"With more than 40 books to his credit, William C. Davis is the most prolific writer in Civil War history. His contacts with the media, especially Hollywood and the publishing field, add a new dimension to our Virginia Center for Civil War Studies," said James I. Robertson Jr., executive director of the center and a University Distinguished Professor of history at Tech. Robertson himself is a nationally recognized Civil War historian and author, perhaps best known for his award-winning definitive biography Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend.

Davis has won numerous awards for his work, among them Pulitzer Prize nominations for Breckinridge: Statesman, Soldier, Symbol, which he wrote in 1975, and Battle at Bull Run, a 1978 publication. He has also garnered the Jules F. Landry Award for the best book in Southern history, Jefferson Davis Award from the Confederate Memorial Literary Society (twice), Bell I. Wiley Prize from the National Historical Society for the best book in Civil War and Southern history, Daniel Laney Prize for Best Book in Civil War History, Carr P. Collins Award from the Texas Institute of Letters for the best work of nonfiction, Reuben Porter Award from the Alamo Battlefield Association, and Summerfield G. Roberts Prize from the Sons of the Republic of Texas.

Among his most recent books are Lincoln's Men: How President Lincoln Became Father to an Army and a Nation and Bluegrass Confederate: The Headquarters Diary of Edward O. Guerrant, both published in 1999. Additionally, he has been the editor of American History Illustrated and Civil War Times Illustrated and executive editor of Historical Times Inc. In addition to books, he has written magazine and journal articles and chapters in anthologies.

Davis has served as historical consultant on such television productions as The Blue and the Gray miniseries, Gettysburg'The Final Fury, the David Wolper production North and South, the British documentary The Divided Union, and the 52-episode series Civil War Journal.

A fellow in the Society of American Historians, he is a past president of the National Historical Society. He has advised the Eastern National Park and Monument Association of the National Park Service and the USS Monitor Project of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, served on editorial boards and expert panels, and been a juror for several literary awards, including the Lincoln Prize. He was a consultant on the Jefferson Davis stamp in the 1995 Civil War commemorative U. S. postage stamp series and on the new Pamplin Park and Museum of the Civil War Soldier in Petersburg, Va.

"Having both Davis and Robertson at Virginia Tech gives us a one-two punch that clearly elevates us to the premier educational institution in the world for the study of the American Civil War," said Peggy S. Meszaros, Tech's senior vice president and provost.

The university announced in early 1999 that it was establishing the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies with Robertson at its helm. Since then, the center has conducted several conferences, including a Merck-sponsored symposium for physicians that drew 155 doctors from five states. It recently announced receipt of a grant from the Hugh I. Shott Jr. Foundation to produce two videos on West Virginia in the Civil War and has acquired the services of Greystone Communications, a Hollywood producer of numerous biographies and historical series for television, to produce the videos.

Davis will begin working at Virginia Tech in August at the beginning of the 2000-01 academic year.