Reviews of C Steph A Tidy Little Gem of Lincoln Lore Lincoln in Indiana. By Brian R. Dirck. Illustrations, notes, index, 132 pp., 2017, Southern
The most recent publication in the Concise Lincoln Library collection is a tidy little gem. Lincoln in Indiana by Brian R. Dirck offers a terrific, yet conci overview of Lincoln’s life experiences growing up in the Hoosier State. The author draws on a variety of sources, starting with Lincoln’s law partner, William Herndon (who in order to clear away the growing haze of early Lincoln mythology penned Herndon’s Informants). Dirck provides not only a glimpse of a slice of Lincoln’s formative years, but places it within the context of the histo
of the pioneer movement of the early to middle 19th century— thus creating a parallel narrative
That he does so well in such a trim effort, which is immensely readable, is quite noteworthy. Dirck pulls back the curtain an provides an arguable thesis regarding Lincoln’s father, Thomas, who has often been characterized as a shiftless and unmotivated individual, whose attitudes the younger Lincoln spurned. To be sure, some of that unfavorable attitude was perpetuated by Lincoln himself, who often ignored any
discussion about his upbringing and youth; he famously declined to attend his father’s own funeral For Dirck, Thomas Lincoln “was
actually a hardworking, if somewhat hapless Indiana farmer and
a new view of Lincoln’s father, demonstrating that he cared for his family, did the best he could under his circumstances, and rec-
ognized the importance of being a present parent when needed. When Lincoln’s mother Nancy dies of the milk sickness, Thomas Lincoln not only knows that he needs to replace the lost female head of the household, but he knows exactly to whom to turn as his second wife, Sarah Bush; he brings her home as stepmother for his children. Dirck analyzes Lincoln’s relationship with his stepmother, as well as his early years on Indiana’s hardscrabble soil. In 1860 Lincoln wrote, “My life can simply be summed up as the short annals of the poor,” and his life in Indiana proved to be just that. In Indiana, Abraham Lincoln learned the value of hard work and of material rewards, as well as an understanding of the struggles of ordinary people--a value that served him well as an adult and as President. It is easy, then to see how President Lincoln could dismiss his wife’s redecorating the White House with “flub dubs.” Prior to his presidency, Lincol left his adopted state of Illinois to revisit the sites of his youth in Indiana and penned a doggerel poem of personal reflection. The opening stanza reads, “My childhood home I see again, And sadden with the view; And still as memory crowds my brain, There’s pleasure in it, too.” Abra ham Lincoln clearly had mixed feelings about his childhood existence in Indiana. There he did,
after all, at the age of nine lose mother, with whom he was close. At the same time, Sarah Bush
cultivated in her stepchild a confidence that put young Lincoln on the path to the White House. Without getting into exhaustive detail, the author has writte a book, based on solid research, which offers an intriguing and colorful look at the childhood of the 16th president.
Teacher-in-Residence for Journey through Hallowed Ground t
Partnership, a non-profit initiati to raise historical awareness in t Pennsylvania-Maryland-Virginia area.
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Wendell Phillips: Social Justice and the Power of the Past. Edited by A.J. Aiseirithe and Donald Yacovone. Notes, index, 370pp., 2016, Louisiana State
The editors of this compilation present twelve articles tha illustrate the life of Wendell Phillips—abolitionist, advocate for women’s rights, opponent of unfettered capitalism and social justice icon. Each of these selections portrays Phillips as the consummate agitator, a role he felt was ordained for him to protect a true democratic society. His effectiveness in this r rested upon his evoking and play ing upon deep-seated historical
values and loyalties. His aristocratic background created for him an urgency to make his life’
work significant and even transformational. People were drawn toward Phillips by his charisma, intellect, and forensic ability. used these gifts to channel his early Calvinistic philosophy and republican ideals into a life of tion on behalf of social equalit worldly economic cooperation, temperance, and full suffrage fo women and blacks.
Wendell Phillips was a lawyer who respected the rule of law.
