D.C. Civil War
Round Table Announces Dean Shultz of Gettysburg, PA as the Recipient of the 2026 Ed Bearss Legacy Award
Dean Shultz and Eileen Bradner, President, CWRTDCThe Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia (“CWRTDC”) is pleased to announce that Dean Shultz of Gettysburg, PA has received the 2026 Edwin C. Bearss Legacy Award for his lifelong commitment to preservation of Civil War history and education.The award was presented at the CWRTDC’s meeting in McLean VA, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
Dean Shultz and Ed Bearss“Dean Shultz is a preservationist, activist, educator and true Gettysburg icon,” said Eileen Bradner, President of the Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia.“Dean has long been involved in preservation efforts, including as one of the principal founders and first President of the Land Conservancy of Adams County, whose mission is to preserve the rural lands and character of Adams County. The Conservancy has saved nearly 14,000 acres -- many on or adjacent to battlefield lands -- from future development through the creative use of legal easements.”
“Dean has also been responsible for maintaining and preserving a portion of the Gettysburg National Park known as ‘Lost Avenue.’Dean and his wife Judy have singlehandedly maintained this hallowed spot for decades and acted as its gatekeeper, mowing paths through his and other private lands to facilitate access to this special Gettysburg site,” Bradner said.
Shultz is a recognized expert on Gettysburg history and the “go to” source for local and national historians and tour leaders when developing new lessons and tours. Through his efforts, lands adjacent to and within the Gettysburg National Military Park have been preserved from development, earning him the Civil War Trust’s “Preservationist of the Year” honor.
The CWRTDC is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Its purpose is to stimulate interest in the Civil War from all aspects – political, cultural, military and economic. It is also committed to preserving historical sites and landmarks through initiatives such as its annual Edwin C. Bearss Awards.
The Legacy Award is named for Edwin C. Bearss, legendary Civil War historian, Marine Corps veteran of World War II, National Park Service Chief Historian, and lifetime member of the CWRTDC who continued to lead historical talks and tours well into his 90’s. The Award is given to a person or persons who exemplify and emulate Ed Bearss’ dedication in their personal efforts and commitment to preserve Civil War historic sites, landmarks, and relevant educational activities.
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D.C. Civil War Round Table Announces The Alexandria Historical Society as the Recipient of 2026 Ed Bearss Preservation Award
The Civil War
Round Table of the District of Columbia (“CWRTDC”) is pleased to announce that
the Alexandria Historical Society has received the 2026 Edwin C. Bearss
Preservation Award, which comes with a grant of $2,500, to help pay costs
associated with the Civil War section of the Alexandria Digital History Museum
set to launch later this year. The award
was presented at the CWRTDC’s meeting in McLean VA, on Wednesday, March 25,
2026.
Scott Vierick and Eileen Bradner, President, CWRTDCThe Alexandria
Historical Society is establishing a digital history museum that will bring
together stories that stretch across Alexandria’s past,” said Eileen Bradner,
President of the Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia. “The museum will be an asset to all history
organizations in Alexandria and beyond, creating a new resource to help locals,
visitors and anyone with an internet connection learn more about Alexandria
during the Civil War. This project is imaginative, modern and helps create an
adaptable platform for sharing the research and findings of future historians.”
“The Alexandria
Historical Society is grateful to the CWRTDC for this award and their support
of our new digital museum,” said Scott Vierick, Alexandria Historical Society
board member. “For over 50 years, the Alexandria Historical Society has worked
to foster greater understanding of Alexandria’s diverse, complex, and
compelling past, including its Civil War history. We look forward to sharing
the museum with the CWRTDC and with the public when it launches this
summer.
The CWRTDC is
celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Its purpose is to stimulate
interest in the Civil War from all aspects – political, cultural, military and
economic. It is also committed to
preserving historical sites and landmarks through initiatives such as its
annual Edwin C. Bearss Awards.
The
Preservation Award is named for Edwin C. Bearss, legendary Civil War historian,
Marine Corps veteran of World War II, National Park Service Chief Historian,
and lifetime member of the CWRTDC who continued to lead historical talks and
tours well into his 90’s. The Award is given annually to a non-profit
organization or public entity to assist in preservation of a Civil War site or
history, with “preservation” being used in the broadest sense. This includes
the acquisition of property, the building, repair or restoration of a property,
and the promotion, definition or narration of a site through interpretation and
information infrastructure, including research and educational materials or
displays.
