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{{short description|American historian and journalist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Douglas Southall Freeman
| image = DSFreeman.jpg
| caption = Douglas Southall Freeman, c. 1916
| pseudonym =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1886|5|16}}
| birth_place = [[Lynchburg, Virginia]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1953|6|13|1886|5|16}}
| death_place = [[Richmond, Virginia]], U.S.
| occupation = Historian<br/>Biographer<br/>[[Literary editor|Newspaper editor]]<br/>Author
| spouse = Inez Virginia Goddin
| children = Mary Tyler Freeman<br/>Anne Ballard Freeman<br/>James Douglas Freeman
| education = [[University of Richmond|Richmond College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]])<br />[[Johns Hopkins University]] ([[PhD]])
}}
'''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]], for both of which he was awarded [[Pulitzer Prizes]].<ref name="johnson">{{cite web|last=Johnson|first=David|title=Douglas Southall Freeman (1886–1953)|publisher=Encyclopedia Virginia |url=http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Freeman_Douglas_Southall_1886-1953 |
== Early life ==
Douglas Southall Freeman was born May 16, 1886, in [[Lynchburg, Virginia]], 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]]. From childhood, Freeman exhibited an interest in Southern history. In Lynchburg, his family lived at 416 Main Street,<ref name="marker">{{cite web |title=Douglas Southall Freeman Marker Q-6-17 |publisher=Marker History |url=http://www.markerhistory.com/douglas-southall-freeman-marker-q-6-17/ |
In 1904, Freeman was awarded an [[Bachelor of Arts|
== Writing career ==
[[File:Douglas Southall Freeman, elder.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|<center>Douglas Southall Freeman</center>]]▼
===''Lee's Dispatches''===
In 1911, when Freeman was 25 years old, he came into possession of a cache of long-lost wartime communications between Robert E. Lee and Confederate president [[Jefferson Davis]]. 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,<ref name="johnson"/> 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]]'s army in the [[Shenandoah Valley]] and embark on a vigorous offensive campaign against the North, even at the expense of defending Richmond.<ref>Freeman, Douglas Southall. Introduction in ''[https://books.google.com/books/about/Lee_s_dispatches.html?id=k4B66r_9VhcC Lee's Dispatches]''. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1915, pp. iii–xxxviii.</ref>
===''R. E. Lee: A Biography''===
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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.<ref name="taylor">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. [http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1900601/Lee-s-biographer-is-a.html Goliath]. Retrieved November 5, 2011.</ref> In narrating the general's Civil War years, he used what came to be known as the "[[fog of war]]" 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]] wrote, "Great as my personal expectations were, the realization far surpassed them." In 1935, Freeman was awarded the [[Pulitzer Prize]] for his four-volume biography.<ref name="johnson"/><ref name="taylor"/>
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 of the Confederacy|Lost Cause]]" historian, <ref name="johnson"/>
▲[[File:Douglas Southall Freeman, elder.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|
===''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
===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
==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.<ref name="papers">{{cite web|title=A Guide to the Douglas Southall Freeman Papers 1900–1955|publisher=University of Virginia |url=http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/published/uva-sc/viu03373.document |
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.<ref name="mullen"/> From 1934 to 1941, he commuted weekly by air to New York City to teach journalism at [[Columbia University]]. He also taught as a lecturer at the [[United States Army War College]] for seven years,<ref name="papers"/> and served as [[Rector (academia)|Rector]] of the [[University of Richmond]].<ref name="johnson"/>
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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.<ref name="mullen"/><ref name="johnsonbiography"/> 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."<ref name="mullen"/><ref name="johnsonbiography"/>
Freeman believed in the importance of a character. His definition of leadership was, "Know your stuff, be a man, look after your men."<ref>{{Cite
[[File:Westbourne, Richmond, Virginia - 2011.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Westbourne (Richmond, Virginia)|Westbourne]], home of Douglas Southall Freeman]]
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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mary Tyler Freeman Cheek McClenahan |publisher=Library of Virginia |url=http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/vawomen/2006/mcclenahan.htm |
==Death and legacy==
Douglas Southall Freeman died of a heart attack on June 13, 1953, at his home in [[Richmond, Virginia]], 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 (Richmond, Virginia)|Hollywood Cemetery]] in Richmond.<ref name="johnson"/><ref>[[#malone|Freeman, Malone, 1954]], p. xi</ref>
Freeman's newspaper editorials and daily radio broadcasts made him one of the most influential Virginians of his day, his analysis of [[World War I]] and [[World War II]] military campaigns bringing him recognition throughout the country, especially in military circles. President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] thanked him for suggesting the use of the term "liberation," rather than "invasion," of Europe.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Virginians: Douglas Southall Freeman, Washington, and Lee |url=http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1948/1101481018_400.jpg |
Military commanders such as Admiral [[Chester W. Nimitz]] and Generals [[George C. Marshall]], [[Douglas MacArthur]], and [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] sought his friendship and advice. Eisenhower said Freeman first convinced him to think seriously about running for the presidency.<ref name="mullen">{{cite web|last=Mullen|first=Richard|title=America's Greatest Biographer: Douglas Southall Freeman |publisher=Contemporary Review (Resource Library)|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2242/is_1647_282/ai_100605231|
