waugh began professional writing as a journalist, then turned to media work for national politicians, and began authoring books about history in 1989. he is best known for his first book, "the class of 1846 — from west point to appomattox: stonewall jackson, george mcclellan and their brothers," which won the new york civil war round table’s fletcher pratt literary award for the best non-fiction book of 1994 and was a best-seller. he is author of four books on abraham lincoln and eight other histories on topics relating to the american civil war.