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EDWIN C. BEARSS AWARDS
- Legacy Award
- Preservation Award
In 2020, we were saddened to hear that Ed Bearss -- legendary Civil War historian and lifetime member of our Round Table -- had passed away. We have missed him dearly. Ed showed many of us literally what it meant to have our "boots on the ground" at a battlefield, and many of us will remember him and that phrase every time we take a battlefield tour.
It is fitting that we celebrate his legacy and his contributions to the study of Civil War history for many years and many generations to come. Aside from being an honorary lifetime member of our Round Table, Ed spoke regularly at our meetings and guided many of our tours.
In appreciation of Ed’s dedication to battlefield preservation, the CWRTDC had for years made an annual $1,000 donation to a historic site selected by Ed. In 2021, the Board of Directors unanimously decided to continue donating annually to a Civil War site or Civil War history-related activity selected by the Board and to increase the amount of the donation to $2,500. Monetary gifts to support future CWRTDC awards in honor of Ed’s life and legacy would truly be appreciated and can be submitted using the PayPal module below.
Edwin C. Bearss Preservation Award
A monetary award of $2,500 is presented to an entity
(a non‐profit organization or public entity or agency) to assist in
preservation of a Civil War site or history, with “preservation” being used in
the broadest sense. This includes but is not limited to, the acquisition of
property; the building, repair or restoration of a property; and the promotion,
definition or narration of a site through interpretation, information
infrastructure, including research and educational materials or displays.
Edwin C.
Bearss Legacy Award
This award, which is non‐monetary, is given to a person or
persons who exemplify and emulate Ed Bearss’s dedication in their personal
efforts and commitment to preserve Civil War historic sites, landmarks, and
relevant educational activities.
The recipients to date of the CWRTDC’s Edwin C. Bearss Awards are listed below. Click on the links to find out more about the awardees beginning in 2021.
Year Amount Recipient
2004 1,000.00 Civil War Preservation Trust – for Fort Donelson
2005 1,000.00 Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Assoc.–Daniel Lady Farm
2006 1,000.00 Friends of Chickamauga & Chattanooga
2007 1,000.00 Civil War Trust - for White Oak Road, Bentonville, and Shiloh
2008 1,000.00 Monocacy National Battlefield
2009 1,000.00 Civil War Preservation Trust - for Port Republic
2010 1,000.00 Richmond Battlefield Association
2011 1,000.00 Civil War Trust - for Shiloh National Military Park
2012 1,000.00 Civil War Trust - for Franklin
2013 1,000.00 Friends of Raymond Battlefield
2014 1,000.00 Franklin's Charge
2015 1,000.00 Friends of Raymond Battlefield
2016 1,000.00 Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation
2017 1,000.00 Gettysburg Foundation
2018 1,000.00 Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
2019 1,000.00 Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park
2020 1,000.00 Grand Gulf Military Park
2021 2,500.00 African American Civil War Museum (Preservation Award)
2021 N/A Ms. Wendy Swanson (Legacy Award)
2022 2,500.00 New Market Heights Mem. & Edu. Assoc. (Preservation Award)
2022 N/A Mr. Burrus Carnahan (Legacy Award)
2023 2,500.00 Central Virginia Battlefields Trust (Preservation Award)
2023 N/A Ms. Susan K. Claffey (Legacy Award)
2024 N/A The CWRTDC did not receive a nomination for the Preservation Award
2025 N/A Loretta Neumann (Legacy Award).
Dated 2025 to re-align the Award with the year presented
2026 2,500.00 Alexandria Historical Society (Preservation Award)
2026 N/A Dean Shultz (Legacy Award)
TOTAL $27,000
For information about the history of other awards given by the CWRTDC, click HERE or visit https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KDif1-SImVUQotFjYJHCnM-SYYKrDVzq/view
Copied below is a post about Ed written by our former President and Director Susan K. Claffey.
(1923-2020)
We've received the sad news that legendary Civil War Historian and Lifetime member of our Round Table Ed Bearss has passed away. Ed was 97 years old.