While advocating for racial justice, labor rights, and women’s equality he never could accept the need to break the law or en-
gage in violence to achieve his objectives. The power of words
would be his weapon in the battle against slavery and for just and fairness. After his marriage in 1837 to Anne Terry Greene, an ardent abolitionist, he found
not only love but an impetus to channel his life into the abolitio ist cause. His motto could easily have included “the liberty of the intellect and the effusion of knowledge to the masses.” This he felt would create a modern democracy, pure in form, universal in appeal, and equal for all. He always maintained that political and economic pressure on the South, not violence, would end slavery. Contemporaries like William L. Garrison, John Brown, and W.E.B. DuBois did not always agree with his strategy, but never failed to applaud his achievements toward abolition and racial equality. Phillips was always “comfortable in his own skin” in dealing with all races and income levels. He never wandered from his life’s mission, never compromised his ideals and thus became an icon for equality and freedom, even after his death in 1884. For historians there is much to see in these essays that relates t contemporary society. Are sanctuary cities today the equivalent of antebellum Northern cities that refused to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act? Is peaceful resistance to perceived social injustice more effective than violent protests? And is universal suffrage and direct election preferable to the Electoral College? These questions need attention today as they did in Wendell Phillips’ America and their relevance still energize
today’s activists. The editors have done a splendid job of selecting readings that
address every aspect of Phillips’ life, political philosophy and moral crusade. While earlier works, e.g., Thomas Wentworth Higginson’s Wendell Phillips and George Austin’s The Life and Times of Wendell Phillips, concentrate substantial energy on abolitionism, the current selections
Publishers/Authors: Please send your book(s) for
CWN Book Review Editor, Step 3670 Falling Leaf Lane, Cummin
extend his philosophical impact to Native American rights, the labor movement, temperance movement, civil dissent, interracial relationships and women’s rights. While many of the article contain material that is redundan each stresses an important aspect of who Wendell Phillips was and thus is valuable in its own right Despite its hefty price tag, this book is recommended for readers interested in the role of abo litionist agitation in the demise slavery, political alliances in a tebellum America, and how radical ideas were transformed into mainstream aspects of American democracy.
Wayne L. Wolf is Professor Emeritus at South Suburban College in Illinois and the autho of numerous Civil War books and articles including Two Years Before the Paddlewheel: Charles F. Gunther, MThe sissippi River Confederate, co-edited with Bruce S. Allardice (2012). He currently lecturing on “Civil War Firsts” t area roundtables.
alry battle of Brandy Station, t fighting descended into a melee
manders, Col. Judson Kilpatrick, watched on June 9, 1863, he no-
ticed something that displeased him. He spied a Confederate officer whom he had known while a cadet at West Point—a person whom he had never liked. The colonel spurred his horse
into the fray and engaged the Rebel officer, who fired his pis but missed. Both men drew their sabers and vigorously slashed away at each other. Although cut on the arm, Kilpatrick still managed to kill his opponent. Then, Kilpatrick rode back to his troops, explaining, “That rights a wrong.” The colonel’s brash action wa representative of the new, bolder, more aggressive cavalry of the Army of the Potomac that emerged during the Battle of Brandy Station. This book is a detailed analy sis of how that cavalry evolved: from an embarrassment in 1862 into what ultimately would become the world’s finest corps of horse soldiers by 1864. Eric J. Wittenberg’s original
hardcover book, which has been out of print for eight years, is printed here in paperback. The
author focuses on a series of all-cavalry engagements in 1863, including Hartwood Church, Stoneman’s Raid, Kelly’s Ford, Alsop’s Field and Brandy Station Under Maj. Gen. George McClellan in 1862, the cavalry arm never reached its potential. Lit
Treatment of Little-Known n the James River Mac had little respect for volun teers, who comprised the bulk of the horse soldiers. He believed that it took two years to train good cavalryman, and he did not expect the war to last that long So McClellan broke up the volunteer units and used them mostly as vedettes, messengers or headquarters’ guards. The situation improved when Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker was appointed command of the Army of the Potomac. He implemented a plan that consolidated the cavalry into a single corps. Hooker named Maj. Gen. George Stoneman as the corps’ first commander. The author argues that Stoneman’s Raid, during the Battle of Chancellorsville, was actually a success, and not a failure, as Hooker claimed. Because of Hooker’s criticisms, Stoneman and Brig. Gen. William W. Averell have been underappreciated by historians. In fact, the author
that bolstered the cavalry’s growing effectiveness.
