The Organization of American Historians (OAH) today announced that Lorien Foote, Texas A&M University, is the recipient of the OAH’s 2022 Civil War and Reconstruction Book Award, which is given annually for the most original book on the coming of the Civil War, the Civil War years, or the Era of Reconstruction. The Award was presented during the OAH’s 2022 Conference on American History.
Foote’s book, Rites of Retaliation: Civilization, Soldiers, and Campaigns in the Civil War (University of North Carolina Press), sharpens our focus on a military and legal concept that suffused Civil War tactics and combat but has long been overlooked by historians.
Retaliation, as Lorien Foote frames it, was a complex, almost ritualized set of threats and responses that often determined how both sides fought the war, giving structure to the experiences of countless soldiers, prisoners, and civilians. Rites of Retaliation’s particular brilliance, through its focus on the southeastern theater, is in outlining the central role of Black soldiers in shaping both Union and Confederate retaliation policies—a multifaceted series of exchanges that sometimes led to restraint, and on other occasions, an acceleration of violence and brutality. The approach is as innovative and provocative as it is impeccably researched and cogently argued.
For the full list of OAH 2022 award and prize recipients, please visit the OAH website.
About the Organization of American Historians
Founded in 1907, the Organization of American Historians (OAH) is the largest professional organization dedicated to the teaching and study of United States history. The mission of the organization is to promote excellence in the scholarship, teaching, and presentation of American history, and to encourage wide discussion of historical questions and the equitable treatment of all practitioners of history. The OAH represents more than 6,000 historians working in the United States and abroad. Members include college and university professors, pre collegiate teachers, archivists, museum curators, public historians, students, and a variety of scholars employed in government and the private sector. The OAH is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and is an external agency of Indiana University. Visit us at www.oah.org.