Douglas Southall Freeman (May 16, 1886 – June 13, 1953) was an American historian, biographer, newspaper editor, radio commentator, and author. He is best known for his multi-volume biographies of Robert E. Lee and

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, for both of which he was awarded

Pulitzer Prizes The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made hi ...

Early life

Douglas Southall Freeman was born May 16, 1886 in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

, to Bettie Allen Hamner and Walker Burford Freeman, an insurance agent who had served four years in Robert E. Lee's

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...

. From childhood, Freeman exhibited an interest in Southern history. In Lynchburg, his family lived at 416 Main Street, near the home of

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

general

Jubal Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was a Virginia lawyer and politician who became a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early resigned his U.S. Army commissio ...

. The family moved to the former Confederate capital of

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

in 1892 at the height of the monument commemoration movement that memorialized Virginia's Robert E. Lee,

J.E.B. Stuart James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials of ...

, and

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in near ...

. In 1904, Freeman was awarded an

AB degree Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from Richmond College, where he had been a member of the

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi ...

fraternity. In 1908, at the age of 22, he earned a PhD in history at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Unable to secure a position in academia, Freeman joined the staff of the ''

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatc ...

'' in 1909, and, in 1915, at the age of 29, he became editor of ''

The Richmond News Leader ''The Richmond News Leader'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Richmond, Virginia from 1888 to 1992. During much of its run, it was the largest newspaper source in Richmond, competing with the morning '' Richmond Times-Dispatch''. B ...

''—a position he held for 34 years.

Writing career

''Lee's Dispatches''

In 1911, Freeman came into possession of a cache of long-lost wartime communications between Robert E. Lee and Confederate president

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

. Freeman spent four years working on the documents, and in 1915, he published ''Lee's Dispatches''. The book was received enthusiastically by Civil War historians, and it became an important primary source for Civil War scholars. Written between June 2, 1862 and April 1, 1865, Lee's letters to Davis revealed the general's strategy with clearer perspective, shed new light on some of Lee's decisions, and underscored his close and always co-operative relationship with Davis. In his Introduction, Freeman summarized seven major revelations contained in the letters. For example, the letters reveal that the Confederate high command in 1862 considered but rejected a bold proposal to strengthen

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

's army in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

and embark on a vigorous offensive campaign against the North, even at the expense of defending Richmond.

''R. E. Lee: A Biography''

Following the immediate critical success of ''Lee's Dispatches'', Freeman was approached by New York publisher

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

and invited to write a biography of Robert E. Lee. Freeman accepted but chose to retain his position at ''The Richmond News Leader'' and work longer days to work on the biography. Freeman's research of Lee was exhaustive. He evaluated and cataloged every item about Lee, and he reviewed records at West Point and the War Department and material in private collections.Taylor, John M. "Lee's biographer is a story himself; Richmond News Leader editor's books extensively documented" in ''The Washington Times'', July 2, 1927
Goliath
Retrieved November 5, 2011. In narrating the general's Civil War years, he used what came to be known as the "

fog of war The fog of war (german: links=no, Nebel des Krieges) is the uncertainty in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, ...

" technique, providing readers only the limited information that Lee himself had at a given moment. That helped convey the confusion of war that Lee experienced as well as the processes by which Lee grappled with problems and made decisions. ''R. E. Lee: A Biography'' was published in four volumes in 1934 and 1935. In its book review, ''The New York Times'' declared it "Lee complete for all time." Historian

Dumas Malone Dumas Malone (January 10, 1892 – December 27, 1986) was an American historian, biographer, and editor noted for his six-volume biography on Thomas Jefferson, ''Jefferson and His Time'', for which he received the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for history a ...

wrote, "Great as my personal expectations were, the realization far surpassed them." In 1935, Freeman was awarded the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

for his four-volume biography. Freeman's ''R. E. Lee: A Biography'' established the Virginia School of Civil War scholarship, an approach to writing Civil War history that concentrated on the Eastern Theater of the war, focused the narrative on generals over the common soldier, centered the analysis on military campaigns over social and political events, and treated his Confederate subjects with sympathy. This approach to writing Civil War history would lead some critics to label Freeman a "

Lost Cause The Lost Cause of the Confederacy (or simply Lost Cause) is an American pseudohistorical negationist mythology that claims the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was just, heroic, and not centered on slavery. Firs ...

