field of nuclear engineering and career at Sandia National Laboratories is a long way from the muddy bayou bottoms of Louisiana or the numerous waterways into Texas that Banks explored, but obviously he is as expert in one field as the other. Like many enthusiasts, or "buffs," Dupree has studied and thought more about this topic than any "teaching" historian."
Here is what 2006 Pate Award Winner, Jerry Thompson, had to say about the book:
"Planting the Union Flag in Texas may be the most significant study yet produced of Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks's complex and ambitious designs on Texas. Illuminating, impressively researched, and engaging, Dupree's fine work is likely to delight anyone interested in the history of the Civil War in the Lone Star State. The book is highly recommended."
Don Frazier, another Pate Award winner, was just as complimentary:
"Stephen Dupree's Planting the Union Flag in Texas does two things remarkably well. It brings a fresh look to an important theater of America's bloodiest conflict, and it also answers the age-old question, 'Why did Texas matter in the Civil War?' The author waves this narrative with style and flair and presents an important contribution to the field."
A carefully researched, well written book on a little known part of the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi.
The story in narrative and photographs of the Civil War in Texas on the border.
Nathaniel Banks is repulsed in his adventure up the Red River.
The story of the attempt by the Confederacy to expand westward.