new and improved Northern cavalry. Not only did commander Al-
fred Pleasonton catch Jeb Stuart and the Southern cavalry by surprise, but he also fought them o
an equal basis—in other words, he gave as good as he got. Although Brandy Station was
a confusing engagement, with some locations captured and re-captured multiple times, one of the virtues of this book is t clear and understandable descrip tion and overview of the action. I was particularly impressed by the large number of colorful quotes gathered from diaries and letters of front-line participan This personalizes the story and enlivens the narrative.
Walt Albro is a writer and edito who resides in Rockville, Md. He serves as a director of the Monocacy National Battlefield Foundation, Frederick, Md.
page chapter), Besch provides: mini-biographies of the principal commanders (the Federals’ Edward Wild, the Confederates’ Fitzhugh Lee and others); short histories of the units involved; coverage of controversies relate to the use of black troops; a su mary of Benjamin Butler’s James River Campaign; and an analysis of the conflicting estimates of size of the forces engaged and the number of casualties. A fina chapter discusses the preservation of Fort Pocahontas, which was completed at the wharf soon after the battle. The author relies on numerous primary and secondary sources, and is to be commended for his prodigious research, which he pursued from 1993 to 2016. Unfortunately, the quality of th writing and editing is uneven. The facts are not properly marshalled to create a coherent and unified whole. The reader would be better served if the many lon
distilled into more comprehensible narration and more concise
tions and barely relevant minuti as well as stylistic eccentricit
The N-SSA is America’s old organization. Competitors
with cannons and mortars. regiment or unit and wears
Dedicated to preserving ou the camaraderie of team sp may be just right for you.
and organizational shortcomings that distract and confuse the r er. The only map in the book is not a map of Wilson’s Wharf but of the unrelated Battle of Yell Tavern. Faust’s Encyclopedia has no entry on Wilson’s Wharf. Long’s Almanac devotes a total of five words to this affair on the Jam Besch’s work fills the void and tells us much about a small but significant engagement. There i much to be found in this book, but the reader must labor to fi it.
Gould Hagler is the author of Georgia’s Confederat Monuments: In Honor of a Fallen Nation (Mercer University Press 2014). His new book on Alabama’ Confederate monuments is to be published by Indiana University Press.
represent a specific Civil War orm they wore over 150 years ag
, period firearms competition a friends and family, the N-SSA
A Tourist Guide to Civil Wa Washington, D.C. By Thomas P. Lowry. Maps, appendix, 136 pp
In Specimen Days, his final work, Walt Whitman claimed that the real Civil War soldi
“with all his ways, his incre dauntlessness, habits, practi
tastes, language…will never b written—perhaps must not and should not be.” More than 100 years later, Dr. Thomas P. Lo endeavored to right this wron
An Invitation, Not a Guide by studying the dark corners of Civil War history. He is, perhaps best known as the author of The Story the Soldiers Wouldn’t Tell, an exploration of the sex lives o the men of the Union and Confederate armies. He has written a number of other books, most of them aimed at uncovering previously hidden history, the dark un derbelly of our nation’s defining conflict. Lowry’s most recent work, A Tourist Guide to Civil War Washington, D.C. is very much in the same vein. Evidence of the more sordid episodes of life in the di vided nation’s capital-–tales tha Whitman and a good many others would rather forget—can be found in the records of the National Archives. Lowry once again attempts to shed light into these dark corners, providing future researchers a guide for thei own discoveries. Those interested in examples of the depravity and debauch-
ery to which Civil War soldiers often descended will find much
to excite their imagination in Lowry’s book. Unfortunate-
ly, they will find little to sati their curiosity. Lowry provides lists of infractions or offenses, but seldom delves more deeply into the details. For example,
