Bruce Catton (1899–1978)
Author of A Stillness at Appomattox
About the Author
Bruce Catton, whose complete name was Charles Bruce Catton, was born in Petoskey, Michigan, on October 9, 1899. A United States journalist and writer, Catton was one of America's most popular Civil War historians. Catton worked as a newspaperman in Boston, Cleveland, and Washington, and also held a show more position at the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1948. Catton's best-selling book, A Stillness at Appomattox, a recount of the most spectacular conflicts between Generals Grant and Lee in the final year of the Civil War, earned him a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award in 1954. In 1977, the year before his death, Catton received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, from President Gerald R. Ford, who noted that the author and historian "made us hear the sounds of battle and cherish peace." Before his death in 1978, Catton wrote a total of ten books detailing the Civil War, including his last, Grant Takes Command. Since 1984, the Bruce Catton Prize was awarded for lifetime achievement in the writing of history. In cooperation with American Heritage Publishing Company, the Society of American Historians in 1984 initiated the biennial prize that honors an entire body of work. It is named for Bruce Catton, prizewinning historian and first editor of American Heritage magazine. The prize consisted of a certificate and 2,500 dollars. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: nps.gov
Series
Works by Bruce Catton
The Army of the Potomac: Mr. Lincoln's Army; Glory Road; A Stillness at Appomattox (1952) 636 copies
The Centennial History of the Civil War: The Coming Fury; Terrible Swift Sword; Never Call Retreat (1961) 303 copies
Two Roads to Sumter: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and the March to the Civil War (1656) 126 copies
Bruce Catton: The Army of the Potomac Trilogy (LOA #359): Mr. Lincoln's Army / Glory Road / A Stillness at… (2022) 91 copies
First Year of American Heritage: The Complete Contents of the First Six Issues of "the Magazine of (1958) 15 copies
American Heritage Civil War Chronology 14 copies
American Heritage Magazine Vol 23 No 2 1972 February (1972) — Contributor; Senior Editor — 11 copies
American Heritage, the Magazine of History - October, 1967 - Volume XVIII - Number 6 (1967) 4 copies
The coming fury Never call retreat 2 copies
Ethics and Armaments 1 copy
American Heritage Hardbound Magazine Dec, 1960 (American Heritage Magazine Hardbound December 1960) 1 copy
A MICHIGAN BOYHOOD 1 copy
Books on the Civil War 1 copy
The Hallowed Ground 1 copy
AMERICAN HERITAGE (The Magazine of History). Volume XXVIII, Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; 1976-77 (1977) 1 copy
Associated Works
Report of the Warren Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy (1964) — Afterword, some editions — 932 copies
A Sense of History: The Best Writing from the Pages of American Heritage (1985) — Contributor — 453 copies
Twenty Days: A Narrative in Text and Pictures of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (1965) — Foreword — 175 copies
The Greatest War Stories Ever Told: Twenty-Four Incredible War Tales (2001) — Contributor — 26 copies
MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History — Summer 1989 (1989) — Author "A Matter of a Salute" — 15 copies
Best-in-Books The Silver Chalice; A King's Story; A Man Called Peter; The Day Chist Died; Kids Say the Darndest Things;… (1960) — Contributor — 8 copies
MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History — Winter 2011 (2010) — Author "A Madman's Business" — 6 copies
Rachel Cade / It's a Big Country / Pirate / A Stillness at Appomattox / Diamond (1957) — Contributor — 1 copy
Best-in-Books: Twilight for the Gods / How to Do It / Please Don't Eat the Daisies / Life at Happy Knoll / Stillness at… (1958) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Catton, Charles Bruce
- Other names
- CATTON, Charles Bruce
CATTON, Bruce - Birthdate
- 1899-10-09
- Date of death
- 1978-08-28
- Burial location
- Benzonia Township Cemetery, Benzie County, Michigan, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Birthplace
- Petoskey, Michigan, USA
- Place of death
- Frankfort, Michigan, USA
- Places of residence
- Washington, D.C., USA
Benzonia, Michigan, USA - Education
- Oberlin College (1916, no degree)
- Occupations
- reporter
director
historian
journalist - Relationships
- Catton, William Bruce (son)
- Organizations
- American Academy of Arts and Letters ( [1955])
United States Navy (WWI)
United States Department of Commerce
United States Department of the Interior
American Heritage
Newspaper Enterprise Association - Awards and honors
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977)
Honorary Doctorate
Pulitzer Prize (History, 1954)
Members
Discussions
Shelfby Foote v. Bruce Catton v. James McPherson in American Civil War (July 2017)
Reviews
This was a competent if (necessarily) surface level overview of the Civil War that I would have enjoyed much more had I not already read James M. McPhersons' stunning Battle Cry of Freedom. Read McPhersons' book if you only ever read one book on the Civil War, read this volume from Catton only if you're pressed for time and want an overview quickly.
Very well written narrative version of history. Not quite Shelby Foote or even my good friend Hampton Newsome, but thoroughly entertaining. Also, unlike Foote (who's three volume narrative the Civil War is, to me, the definitive overall narrative history of the Civil War), Catton's first volume gave me a new appreciation for, and (to some extent) repulsion, to Gen. McClellan who I never fully understood as the reticent, self-doubting, not fully anti-slavery yet pro-Union, wrong-century general that he was.… (more)
Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 127
- Also by
- 18
- Members
- 15,018
- Popularity
- #1,527
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 94
- ISBNs
- 270
- Languages
- 3
- Favorited
- 31
- About
- 1
- Touchstones
- 159
Read in a gulp, Catton's history was most valuable in providing an understanding of the countervailing forces which very nearly cleaved the country in two. There are no heroes here, and in this was the greatest surprise for me. While the evils of slavery and the necessity of destroying the institution are obvious, much less so is the character of the southerner. For what did he fight? The answer is not obvious and was not made so by the end of the book. This is at least part of the point. The reasons for the war are ultimately as varied as the people which participated. More than anything, it is the humanity of all involved which comes through on these pages.… (more)