FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Military Order of the Stars and Bars announced its three annual book awards for 2008, and the University of Arkansas Press won all three. According to the organization, this has never happened before.

The Douglas Southall Freeman History Award, the organization’s most prestigious prize, now in its 26^th year, is given to the author who has written the best book on a Southern theme. The $1,000 award went to Richard B. McCaslin’s Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of Tennessee in the Civil War. The book is part of the University of Arkansas Press’ distinguished Portraits of Conflict Series.

The John Esten Cooke Fiction Award went to Pat Carr for her collection of short stories, The Death of a Confederate Colonel: Civil War Stories and a Novella. Carr’s stories focus on the Confederate home front during the war and her characters are primarily women and children.

The final award, the General Basil W. Duke Award, went to Confederate Guerrilla: The Civil War Memoir of Joseph M. Bailey, edited by T. Lindsay Baker. The $1,000 award recognizes the publisher who reissues the best work in Confederate history. Bailey’s memoir provides a unique perspective on the fighting that took place behind Union lines in federal-occupied northwest Arkansas during and after the Civil War.

The Military Order of the Stars and Bars is a fraternal organization comprising descendants of the Confederate government, officer corps and civil officials. It has a wide range of programs at the national level that complement the work of their state and local chapters. They recognize those who communicate the true history of the Civil War with their annual book awards. Anthony Hodges, commander general of the organization, said, “No publisher has won all three awards before. Congratulations to the University of Arkansas Press on this unique achievement.”

The authors will receive their awards at the annual banquet.