" historian, an allusion to the literary and intellectual movement that sought to reconcile the traditional white society of the South to the defeat of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

.Gallagher, Gary.''Jubal A. Early, the Lost Cause, and Civil War History: A Persistent Legacy''. Marquette University Press, 1995. . Freeman began work on his biography of Lee in 1926; by the time he had completed his four volume work in 1933, he had committed some 6,100 hours to the effort.

''Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command''

Following the critical success of ''R. E. Lee: A Biography'', Freeman expanded his study of the Confederacy with the critically acclaimed three-volume ''Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command'', published in 1942, 1943, and 1944. It presents a unique combination of military strategy, biography, and Civil War history, and it shows how armies actually work. Published during World War II, it had a great influence on American military leaders and strategists. A few months after the conclusion of the war, Freeman was asked to join an official tour of American forces in Europe and Japan. ''Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command'' established Freeman as the preeminent military historian in the country, and led to close friendships with United States generals

George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...

and

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

Biography of George Washington

After completing his exhaustive studies of Lee, his generals, and the Confederate war effort, Freeman started work on a seven volume biography of George Washington. Applying the same approach of exhaustive research and writing narrative based on objective fact, Freeman completed the first two volumes, titled ''Young Washington'', in 1948. The following year, he retired from journalism in order to complete his monumental work on Washington. ''George Washington Volume 3: Planter and Patriot'' and ''George Washington Volume 4: Leader of the Revolution'' were published in 1951. The following year, he published ''George Washington Volume 5: Victory with the Help of France'' (1952). Freeman completed work on ''George Washington Volume 6: Patriot and President'' just before he died; it was published after his death in 1954. The concluding book, ''George Washington Volume 7: First in Peace'', was written by Freeman's associates,

John Alexander Carroll John Alexander Carroll (died 17 December 2000) was an American history professor who primarily taught at the University of Arizona from 1958 to 1967, and Troy University from 1974 to 1989. While at Arizona, Carroll founded ''Arizona and the West'' i ...

and

Mary Wells Ashworth Mary Wells Knight Ashworth (May 28, 1903 — September 12, 1992) was an American historian who wrote for Douglas Southall Freeman between 1945 to 1953. With Freeman, Ashworth worked on his seven volume biography on George Washington. After Freeman ...

, based on Freeman's original research and was published in 1957. Historian and George Washington biographer John E. Ferling maintains that no other biography for Washington compares to that of Freeman's work.

Newspaper, radio, and teaching careers

Freeman's considerable literary achievements have overshadowed his career as editor of ''The Richmond News Leader''. Between 1915 and 1949, he wrote an estimated 600,000 words of editorial copy every year. He earned a national reputation among military scholars for his analyses of operations during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His editorials expressed a moderate approach to race relations, and in his editorials opposed the

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the l ...

—a powerful statewide Democratic political machine run by United States Senator

Harry F. Byrd Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that became known as the Byrd Organization. ...

. Freeman retired as editor of ''The Richmond News Leader'' on June 25, 1949. Years later, his obituary published in his former newspaper captured the scope of his editorial interests. In addition to his forty-year career in journalism, Freeman became one of the first radio analysts, in 1925. His twice-daily radio broadcasts helped make him one of the most influential men in Virginia. From 1934 to 1941, he commuted weekly by air to New York City to teach journalism at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He also taught as a lecturer at the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

for seven years, and served as

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

Personal life

Freeman's work ethic was legendary. Throughout his life, he kept a demanding schedule that allowed him to accomplish a great deal in his two full-time careers, as a journalist and as a historian. When at home, he rose at three every morning and drove to his newspaper office, saluting Robert E. Lee's monument on

Monument Avenue Monument Avenue is a tree-lined grassy mall dividing the eastbound and westbound traffic in Richmond, Virginia, originally named for its emblematic complex of structures honoring those who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. ...

as he passed. Twice daily, he walked to a nearby radio studio, where he gave news broadcasts and discussed the day's news. After his second broadcast, he would drive home for a short nap and lunch and then worked another five or six hours on his current historical project, with classical music, frequently the work of

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, playing in the background.Johnson, David. ''Douglas Southall Freeman''. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co., 2002. Freeman was a devout Baptist who prayed daily in the small chapel he built in his home. He acknowledged that his Christian faith played a central role throughout his life. Freeman was also a Virginian, and described himself as "deeply rooted in the soil of old Virginia." He believed in the importance of continuity, even in personal geography, once writing, "I think the American people lose a large part of the joy of life because they do not live for generations in the same place." Freeman believed in the importance of a character. His definition of leadership was, "Know your stuff, be a man, look after your men." Westbourne, Richmond, Virginia - 2011