a chapter on gambling contains is flavored with a diverse mélange many examples of gambling in of literary references (one pasthe army in general (spoiler alert: sage contains references to MarCivil War soldiers gambled), but lene Dietrich, Rudyard Kipling, virtually no references to stories and a well-worn sea chantey, proof gambling within the confines viding a chuckle to those who get of Washington City, presumably the joke.) Dr. Lowry also shines Lowry’s focus. Thus, those few in his description of Ricord hoswho think of the 19th century pital, the medical facility where Americans as perfect paragons most cases of sexually transof Victorian virtue will be easily mitted infections were treated. disabused of the notion, but they Likewise, the chapter on Washwill learn comparatively little ington’s theatres, about which the about the nature of those nefari- “provost marshal’s files had nothous deeds or about the characters ing to say,” is, ironically, quite who committed them within the strong. Here, Lowry has providlimits of Washington City. ed descriptions of the theatres Most critically, A Tourist Guide with historical sketches from the to Washington, D.C. fails to live Civil War period to today, as well up to its title. as tales of misadventures experiThose wishing to trace the enced by soldiers in Washington footsteps of Civil War soldiers City. This is precisely the sort o will find little in the way of thing you’d hope for in a tourists guidance in Lowry’s work. The guide, of which there is, sadly, maps, of which there are too too little in Lowry’s work. few, are offered with little to It is apparent Lowry never no explanation. Little is done to orient the reader to either the
modern or historical landscape. Thus, those who are not familiar Publishers: with Washington will struggle to find the locations described in Please send your book(s) Lowry’s book; the task is only slightly easier for residents of the Capital City. CWN Book Review Editor, Step The book does, however, have 3670 Falling Leaf Lane, Cumming, its bright spots. Lowry’s writing Most Unpopular Civil War Book By Thomas P. Lowry & Lewis Laska Tales of battle and heroism attract read Details of justice and executions – not so much. Few Civil War readers know that Confederate military justice was far more ferocious than in the North. Compared with Union justice, a soldier in Lee’s army, for same crime, was twice as likely to be order shot, three times more likely to be flogged four times more likely to be branded, and f times more likely to be tattooed. A separat section has surprises about Braxton Bragg. Beyond heart-rending stories, a complete index – by name and by regiment – makes thi a valuable reference.
intended to draw man conclusions from the records he discusses. Instead, he presents topics often overlooked in broad studies and gives the reader the tools by which they might embark on their own journey of discover Indeed, Lowry’s appendix is an incredibly valuable guided tour of the available sources at the National Archives. Would that al the resources in the Archives ha such a guide. Thanks to Dr. Lowry, enterpris ing students may know where to begin their search.
Douglas Ullman Jr. is an independent historian wh focuses on the Union Twelfth/ Twentieth Corps. He is currently working on a regimental history of the 102nd New York Volunteers He works for the Civil War Trust and lives with his wife and son Centreville, Virginia.
The battles fought by the lead ing generals of the Army of the Potomac occurred not only on the battlefield with musket and shell against its Confederate adversary, but also against each other President Abraham Lincoln, and Congressional legislators. Over the army’s four-year existence, its generals initiated—and often endured—such backbiting and political infighting that made th high command often appear to be defending itself against its own civilian leaders rather than waging war on their behalf. In Lincoln’s Lieutenants: The High Command of the Army of the Potomac, eminent Civil War historian Stephen W. Sears lays out in detail these behind-thescenes maneuverings and the effect they had on army efficiency. From presidential secretary John Hay’s private allegation against General George McClellan’s “insolence of epaulettes” toward Lincoln, to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton’s chameleon-like character, Sears’ new work is pri marily a study that examines the
Army of the Potomac’s internal political machinations and various command crises, rather than a traditional military analysis. Sears is familiar with the topic, having first explored this theme in his 1999 book, Controversies & Commanders: Dispatches from the Army of the Potomac. The high command’s early growing pains were almost pre-ordained, given that the nation was primarily a loosely woven compact of states, where any military need would be met via state militia and the citizen-soldier. As Sears explains, “ one-dimensional ‘national’ Army would not be tolerated.” To help clarify the army’s nec essary and rapid growth, and how these men came to obtain their respective posts, Sears offers biographical background on the AOP’s general officers who held corps, division, and brigade commands. He describes how each man’s personality, quirks, military experience, and politica beliefs eventually worked for or against army cohesiveness. The army’s initial dismal results cre ated