MS. LORETTA NEUMANN
Receives CWRTDC's 2025 Legacy Award
Honoring the Life and Contributions of Edwin C. Bearss
It was very sad to hear in 2020 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 from here on out.
And it is fitting that we celebrate his legacy and his contributions to the study of Civil War history on a continuing basis 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 donation to a historic site selected by Ed (See a complete history below). 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 by establishing a separate fund supported by individual contributions from members and other admirers of Ed. 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.
Last year, the CWRTDC awarded the Preservation Award to the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust and the Legacy Award to Ms. Susan K. Claffey. A post about those awards is available at https://cwrtdc-calendar.blogspot.com/2024/01/awards-to-honor-life-and-legacy-of.html
In 2023, the CWRTDC awarded the Preservation Award to the Battle of New Market Heights Memorial and Education Association and the Legacy Award to Mr. Burrus Carnahan. A post about those awards is available at https://cwrtdc-calendar.blogspot.com/2023/01/awards-to-honor-life-and-legacy-of.html
In 2022, the Board awarded the Preservation Award to the African American Civil War Museum and the Legacy Award to Ms. Wendy Swanson. A post about those awards is available at https://cwrtdc-calendar.blogspot.com/2022/06/bearss-awards.html
On February 25, 2025, at a joint meeting of the CWRTDC and the Lincoln Group of DC, the Round Table will announce the “2025 Edwin C. Bearss Legacy Award” to Loretta Neumann (see more below). The Selections Committee received a number of wonderful nominations, (which made it difficult to select an awardee), and it encourages all those who were not selected to be re-nominated for next year's award.
The ceremony will be followed by a presentation from Sidney Blumenthal entitled “Abraham Lincoln: Volume IV." Mr. Blumenthal is the acclaimed author (by, among others: Jon Meacham, Harold Holzer, and James McPherson) of the first three volumes of a projected five-volume biography of Lincoln. Mr. Blumenthal's first volumes, listed below, have been resounding critical and popular successes.
- A Self-Made Man: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln Vol. I, 1809–1849
- Wrestling With His Angel: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln Vol. II, 1849-1856
- All the Powers of Earth: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln Vol. III, 1856-1860
Mr. Blumenthal is the former assistant and senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and senior adviser to Hillary Clinton. He has been a national staff reporter for The Washington Post and Washington editor and writer for The New Yorker. His books include the bestselling The Clinton Wars, The Rise of the Counter-Establishment, and The Permanent Campaign.
Born and raised in Illinois, Mr. Blumental lives in Washington, DC.
Sources: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Sidney-Blumenthal/453035597 and https://www.hnn.us/article/sidney-blumenthal----yes-that-sidney-blumenthal---
Information about the meeting and Mr. Blumenthal's presentation is available at https://cwrtdc-meetings.blogspot.com/
The CWRTDC would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chair and members of the Selections Committee that coordinated the Awards effort and made recommendations to the Board about these Awards: Karl Garman (Chair), Gordon Berg, Tom Macia, Paula Whitacre, and Mick Bedard. Thank you all!
2025 Edwin C. Bearss Legacy Award
The recipient of the 2025 “CWRTDC Edwin C. Bearss Legacy Award” is Ms. Loretta Neumann.
The Legacy Award honors persons who exemplify Ed Bearss’ mission through their own efforts to preserve U.S. Civil War sites and landmarks and to promote interest and education in Civil War history.Ms. Neumann’s work in preservation began with the National Park Service (NPS) in 1969, where she edited several NPS publications and was chief of the Branch of Internal Communications. In 1973 she joined the professional staff of the late Congressman John F. Seiberling (D-OH) where she helped advance the Historic Preservation Fund established by Congress in 1976. In 1977, she joined the staff of the House Interior Committee where she drafted the 1980 amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act.
For nearly 30 years, Ms. Neumann studied and photographed the Civil War defenses of Washington: the fortifications that encircled the Nation’s capital to protect it during the Civil War. In 2003, on behalf of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, she researched and authored the report, “A Call to Action on the Fort Circle Parks Draft Management Plan” that made recommendation adopted by the NPS.
Ms. Neumann is a co-founder and past president of the Alliance to Preserve the Civil War Defenses of Washington (https://www.apcwdw.com/). For many years, she led the Alliance’s work to plan and implement the annual commemoration of the 1864 Battle of Fort Stevens.
Ms. Neumann is a longtime member of the CWRTDC, the Lincoln Group of DC, and other Civil War history organizations. She has received many awards for her work, including the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the DC Preservation League.
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The CWRTDC announced the 2025 Edwin C. Bearss Legacy Award during an in-person/hybrid meeting held on February 25, 2025.
