History professor wins Hodges Prize in Southern Studies

Published: November 18, 2009

By Sarah Brown

CLEMSON — Rod Andrew, professor of history at Clemson University, has won the 2008 Mary Lawton Hodges Prize in Southern Studies for his biography “Wade Hampton: Confederate Warrior to Southern Redeemer.”

Andrew received his award Nov. 12 at a dinner in his honor at the University of South Carolina. Following the award presentation, Andrew gave a public lecture on “Wade Hampton and the Search for Vindication.”

The Hodges Prize is given annually by the Institute for Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina in recognition of “the most original work that furthers understanding of the American South.”

Kenneth W. Noe, in writing for “The Journal of Military History,” calls Andrew’s book a “compelling full biography notable for its scope, balance and insight.” Noe also says, “In a suddenly crowded field of Hampton biographies, Andrew's insights and detailed attention to both Hampton's military career and his political odyssey makes this work stand out as the fullest and best.”

Andrew won the 2008 Distinguished Book Award for biography from the U.S. Army Historical Foundation for “Wade Hampton,” and in 2008 the book was selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title.

Andrew received his master's from Clemson University and his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. Teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in both antebellum and New South periods, Andrew specializes in Southern history. His essay “‘My Children on the Field:' Wade Hampton, Biography, and the Roots of the Lost Cause” is forthcoming in “The Great Task Remaining Before Us: Reconstruction as America's Continuing Civil War.” Andrew has been teaching at Clemson since 2000 and also serves as a graduate coordinator for the history department.

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