a revolving door of seven commanding generals in only three years, until Ulysses S. Gra took control of the army in 1864. Only six generals who were with the AOP in 1861 were still there when the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia surrendered at Appomattox in April 1865. In addition, twenty-one of the army’s general officers had been killed during that four-year period. Sears certainly does not ignor the military fighting, though his narrative and interpretations of the various battles serve as context for the cooperation—and often dysfunction—which characterized the AOP’s senior leadership. As is the case with Sears earlier work on the army’s internal controversies, Sears is well versed in the Civil War’s eastern theater, having penned previous, highly-regarded strategic and tac tical studies on the 1862 Peninsu la Campaign, as well as individua works on the battles of Antietam, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
All of these fine books also analyze the political intrigues tha infected the AOP within their respective time-frames. Sears succinctly points out tha “the high command that closed the war in April 1865 was a world apart from the high command that opened the war.” Whereas the latter was largely a closeknit one filled with career military men from West Point, those that finished the war were mostly self-taught volunteers from civil ian life who rose from regimental and brigade command. These men were often held in contempt by the professional soldier, espe cially in the war’s early stages. The author praises these unsung officers as the core of the army, and the ones who held it together from one march through Hell to the next. It is an argument share by Thomas Goss in his book, The War within the Union High Command: Politics and Generalship during the Civil War (University Press of Kansas, 2003). Since war is merely politics by other means, Goss contended that the AOP’s civilian “political generals” served a vital, symbiotic role between Washington and the army that career military men often could not appreciate. Stephen R. Taaffe took a slightly different tack in his Commanding the Army of the Potomac (Kansas, 2006) by focusing on the AOP’s thirty-six men who held corps command during the war. All three authors agree that personal connections, along with the ever-changing whirlwind of Washington politics, played as much a role in determining a senior general’s career success as did military prowess. Thirteen maps and over 150 period photographs, drawings, paintings and political cartoons enhance a deeply researched, career-capping work that shines with Sears’ polished, elegant prose. For newer or casual students of the Civil War who are not familiar with Sears’ distinguished body of work, Lincoln’s Lieutenants should stand as a superb, robust portrait of the pitched battles—fought concurrently against the Confederacy, the White House, Congress, and
each other—by the Army of the Potomac’s high command.
the Civil War era. His next book is titled “The Most Complete Political Machine Ever Known”: The North’s Union Leagues in the
Civil War and will be published by Kent State University Press in early 2018.
A Shenandoah Scholar’s Guide to Winchester Winchester’s Three Battles: A Civil War Driving Tour Through Virginia’s Most WarTorn Region. By Brandon H. Beck. Maps, photos, bibliography, 175 pp., 2016, Angle Valley Press
Perhaps no city endured more during the Civil War than Winchester, Virginia. The scene of three major battles, scores of ot actions and numerous occupations, Winchester experienced the conflict incessantly. While vario historians have written about ele ments of Winchester’s Civil War history, few publications exist that make its rich Civil War hist ry accessible. Therefore, anyone wishing to immerse themselves in Winchester’s Civil War history will want to invest in Brandon H. Beck’s recent guidebook. Beck, professor emeritus of hi tory at Shenandoah University, is the author of numerous books on the Civil War and has based this exquisite guide on decades of research. For those unfamiliar with Winchester’s Civil War story, he begins the guide with background information on the conflict in th Shenandoah Valley. After ably setting the contextual stage, Bec devotes the book’s core to each o Winchester’s three major battles. In the guide’s section on the First Battle of Winchester, Beck provides sixteen tour stops. In a effort to provide broader context for this engagement, Beck offers stops in Front Royal as well as Middletown to help users understand troop movements in Stone-
wall Jackson’s victory on May 25, 1862. The author, unlike tra-
ditional guidebooks, does more than provide clear directions
from site to site and describe th significance of each stop—he
wall Jackson’s leadership, strate gic and tactical abilities.