▲Freeman's newspaper editorials and daily radio broadcasts made him one of the most influential Virginians of his day, his analysis of [[World War I]] and [[World War II]] military campaigns bringing him recognition throughout the country, especially in military circles. President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] thanked him for suggesting the use of the term "liberation," rather than "invasion," of Europe.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Virginians: Douglas Southall Freeman, Washington, and Lee |url=http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1948/1101481018_400.jpg |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |location=New York |date=1948-10-18 |accessdate=2014-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111014234/http://dosomefink.com/phpbb2/index.php?topic=2453.0%3Bwap2 |archive-date=November 11, 2014 |author=Unknown |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref>
[[Eric Foner]] is more critical of Freeman, whose biography of Lee Foner calls a "[[hagiography]]," criticizing its lack of nuance and the limited attention paid to Lee's relationship to slavery.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Foner|first1=Eric|title=The Making and the Breaking of the Legend of Robert E. Lee|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/books/review/eric-foner-robert-e-lee.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 28, 2017|access-date=September 18, 2017}}</ref> [[Charles B. Dew]] wrote that Freeman's "magisterial" ''Lee's Lieutenants'', [[United Daughters of the Confederacy]] magazine, and ''[[Facts the Historians Leave Out: A Youth's Confederate Primer]]'' by John S. Tilley were crucial titles in his adolescent indoctrination into the mainstream white Southern worldview of the 1950s.<ref name=":0" />
▲Military commanders such as Admiral [[Chester W. Nimitz]] and Generals [[George Marshall]], [[Douglas MacArthur]], and [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] sought his friendship and advice. Eisenhower said Freeman first convinced him to think seriously about running for the presidency.<ref name="mullen">{{cite web|last=Mullen|first=Richard|title=America's Greatest Biographer: Douglas Southall Freeman |publisher=Contemporary Review (Resource Library)|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2242/is_1647_282/ai_100605231|accessdate=November 4, 2011}}</ref> In 1958, Freeman was posthumously awarded his second [[Pulitzer Prize]] for his six-volume biography of [[George Washington]]. In 1955, the Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters honored Freeman by creating the Douglas Southall Freeman Award for public service in radio journalism.<ref>{{cite news|title=Va. AP Honors WRNL, WSVS For Public Service in Radio|url=https://archive.org/stream/broadcastingtele49unse_0#page/n836/mode/1up|accessdate=January 17, 2015|agency=Broadcasting|date=November 14, 1955}}</ref>
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."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Uproar erupts at U. of Richmond over building names with ties to racism|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/03/25/university-richmond-ryland-freeman-buildings/|access-date=2021-10-13|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
==Honors and awards==
* 1935 [[Pulitzer Prize]] for ''R. E. Lee: A Biography'' (4 volumes)
* 1951 best news commentary over larger radio stations from Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters<ref>{{cite news|title=Douglas S. Freeman Wins Award For News Commentary|newspaper=Kingsport News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2043069/wrnl1951_news_awards|agency=Kingsport News|date=April 6, 1951|page=3|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|
* 1958 Pulitzer Prize (posthumous) for ''George Washington: A Biography'' (6 volumes)
* [[Douglas S. Freeman High School]] in [[Henrico County, Virginia|Henrico County]] named in his honor
* [[University of Richmond]] Freeman Hall named in his honor
* [http://www.markerhistory.com/douglas-southall-freeman-marker-q-6-17/ Virginia Historical Marker Q-6-17] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718001349/http://www.markerhistory.com/douglas-southall-freeman-marker-q-6-17/ |date=July 18, 2018 }}, located on Rivermont Avenue in [[Lynchburg, Virginia]], commemorates Freeman's life and work<ref name="marker"/>
==Bibliography==
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* [https://books.google.com/books/about/George_Washington_a_biography.html?id=RYYOAQAAMAAJ ''George Washington Volume 5: Victory with the Help of France'' (1952)]
* {{cite book |last1=Freeman |first1=Douglas Southall |last2=Malone |first2=Dumas |editor1=Carroll, John Alexander |editor2=Ashworth, Mary Wells |title=George Washington, a Biography: Patriot and President |volume=6 |publisher=Scribner & Sons |year=1954 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=55QTAAAAIAAJ |ref=malone}}
* ''George Washington Volume 7: First in Peace'' (1957, by John Alexander Carroll and Mary Wells Ashworth, based on Freeman's original research)<ref>{{cite web|title=Douglas Southall Freeman (1886–1953)|publisher=Library Thing|url=http://www.librarything.com/author/freemandouglassoutha&all=1|
* {{cite book |title=Almost a Miracle |last=Ferling E. |first=John |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-1997-5847-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lyjjEsqlqo0C |ref=ferling}}
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* Cheek, Mary Tyler Freeman. "Reflections" in ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 1986 94(1): 25–39. ISSN 0042-6636.
* Dickson, Keith D. ''Sustaining Southern Identity: Douglas Southall Freeman and Memory in the Modern South.'' Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2011. {{ISBN|0-807-14005-8}} {{OCLC|756704107}}
* Freeman, Douglas Southall. ''[
* Johnson, David E. ''Douglas Southall Freeman''. Pelican Publishing, 2002. {{ISBN|978-1-58980-021-2}}.
* Smith, Stuart W. ''Douglas Southall Freeman on Leadership''. White Mane, 1993. {{ISBN|978-0-942597-48-6}}.
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[[Category:Writers from Lynchburg, Virginia]]
[[Category:20th-century American biographers]]
[[Category:
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:American military writers]]
[[Category:Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)]]
[[Category:Historians of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Historians of the American Revolution]]
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[[Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American historians]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Journalists from Virginia]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters]]
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