Peter Cozzens Wins Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize

On March 27, the Gilder Lehrman Institute and the New-York Historical Society partnered to recognize the work of Peter Cozzens, whose book The Earth is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West received the Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History. The award recognizes the best book on the subject of military history published in the last year.

Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, and James Basker, president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, praised the book for "[shedding] light on an important period in our nation’s history that has had long-reaching effects and remains relevant today." Cozzens’ book illuminates how US westward expansion affected American Indian tribes and led to internal conflicts over whether to fight or make peace, and explores the lives of soldiers posted to the frontier and the ethical quandaries faced by generals who often sympathized with the Native American tribes.