Beck’s examination of the Second Battle of Winchester, June
15, 1863, is equally impressive. Throughout this chapter Beck tells the story of Union general
Robert H. Milroy, an ardent abolitionist from Indiana. In additi to offering a succinct examination of Milroy’s occupation and the battle’s ebb and flow, Beck does a fine job discussing the construction of Union earthwork fortifications during Milroy’s si month occupation of the city— Star Fort, Fort Milroy, and West Fort. While Fort Milroy is inaccessible and West Fort is mostly destroyed, Beck’s guide takes users to Star Fort, an impressive ly preserved and interpreted site As important as the First and Second Battles of Winchester were to the course of the conflic none proved more significant than the Third Battle of Winchester, Sept. 19, 1864. Although the tour for the opening battle o Gen. Philip H. Sheridan’s 1864 Shenandoah Campaign contains seven stops, Beck places special emphasis on the culmination of the battle: the cavalry attack at Fort Collier Throughout this marvelous book Beck not only focuses on the soldiers’ thoughts and feelings during the war, but he frequently includes examinations of how the war impacted Winchester’s civilians. Through the inclusion of diary excerpts from such notable citizens as Cornelia McDonald, Beck offers the opportunity to contemplate how civilians felt during the war, ho they coped with the conflict and tried to maintain normalcy in the midst of the war. Beck’s magnificent guide not only informs and transports readers to Winchester’s most significant Civil War sites; it serves a a reminder of the preservation challenges the lower Shenandoah Valley community confronts in the twenty-first century in what Beck calls the “Fourth Battle of Winchester.” This superb field guide, reple with numerous illustrations, excellent maps, and orders of battl does more than just guide tourists over the hallowed grounds of Winchester’s three battles. It offers the user an immersive experience, one that allows them to connect with the soldiers and ci-
vilians who endured Winchester’s three gruesome battles.
laude graduate of Shenandoah University with a BS in History, where she studied Civil War Era
history under Prof. Jonathan A. Noyalas. She is a member
of Shenandoah University McCormick Civil War Institute Advisory Board and is a recipient of CWI’s first-ever Miles Summer Fellowship.
Recipient of Ed Bearss Award Announced CHAMBERSBURG, Penn.— Chambersburg Civil War Seminars & Tours is pleased to announce Thomas J. Ryan as the 2017 recipient of the Ed Bearss Award. Given annually, the award encourages the study of the American Civil War era by reimbursing the awardee with up
Named in honor of the esteemed, nationally-known historian, Edwin “Ed” C. Bearss, the award will assist in the expense associated with Ryan’s project, “Eleven Fateful Days in July 1863: Meade Tracks Lee’s Army after Gettysburg.” This project co-authored with Rick Schaus, and the funds will help gather e sential information for their pr ect at Civil War repositories. “It is particularly gratifyin the award is named in honor of Ed Bearss, a man who is known universally throughout the Civil War community and a person of great charm and warmth who has contributed more to the cause than any two or three people could in a lifetime,” Ryan said. “My personal involvement with Ed has been primarily in relation to Gettysburg Magazine for which Ed wrote the introduction for each issue over many years; he was always especially complimentary about my articles.” The award is given each year a deserving author working on a non-fiction book about the Civil
War in Penn., Md., W.V., or the Shenandoah Valley. Ryan and Schaus plan to have their projec completed by the end of this yea to be included in Savas Beatie’s
spring 2018 publication schedule “It is indeed our honor to ha
Thomas Ryan as the recipient of the 2017 Ed Bearss Award,” said Ted Alexander, facilitator
Deadlines for Advertising o 20th of each month. Email
Civil War Seminars. “Mr. Ryan has published many articles relating to the Civil War includin his critically acclaimed Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Getty burg Campaign. He is currently working on a book about the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg from the Union perspective.” Submissions for the award are reviewed by the Ed Bearss Award Committee with Dr. Richard Sommers of the U.S. Army War College as chair. Dr. Sommers and his committee of distin guished scholars will review applications in 2018. Applications are being accepted now through February 1, 2018. Funds raised for the award originate from donations, silent
The award is supported by both Chambersburg Civil War Seminars and attendees at tours hel throughout the year. Interested individuals should contact Lark
bersburg.org or call 717-2647101 ext. 206 for more information or to receive an applicatio Chambersburg Civil War Seminars & Tours is a division of t Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce and held in partnership with historian Ted Alexander. Tours planned for 201718 include Lincoln at Antietam, National Ed Bearss Symposium, Roads to Gettysburg, and Mr. Lincoln’s Washington & John Wilkes Booth Escape Tour. Ed Bearss, John Schildt, Carol Rear
don, Daniel Toomey, Eric Wittenberg, Ed Steers, Joan Chaconas, and more than 20 other speakers/
guides will lead our upcoming military history tours. Please
10th Annual Major Jonathan Lette Medical Excellence Award
The National Museum of Civil War Medicine (NCMWM) is proud to announce Captain Frank K. Butler, (USN ret), MD, as the recipient of the 10th Annual Major Jonathan Letterman Medical Excellence Award.
