Emerging Civil War Honors Patrick Young with Stevenson Award

Last Friday I was honored by the non-profit Emerging Civil War organization for my work researching and writing about the Reconstruction Era. Here is the announcement of the award that they just sent out:

Emerging Civil War (ECW) has selected Patrick Young of the Reconstruction Era Blog as the recipient of this year’s 2024 Brig. Gen. Thomas Greely Stevenson Award. The Stevenson Award is presented to an individual or organization in recognition of outstanding service to ECW.

The Reconstruction Era Blog is dedicated to expanding knowledge of the post-Civil War reconstruction process. As its author, Young has spent more than a decade seriously studying Reconstruction and its impact on the United States. Entries on the blog include deeper dives into case studies of the reconstruction process, current events and their ties to Reconstruction, and looks at critical participants of the time.

Since 2020, Young has worked with Emerging Civil War, writing monthly summaries of work that appears on The Reconstruction Era Blog. These entries have helped augment ECW’s offerings of information while simultaneously promoting the work of others.

“Most people think the war ended at Appomattox, but Reconstruction served as a much longer postscript that really decided who ‘won’ and ‘lost,’” explains ECW Editor-in-Chief Chris Mackowski. “Focusing on just the battles neglects the larger stakes of the conflict. Pat’s work really sheds vital light on those stakes—on what was really ‘won’ and what was ‘lost.’”

“ECW has two primary focuses: to expand knowledge of the Civil War era and to promote exposure of emerging historians,” says ECW Vice President Neil P. Chatelain. “Patrick Young’s contributions to ECW fulfill both elements of our mission. Young’s work fills gaps to offer our own readers more robust and versatile scholarship.”

The Stevenson Award is named after Brig. Gen. Thomas Greely Stevenson, a Union division commander killed at the 1864 Civil War battle of Spotsylvania Court House. ECW holds its annual symposium at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property on the battlefield adjacent to the area where Stevenson was killed.

Past recipients of the Stevenson Award include the Childress Agency; cartographer Edward Alexander of Make Me a Map, LLC; Sarah Keeney of Savas Beatie, LLC; Jack Melton of Civil War News; C-SPAN; historian Gregory A. Mertz; Sylvia Frank Rodrigue of Southern Illinois University Press; and publisher Ted Savas.

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Emerging Civil War is the collaborative effort of more than thirty historians committed to sharing the story of the Civil War in an accessible way to the general public. Founded in 2011 by Chris Mackowski, Jake Struhelka, and Kristopher D. White, Emerging Civil War features public and academic historians of diverse backgrounds and interests, while also providing a platform for emerging voices in the field. Initiatives include the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series of books published by Savas Beatie, LLC; an annual symposium; a speakers’ bureau; and a daily blog: www.emergingcivilwar.com.

Emerging Civil War is recognized by the I.R.S. as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation.