The North Carolina Society of Historians recognized Salisburians Ed and Sue Curtis for their efforts in studying the history of the Salisbury Confederate Prison at the society’s annual awards banquet Oct. 11 in Hickory.
Ed Curtis received a Joe M. McLaurin Newsletter Award for his work as editor of “The Prison Exchange,” the quarterly publication of the Salisbury Confederate Prison Association Inc.
The eight-page newsletter for the 2007-2008 year was recognized for providing information about the local Confederate military prison and those who were there.
The newsletter was mailed to more than 200 members in 31 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and England, as well as to a number of museums and libraries.
In addition to the historical information, the newsletter included military and genealogical information on prisoners and guards and data as to what they did prior to being sent to Salisbury and, for some, what they did after the war.
Updates were given on the work of the organization such as fundraising efforts for a second archaeological dig and seeking a donated site for a learning center. Both Curtises prepared material for the newsletter along with invited columnists. Endorsements for this award came from members in several states. Ed Curtis is a past winner of the historians group’s prestigious President’s Choice Award.
Sue Curtis received a Paul Green Multimedia Award for her work as chairman for the 11th annual Salisbury Confederate Prison Symposium, April 11-13, held by the Robert F. Hoke Chapter No. 78 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
The historians group recognized the symposium and its seven lectures focusing on the 1861-1865 Salisbury military prison, in addition to displays, a banquet and two memorial services which recognized the 100th anniversary of the Maine monument.
Endorsements from several who attended the symposium accompanied the nomination.
The symposium was recognized again for bringing to North Carolina about 100 descendants, authors and historians from Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Florida, Maryland and Colorado.
The historians group recognized the Confederate Prison Association and the United Daughters of the Confederacy for their efforts in expanding the history of North Carolina’s only military prison that was located in Salisbury. Each nonprofit organization is separate, but each shares information with the other and together bring individuals to Salisbury throughout the year.
The North Carolina Society of Historians was established in 1941 for the purpose of collecting, preserving and perpetuating North Carolina’s rich history and for recognizing those persons who fulfill the society’s objectives.