Center for Civil War Research
The Center for Civil War Research is designed to promote a more thorough understanding of the American Civil War, its history and its scholarship, among the various constituencies of the University and the broader community. Our programing includes a biannual Conference on the Civil War, the Wiley-Silver Prize for Best First Book in Civil War History, the annual Burnham Lecture in Civil War History, the Harry Owens Civil War Archival Collection, and research funding for graduate students.
What we do
Conference on the Civil War
Every two years, the center hosts a slate of emerging and established scholars of the Civil War era
Events
The Center for Civil War Research holds the Burnham Lecture in Civil War History every spring, the Conference on the Civil War every other year in odd years, and awards an annual prize to the best first book in Civil War history. We also partner with other organizations on campus including the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, the UM Slavery Research Group, and the Oxford Conference for the Book.
Dr. Amy Laurel Fluker to Deliver 2027 Burnham Lecture
The Center for Civil War Research is pleased to welcome Amy Laurel Fluker (Youngstown State University) to campus on March 23, 2027 to deliver the annual Burnham Lecture in Civil War History. Dr. Fluker recieved her PhD from the University of Mississippi in 2015 under the guidance of the late John Neff, founder of the Center for Civil War Research. She will speak on her new book, Haunted By Memory: Ghost Stories of the American Civil War, a project started by Dr. Neff. The Center will welcome Dr. Fluker back to campus and celebrate her work and the memory of John Neff at a reception held in the University of Mississippi Department of Archives and Special Collections.
Beau Cleland, 2026 Wiley-Silver Prize Winner, Speaks on "Transimperial Scoundrels" and the Civil War
Dr. Beau Cleland (University of Calgary) visited the University of Mississippi in October to receive the Wiley-Silver prize for his book Between King Cotton and Queen Victoria: How Pirates, Smugglers, and Scoundrels Almost Saved the Confederacy. Cleland delivered a lecture entitled "The Conch Confederacy: Transimperial Scoundrels in the Civil War." The prize committee praised Cleland's work as a "a wholly original view of the hemispheric conflict" of the Civil War and a "a riveting and groundbreaking book" that "unveils the robust Atlantic alliance between partnerships in the Confederacy and Great Britain." The Wiley-Silver Prize is awarded annually to the best first book in Civil War history.
Jonathan White Delivers 2026 Burnham Lecture on "Abraham Lincoln and the Power of the Emancipation Proclamation"
The Center for Civil War Research welcomed Dr. Jonathan White (UT Austin) to deliver the 2026 Burnham Lecture. He spoke on Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Each year, the Burnham Lecture series brings a distinguished scholar to campus to deliver a public lecture and meet with students.
Harry Owens Civil War Archival Collection
The Center for Civil War Research is pleased to announce the Harry Owens Civil War Archival Collection, a new partnership with the University of Mississippi Department of Archives and Special Collections. Supported by generous donations from former students of UM history professor Harry P. Owens, the center funds the purchase of archival materials related to the Civil War and Reconstruction eras in Mississippi and the surrounding region. The items purchased with this fund become a permanent part of the library’s research collection, available to students, researchers, and the public. All documents, including the inaugural purchase (a letter describing a Confederate raid on Union supplies in Holly Springs, Mississippi) can also be viewed online. The Center welcomed the Owens family to celebrate the new initiative at a reception in the archives. Read more about the initiative in this UM press release.
