We are pleased to announce that Dr. William L. Shea is the winner of the 2023 A. M. Pate, Jr. Award in Civil War history for his book “Union General: Samuel Ryan Curtis and Victory in the West.” 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. Dr. Shea is our 20th honoree.
“Union General” is the long overdue first biography of General Samuel Ryan Curtis, the most important and most successful general on either side in the Civil War west of the Mississippi River. Curtis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War veteran, and determined foe of secession who gave up his seat in Congress to fight for the Union. At Pea Ridge in 1862 and Westport in 1864, he marched hundreds of miles across hostile countryside, routed Confederate armies larger than his own, and reestablished Federal control over large swathes of rebel territory.
This biography restores Curtis to his rightful place in American history and very worthy of the 2023 Pate Award. Dr. Shea’s book will be available for purchase on January 9th.
From reviews of the book –
“Kudos to William Shea for rescuing Samuel Ryan Curtis from the historical wilderness. Engineer, architect, attorney, congressman and veteran soldier. Curtis was an enormously accomplished and complex man who, more than any other person, secured Union victory in the Trans-Mississippi. In explaining how and why Curtis triumphed, Shea has produced a masterful biography, nuanced, lively and comprehensive.” – Daniel E. Sutherland, author of ‘A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the Civil War’
“William Shea succeeds admirably in proving his argument that Samuel Ryan Curtis was the most important military figure in the Trans-Mississippi and an extremely important figure in the Civil War overall. Well written, engrossing and definitive, readers will welcome this first major biography of Curtis from one of our best Civil War historians.” – Timothy B. Smith, author of “Shiloh: Conquer or Perish’
“Highly celebratory while remaining judicious, William Shea’s Union General is a fine biography that should go a long way toward fostering a wider recognition and appreciation of Samuel Ryan Curtis’s substantial historical legacy.” – Andrew Wagenhoffer, Editor “Civil War Books and Authors” Blog -cwba.blogspot.com
WILLIAM SHEA was Professor of History at the University of Arkansas at Monticello until his retirement in 2014. He is a native of Louisiana and has a B.A. from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. from Rice University. His specialty is Trans-Mississippi Civil War history. He has authored or co-authored Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West (1992), Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River (2003), Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove: A Battlefield Guide (2006), and Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign (2009). He currently resides in Nevada.
See you on the 9th!