Craig Symonds

Craig Symonds
Born	December 19, 1946 Long Beach, California

Craig Lee Symonds (born 31 December 1946, in Long Beach, California) is a retired professor and chairman of the history department at the United States Naval Academy. He is a distinguished historian of the American Civil War.

Early life and education

The son of Lee and Virginia Symonds, Craig Symonds attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967. Going on to graduate work, he obtained his M.A. in history at the University of Florida in 1969 with a thesis on "The defense of the southwestern frontier, 1784-1794: a study in governmental relations." He married Marylou Hayden on 17 January 1969 and the couple had one son. In 1971, Symonds joined the United States Naval Reserve, serving for three years until 1974 and raising to the grade of Lieutenant. While in the Navy, he served on the staff and faculty of the Naval War College. On his release from active duty, he returned to his graduate studies in history at the University of Florida, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1976 under the tutelage of Professor John K. Mahon with a dissertation on "Navalists and antinavalists: the naval policy debate in the United States, 1785-1827."

Academic career

In 1976, the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland appointed Symonds assistant professor of history to succeed Professor E. B. Potter as a specialist in Naval history. He was subsequently promoted to associate professor in 1980 and professor of history in 1985. He served as chairman of the history department in 1988-1992 and appointed professor emeritus on his retirement in 2005.^[1][2] In 1994-1995, he was visiting lecturer at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England.

Awards

• 1995 John Lyman Book Awards, for The Naval Institute Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy,
• 1999 John Lyman Book Awards, for Confederate Admiral: The Life and Wars of Franklin Buchanan.
• 2009 John Lyman Book Awards, for Lincoln and His Admirals.
• S.A. Cunningham Award, 1997, for Stonewall of the West: Patrick Cleburne and the Civil War.
• Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Prize in Naval History, 2006, for Decision at Sea.
• Department of the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award.
• Benjamin Barondess Award of the Civil War Roundtable of New York, 2009, for Lincoln and His Admirals.
• Lincoln Prize, co-winner 2009, for Lincoln and His Admirals.^[3]

Published works

• Charleston Blockade: The Journals of John B. Marchand, USN, edited by Craig Symonds. (Newport, RI: Naval War College Press, 1976.
• Navalists and Antinavalists: The Naval Policy Debate in the United States, 1785-1827. (University of Delaware Press, 1980).
• New Aspects of Naval History, edited by Craig Symonds. (Annaplis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1981).
• A Battlefield Atlas of the Civil War. (Annapolis, MD: Nautical and Aviation Press, 1983).
• William H. Parker (1985). Craig Symonds. ed. Recollections of a Naval Officer, 1841-1865. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9780870215339. http://books.google.com/books?id=R4odz6mD0qUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Craig+Symonds&as_brr=3&ei=sRX4SoL6HY6MNqTVrKAI#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution. (Annapolis, MD: Nautical and Aviation Press, 1986).
• Alvah F. Hunter (1987). Craig Symonds. ed. A Year on a Monitor. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 9780872497610. http://books.google.com/books?id=pFBz64hxS74C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Craig+Symonds&ei=-BP4Sv-KCpa6M9CDyOQI#v=onepage&q=&f=false.  (reprint 1991)
• Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography. New York: Norton. 1992. ISBN 9780393311303. http://books.google.com/books?id=ykSEvcmi4owC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Craig+Symonds&as_brr=3&ei=sRX4SoL6HY6MNqTVrKAI#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Gettysburg: A Battlefield Atlas, by Craig Symonds with William J. Clipson. (Annapolis, MD: Nautical and Aviation, 1992).
• The Naval Institute Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy. Illustrator William J. Clipson. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. 1995. ISBN 9781557509840. http://books.google.com/books?id=q_HIcc8n3K4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Craig+Symonds&ei=-BP4Sv-KCpa6M9CDyOQI#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Stonewall of the West: Patrick Cleburne and the Civil War. (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1997).
• Confederate Admiral: The Life and Wars of Franklin Buchanan. (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1999).
• American Heritage History of the Battle of Gettysburg. New York: HarperCollins. 2001. ISBN 9780060549336. http://books.google.com/books?id=P0-_stFws60C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Craig+Symonds&ei=-BP4Sv-KCpa6M9CDyOQI#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• New Interpretations in Naval History: Selected Papers from the Fourteenth Naval History Symposium, Held at Annapolis, Maryland, 23–25 September 1999, Naval Institute Press (Annapolis, MD), 2001.
• Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles That Shaped American History. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005. ISBN 9780195312119. http://books.google.com/books?id=3Te8UfCpV7MC&pg=PP1&dq=Craig+Symonds&as_brr=3&ei=sRX4SoL6HY6MNqTVrKAI#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Lincoln and his Admirals. New York: Oxford University Press. 2008. ISBN 9780195310221. http://books.google.com/books?id=cnq4UO9YD5IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Craig+Symonds&as_brr=3&ei=sRX4SoL6HY6MNqTVrKAI#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 

• Harold Holzer, Tim Mulligan, ed (2006). "Building the Ironclads". The Battle of Hampton Roads: new perspectives on the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia. Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823224814. http://books.google.com/books?id=U8wbgA4RBEgC&pg=PA19&dq=Craig+Symonds&as_brr=3&ei=sRX4SoL6HY6MNqTVrKAI#v=onepage&q=Craig%20Symonds&f=false. 

References

1. ^ http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/28751.html
2. ^ http://civilwarstudies.org/articles/Vol_4/ten-at-gettysburg.shtm
3. ^ http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2009/03/05-31/Retired-academy-professor-wins-his-25K-Lincoln-Prize.html

External links

• "Craig L. Symonds", Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2009. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009.
• University of Florida Library
• United States Naval Academy Library

Persondata
Name	Symonds, Craig
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 19, 1946
Place of birth	Long Beach, California
Date of death
Place of death