Edwin Cole Bearss was born in Billings, Montana, on June 26, 1923. He grew up on his grandfather's ranch near Hardin, Montana, in the shadow of the Rosebud Mountains and within a bike ride of the Little Bighorn Battlefield. In Ed's own words,
I was interested in history from the time I was in the second grade. At that time, I was interested in Lewis and Clark and the Nez Perce, because I grew up in Montana. I became interested in the Civil War in the seventh grade. My father liked to read to my brother and me books that he was interested in. He did not read children’s books. Someone had given him a book by John Thomason on Jeb Stuart. My father read this book to me, and that captured me—I’ve been interested in the Civil War since then.
That interest was reflected by the fact that on the ranch, the E Bar S, he started naming the cattle for Civil War generals and battles. He often said his favorite milk cow was Antietam.
He attended a one-room school in Sarpy, Montana and in 1937 was sent to St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin. He graduated from Hardin High School and, with World War II underway, he immediately joined the Marine Corps (Ed's family has a long history with the Marines, his father, Omar, served in World War I. His father’s cousin Hiram I. Bearss, a famous Marine colonel nicknamed “Hiking Hiram,” fought in France during World War I and received the Medal of Honor for service in the Philippines in 1901. Ed’s daughter and grandson also served in the Corps).
He served with the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion and 1st Marine Division. In the invasion of Guadalcanal and New Britain, Ed was seriously wounded by machine gun fire. He spent 26 months in various hospitals for multiple surgeries, bone grafts, and rehabilitation. In fact, it was only a couple of years ago that Ed was treated at a VA hospital during a trip to Johnstown, PA for a piece of bone fragment that worked its way to the surface after 75 years. He got quite a kick out of telling that story.
After the war, he took advantage of the GI bill to study at Georgetown University, receiving a bachelor's degree in Foreign Service in 1949. He took a job with the Navy Hydrographic Office in Suitland, MD, where he stayed for 3 years. He then attended Indiana University and graduated with his M.A. in history, writing his thesis on Patrick Cleburne.
Ed’s career with the National Park Service got its start in 1955, when he was stationed at Vicksburg, Mississippi as a Park Historian. While there, he did the research leading him and two friends to the long lost resting place of the Union gunboat Cairo and he was instrumental in its rise from the bottom of the Yazoo River. He also located two forgotten forts at Grand Gulf, Mississippi and helped get Grand Gulf named a Mississippi State Military Monument. He was the founder of the Mississippi Civil War Round Table in 1956, which later consolidated with the Jackson Civil War Round Table.
In 1966, Ed was transferred to Washington, DC. He rose to prominence and became the Chief Historian in November 1981, a position he held until July 1994. Then he served as the Director's Special Assistant for Military Sites until his retirement on October 1, 1995. But Ed never really retired; through lectures, television, writing, and as a renowned battlefield guide, he continued his association with our nation's military history. He spoke to our Round Table and many other round tables many, many times. He also served as our guide for more field trips and day tours than can be counted. His final field trip for us was the 2013 trip to Vicksburg. He last spoke to us in September 2019 on the discovery and raising of the Cairo.
Ed received numerous awards in the field of history and preservation: the T. Harry Williams Award; the Bruce Catton Award; the Alvin Calman Award; the Bell I. Wiley Award and others. He was chosen Man of the Year at Vicksburg in 1963. He received the Harry S. Truman Award for Meritorious Service in the field of Civil War History. In 1964 he was chosen to become a member of the Company of Military Historians and was voted a Fellow in that organization. In 1983 he won the Department of the Interior's Distinguished Service Award, the highest award given by the department. He received a commendation from the Secretary of the Army in 1985. He is a veteran of 50 years of Government Service.
He has done detailed studies for the National Park Service for many areas: Vicksburg; Pea Ridge; Wilson's Creek; the Ray House; Fort Smith; Stones River; Fort Donelson; Battles around Richmond; Bighorn Canyon; Eisenhower Farm; the gold miners' route over Chilkoot Pass; LBJ Ranch; Fort Moultrie; Fort Point; William Howard Taft House; Fort Hancock; Boston Navy Yard; Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and others. He was instrumental in the establishment of Monocacy National Battlefield. In 1990, he was featured as a commentator on the PBS program The Civil War, which as of this writing is the most popular program ever to be broadcast by that network. More recently, he has appeared on the Arts & Entertainment Channel's Civil War Journal.
