Elizabeth D. Leonard, the John J. and Cornelia V. Gibson Professor of History at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, will share the 2012 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize with William C. Harris of North Carolina State University. Both scholars are being honored for their books about Abraham Lincoln.
The $50,000 prize, which will be split by the two authors, is awarded by Gettysburg College and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
Professor Leonard is being honored for her book entitled, Lincoln’s Forgotten Ally: Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt of Kentucky (University of North Carolina Press). Holt was a slaveowner but later supported Emancipation.
This is Professor Leonard’s fifth book. Her research focuses on the Civil War and American women’s history. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Riverside.