Freeman married Inez Virginia Goddin on February 5, 1914. They had three children: Mary Tyler, Anne Ballard, and James Douglas. Mary Tyler Freeman married Leslie Cheek, Jr., longtime director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and became a founder or influential officer of several important community organizations, as well as president of the Robert E. Lee Memorial Foundation. The family lived (and Freeman died) in a mansion he named Westbourne in Richmond's west end, a house listed (in 2000) in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Death and legacy

Douglas Southall Freeman died of a heart attack on June 13, 1953 at his home in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, at the age of 67. On the morning of his death he had delivered his usual radio broadcast from Richmond. He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. Freeman's newspaper editorials and daily radio broadcasts made him one of the most influential Virginians of his day, his analysis of

and

military campaigns bringing him recognition throughout the country, especially in military circles. President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

thanked him for suggesting the use of the term "liberation," rather than "invasion," of Europe. Military commanders such as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Generals

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

, and

sought his friendship and advice. Eisenhower said Freeman first convinced him to think seriously about running for the presidency. In 1958, Freeman was posthumously awarded his second

for his seven-volume biography of

. In 1955, the Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters honored Freeman by creating the Douglas Southall Freeman Award for public service in radio journalism.

Eric Foner Eric Foner (; born February 7, 1943) is an American historian. He writes extensively on American political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African-American biography, the American Civil War, Reconstruc ...

is more critical of Freeman, whose biography of Lee, Foner calls a "

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

," criticizing its lack of nuance and the limited attention paid to Lee's relationship to slavery. In 2021, some students and faculty at the University of Richmond, where Freeman served as Rector for seven years, criticized the University board of trustees for refusing to remove Freeman's name from a campus building, although he had "supported racial segregation, opposed interracial marriage and promoted racist concepts underlying the eugenics movement." The “greatest inheritance,” Freeman once said, was “clean blood, right-thinking ancestry.”

Honors and awards

* 1935

for ''R. E. Lee: A Biography'' (4 volumes) * 1951 best news commentary over larger radio stations from Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters * 1958 Pulitzer Prize (posthumous) for ''George Washington: A Biography'' (6 volumes) *

Douglas S. Freeman High School Douglas S. Freeman High School is an American educational institution located in the western part of Virginia's Henrico County.

Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...

named in his honor *

Freeman Hall named in his honor
Virginia Historical Marker Q-6-17
, located on Rivermont Avenue in

commemorates Freeman's life and work

Bibliography

* ''A Calendar of Confederate Papers'' (1908)
''Lee's Dispatches to Jefferson Davis, 1862–1865'' (1915)
* ''R. E. Lee: A Biography'' (4 volumes) (1934–1935)

an

* ''The Cornerstones of Stratford: Address at the Dedication of Stratford, October 12, 1935'' (1935)

!-- ISBN needed --> * [https://books.google.com/books/about/Lee_s_Lieutenants_Manassas_to_Malvern_Hi.html?id=rqbWAAAAMAAJ ''Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command Volume 1: Manassas to Malvern Hill'' (abridged ed. by Stephen W. Sears)] (1942)
''Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command Volume 2: Cedar Mountain to Chancellorsville''
(1943)

(1944) * ttps://books.google.com/books/about/Washington.html?id=7hWBcg2iLooC ''George Washington Volume 1: Young Washington'' (1948)* ''George Washington Volume 2: Young Washington'' (1948) * ''George Washington Volume 3: Planter and Patriot'' (1951) * ''George Washington Volume 4: Leader of the Revolution'' (1951)
''George Washington Volume 5: Victory with the Help of France'' (1952)
* * ''George Washington Volume 7: First in Peace'' (1957, by John Alexander Carroll and Mary Wells Ashworth, based on Freeman's original research) *

References

External links

Douglas Southall Freeman in ''Encyclopedia Virginia''
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20101204054731/http://www.henrico.k12.va.us/hs/freeman/ Douglas Southall Freeman High School webpage* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Douglas S. 1886 births 1953 deaths Writers from Lynchburg, Virginia 20th-century American biographers American male biographers American male journalists American military writers Historians of the American Civil War Historians of the American Revolution Historians of the United States Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography winners Writers from Richmond, Virginia History of Richmond, Virginia American military historians University of Richmond alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Journalists from Virginia 20th-century American male writers Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters