# Peter Cozzens

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American historian

Not to be confused with [Peter Cozens](/source/Peter_Cozens).

Peter Cozzens at the 2026 Gaithersburg Book Festival Allegiance American Branch United States Army, State Department Awards The William R. Rivkin Award Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History Other work Historian

**Peter Cozzens** (born 1957) is an American historian and retired U.S. [Foreign Service Officer](/source/Foreign_Service_Officer). He has written and/or edited over seventeen books on the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War) and the [American Indian Wars](/source/American_Indian_Wars).[1][2]

## Early life

Peter Cozzens grew up in [Wheaton, Illinois](/source/Wheaton%2C_Illinois).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Career

### *The Earth Is Weeping*

*The Earth Is Weeping* chronicles the Indian Wars for the American West in their totality. Cozzens begins his narrative with the 1866 resistance movement led by Red Cloud.

Smithsonian.com named it one of the top ten history books of 2016.[3] Amazon highlighted it as one of the best books of 2016 in the history category.[4]

It is the recipient of the 2016 [Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military History](/source/Guggenheim-Lehrman_Prize_in_Military_History) awarded for the best book published on the subject in the English language in 2016.[5]

## Awards

He received the [Superior Honor Award](/source/Superior_Honor_Award) from the [US State Department](/source/United_States_Department_of_State) in 1997. In 2002, he received The William R. Rivkin Award from the [American Foreign Service Association](/source/American_Foreign_Service_Association), awarded to one Foreign Service Officer annually for "extraordinary accomplishment involving initiative, integrity, intellectual courage and constructive dissent".[1] He also received an Alumni Achievement Award from his alma mater [Knox College](/source/Knox_College_(Illinois)).[6] Cozzens was named the 2016 recipient of the [Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History](/source/Gilder_Lehrman_Prize_for_Military_History) for his book, *The Earth is Weeping*.[7]

Cozzens serves on the Advisory Council of the [Lincoln Prize](/source/Lincoln_Prize).[8]

## Personal life

He lives with his wife Antonia Feldman in [Kensington, Maryland](/source/Kensington%2C_Maryland).[9]

He has detailed his history with [bipolar disorder](/source/Bipolar_disorder) and mental illness, including the potential the condition had to enable his writing career.[10]

## Selected works

- *Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West*. Alfred A. Knopf. 2025. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0593537855](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0593537855). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1478325514](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1478325514).

- *A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson, the Creek Indians, and the Epic War for the American South*. Alfred A. Knopf. 2023. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0525659457](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0525659457). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1330202779](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1330202779).

- *Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation*. Alfred A. Knopf. 2020. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1524733254](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1524733254). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1264231981](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1264231981).

- *The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West*. Alfred A. Knopf. 2016. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780307958044](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780307958044). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [930364284](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/930364284).

- *[Shenandoah 1862: Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign](/source/Shenandoah_1862)*. University of North Carolina Press. 2008. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780807832004](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780807832004). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [213358059](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/213358059).

- *General John Pope: a Life for the Nation*. University of Illinois Press. 2000. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0252023633](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0252023633). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [42289679](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/42289679).

- [*The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth*](https://archive.org/details/darkestdaysofwar00cozz). University of North Carolina Press. 1997. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0807823201](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0807823201). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [34984056](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/34984056).

- [*The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga*](https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780252019227). University of Illinois Press. 1994. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0252019229](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0252019229). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [29877161](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/29877161).

- *This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga*. University of Illinois Press. 1992. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0252065948](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0252065948). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [931918657](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/931918657).

- *No Better Place to Die: The Battle of Stones River*. University of Illinois Press. 1990. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0252016521](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0252016521). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [19266989](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/19266989).

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-authorsguild.net_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-authorsguild.net_1-1) ["Profile — Peter Edward Cozzens - The Authors Guild"](https://www.authorsguild.net/services/members/1400).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Center of the West Hosts Author Peter Cozzens Sharing His Latest Book on the Indian Wars"](https://www.prweb.com/releases/center_of_the_west_hosts_author_peter_cozzens_sharing_his_latest_book_on_the_indian_wars/prweb13670586.htm).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Wolly, Brian (December 30, 2016). ["Top History Books of 2016"](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/top-history-books-2016-180961616/). *Smithsonian*. Retrieved December 17, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Amazon.com: History: Editors' Picks: Books"](https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=s9_acss_bw_cg_BOTM_2c1_w?node=6458662011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER). Amazon.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Retired foreign service officer wins $50,000 literary prize - Chicago Tribune"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170304040714/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-bc-us--books-military-prize-20170302-story.html). *www.chicagotribune.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-bc-us--books-military-prize-20170302-story.html) on 2017-03-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Knox College, Graduation 1999"](http://departments.knox.edu/newsarchive/news_events/releases_1998-99/Graduation_1999.html). *Knox College*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Peter Cozzens Wins Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize - Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History"](https://www.gilderlehrman.org/content/peter-cozzens-wins-gilder-lehrman-military-history-prize). *gilderlehrman.org*. April 11, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Seminary_Co-op_8-0)** ["Peter Cozzens "The Earth is Weeping" at the Harold Washington Library"](https://www.semcoop.com/event/peter-cozzens-earth-weeping-harold-washington-library). *The Seminary Co-op*. Retrieved 3 January 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Cozzens, Peter. ["Home - peter cozzens"](https://www.petercozzens.net/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Braun-Kenigsberg, Lisa (3 January 2009). ["Dark Days Past"](https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-magazine/january-february-2009/dark-days-past-2/). Bethesda Magazine.

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.petercozzens.net/)

- [PeterCozzens](https://web.archive.org/web/20090408070334/http://www.petercozzens.com/)

- [Peter Cozzens](https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-cozzens-16895a15) on [LinkedIn](/source/LinkedIn)

- [Wilson Center](https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/peter-cozzens)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Peter Cozzens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cozzens) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cozzens?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.