Ed was a force of nature and always at his best “on the ground” of a battlefield. Those of us who were privileged enough to see him in “full sway,” with eyes closed and voice booming, will never forget. He made history come alive and truly was its “Pied Piper.” We won’t see the likes of his amazing charismatic personality again.
Thank you, Ed. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your knowledge. And thank you for sharing it so willingly. May you rest in peace.
Author: Susan K Claffey
Photo: https://kcwrtorg.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/ed-bearss-returns-to-knoxville-nov-14/
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2026 Edwin C. Bearss
Awards
The recipient of the 2026 CWRTDC Edwin C. Bearss Legacy
Award is Dean Shultz of Gettysburg, PA. Dean
is a preservationist, activist, educator and Gettysburg icon who has long been
involved in preservation efforts. He is
co-founder and founding resident of the Land Conservancy of Adams County, established
to address local land management and preservation issues. To date, the Conservancy has saved nearly
14,000 acres, many on or adjacent to battlefields. Rather than purchasing properties, the Conservancy
obtains legal easements set in perpetuity to preclude future development. On his own property, Dean has been
responsible for maintaining and preserving a portion of Gettysburg National
Park known as “Lost Avenue.”
The recipient of the 2026 CWRTDC Edwin C. Bearss
Preservation Award is the Alexandria Historical Society, which will use the
grant of $2,500 to help pay subscription costs and licensing fees for the Civil
War section of the Alexandria Digital History Museum set to launch in 2026. This online experience will bring together
stories that stretch across Alexandria’s past. The museum is meant to be an
asset to all history organizations in Alexandria, creating a new resource to
help locals, visitors and anyone with an internet connection learn more about
Alexandria during the Civil War.
These awards will be presented at our March 25, 2026 meeting
at Mylo’s Grill in McLean, VA.
2027 Edwin C. Bearss
Awards – COMING SOON!
We will open nominations for the 2027 Ed Bearss Awards
during the summer of 2026. Nominations
will be due by November 1, 2026. Please
watch this space for more details.
D.C. Civil War
Round Table Announces Dean Shultz of Gettysburg, PA
as Recipient of
2026 Ed Bearss Legacy Award
The Civil War
Round Table of the District of Columbia (“CWRTDC”) is pleased to announce that
Dean Shultz of Gettysburg, PA has received the 2026 Edwin C. Bearss Legacy
Award for his lifelong commitment to preservation of Civil War history and
education. The award was presented at
the CWRTDC’s meeting in McLean VA, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
“Dean Shultz is
a preservationist, activist, educator and true Gettysburg icon,” said Eileen
Bradner, President of the Civil War Round Table of the District of
Columbia. “Dean has long been involved
in preservation efforts, including as one of the principal founders and first
President of the Land Conservancy of Adams County, whose mission is to preserve
the rural lands and character of Adams County.
The Conservancy has saved nearly 14,000 acres -- many on or adjacent to
battlefield lands -- from future development through the creative use of legal
easements.”
“Dean has also
been responsible for maintaining and preserving a portion of the Gettysburg
National Park known as ‘Lost Avenue.’
Dean and his wife Judy have singlehandedly maintained this hallowed spot
for decades and acted as its gatekeeper, mowing paths through his and other
private lands to facilitate access to this special Gettysburg site,” Bradner
said.
Shultz is a
recognized expert on Gettysburg history and the “go to” source for local and
national historians and tour leaders when developing new lessons and
tours. Through his efforts, lands
adjacent to and within the Gettysburg National Military Park have been
preserved from development, earning him the Civil War Trust’s “Preservationist
of the Year” honor.
The CWRTDC is
celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Its purpose is to stimulate
interest in the Civil War from all aspects – political, cultural, military and
economic. It is also committed to
preserving historical sites and landmarks through initiatives such as its
annual Edwin C. Bearss Awards.
The Legacy
Award is named for Edwin C. Bearss, legendary Civil War historian, Marine Corps
veteran of World War II, National Park Service Chief Historian, and lifetime
member of the CWRTDC who continued to lead historical talks and tours well into
his 90’s. The Award is given to a person or persons who exemplify and emulate
Ed Bearss’ dedication in their personal efforts and commitment to preserve
Civil War historic sites, landmarks, and relevant educational activities.
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