Dr. Butler, has served as a Navy SEAL, as an innovator and leader in Navy and civilian dive medicine, and, most importantly, as the driving force of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC). TCCC are strategies for providin the best trauma care on the battlefield and a set of guideli to properly train non-medics to deal with preventable causes of death in the field and now in th civilian world. “In researching the career of Dr. Butler, it bec obvious that he is indeed a ‘Liv Letterman,’” explains NMCWM Executive Director David Price, “Dr. Butler’s accomplishments in the military, in the diving world, in ophthalmology, and in civilian medicine are too numerous to list, however the singular achievement of his amazing career is conceiving and bringing TCCC to worldwide implementation He literally wrote the book on the guidelines to critical care combat, just like Major Jonathan
Letterman did during the Civil War. There are few more deserving of this award than Dr. Butle
The civilian world is now impacted by Dr. Butler through the
‘Stop the Bleed’ initiative, whi is based on the success of the
ly reducing combat deaths. The ‘Stop the Bleed’ campaign aims t
hemorrhage control so an injured person has the greatest chance o surviving until they can reach a hospital. “The potential impact
of this initiative could rival t benefits of CPR and the Heimlich maneuver in the civilian world. Military medicine quickly translates to the civilian world, in case through training people in the use of a tourniquet,” observ Executive Director Price. “Without any exaggeration, Navy SEALs are more lethal, military and civilian divers are safer, and thousands of wounded combatants are alive because of his singular efforts,” says Butler’s colleague and nominator Dr. John B. Holcomb. “The military community understands his tremendous contributions, as evidenced by a Forward Surgery Team located just south of Mosul in northern Iraq, naming the roa in front of their tents, the ‘Fr Butler Boulevard’.” Nominator Dr. Holcomb was the recipient of the 2016 Major Jonathan Letterman Medical Excellence Award. The Jonathan Letterman Medical Excellence Award was established in 2008 and is named for Major Jonathan Letterman, who is known as the ‘Father of Battlefield Medicine.’ Recipient are modern-day visionaries who keep Letterman’s spirit of collaboration and problem solving alive today.The Letterman legacy continues to save lives through the work performed by dedicated medical professionals. Each year the award grows
Publi Please send your bo CWN Book Review Edit 3670 Falling Leaf Lane, Cumm
in stature and prestige as the importance of Civil War medical innovations becomes increasingly relevant in today medical community. The award is meant to honor individuals, military units or ties, companies, organizations project groups who are leaders innovative efforts in combat c alty care, prosthetic technolo regenerative medicine, improving outcomes for patients with traumatic brain injuries incur on the battlefield, or drawing on today’s cutting edge medica technology to develop new ways to assist Armed Forces members who have suffered severe disfi uring wounds. These innovation carry over into civilian life, tributing to the advancement o medical processes and improved patient outcomes and quality o life for all. This year’s presentation ce emony will be held at Strong Mansion in Dickerson, Md., on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 from 6 9 p.m.
tary. Sponsorships are availab All tickets and sponsorships a
org/event/10thlettermanaward For more information please contact Meg Gaulding at Meg.
