U.S. Military History Collection

Wars of 1812 to Desert Storm

Guide to the Study & Use of Military History
498pgs.
by John E. Jessup, Robert W. Coakley, and James Lawton Collins

On 6 June 1944, as the allied forces began the invasion of Normandy, General George S. Patton, Jr., wrote to his son, then a cadet at the United States Military Academy, that "to be a successful soldier, you must know history." The number of similar pronouncements from noted military figures, including Napoleon, is almost endless and the basic refrain is the same - to understand the present and to prepare for the future the study of history is vital. This applies most particularly to those who lead men in battle. As Marshall Foch wrote, "no study is possible on the battlefield, one does simply what one can in order to apply what one knows." Despite vast changes in technology since World War II, the combat leader may still learn much from the study of past battles and campaigns. Weather, terrain, and intelligence of friendly and enemy dispositions, for instance, are as important today as in the days of Alexander, Frederick the Great, and Napoleon; human reactions in combat remain relatively constant. This Guide to the Study and Use of Military History is designed to foster an appreciation of the value of military history and explain its uses and the resources available for its study. It is not a work to be read lightly tossed aside, but one the cadet soldier should read again or use as a reference at those times during his career when necessity or leisure turns him to the contemplation of the military past.

American Military History - 722pgs.
Edited by Maurice Matloff

American Military History cuts to the heart of each war or military campaign in American history. Originally designed for the instruction of officer cadets and other military personnel, this is a true nuts and bolts approach to military history. The work went through various editions from 1956 to 1988, under the direction of Dr. Maurice Matloff. The current two-volume edition has some revisions and has been expanded to give full coverage of the operations and lessons up to include the Korean War.

"Swift and Effective Retribution" The U.S. Sixth Fleet and the Confrontation With Qaddafi - 59pgs.
by Joseph T. Stanik

Describes in detail the events of operation "El Dorado Canyon," a joint Navy-Air Force-Marine Corps mission which began on April 15, 1986. The mission was assigned by President Ronald Reagan to punish Libyan President Qaddafi for his involvement in the death of American citizens and to dissuade him from further support of international terrorism. Includes a short history of United States-Libyan contacts since the 18th century.

Desert Storm: The Whirlwind War - 314pgs.
by Frank N. Schubert and Theresa L. Kraus, General Editors

In 1990-1991 an international coalition reversed the results of Iraqi aggression against Kuwait. The United States provided the bulk of the forces arrayed against Iraq, with the U.S. Army contributing the greatest portion of the ground force. Successful participation in this historic endeavor marked both an end and a beginning for the Army. At an end was the long and sometimes arduous transition from the Vietnam-era Army. What emerged was a small, superbly equipped, highly skilled, well-trained, and extremely mobile force, composed of units from both the active and reserve components. Its overall excellent performance in Southwest Asia reflected the attention that successive Army Chiefs of Staff had paid to leader development-the effort to professionalize the service's officer and noncommissioned officer corps. In this major test, the Army clearly demonstrated that it could project its power effectively. One of the resounding lessons for the Army in Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM was that it could operate as part of a multinational force with great success. Even as these operations were taking place, the Army addressed those steps necessary to prepare for its critical role as a key member of America's armed forces of the future. The Whirlwind War tells the story of this pivotal chapter in the Army's history. It shows the various strands that came together to produce the Army of the 1990s and how that Army in turn performed under fire and in the glare of world attention. Drafted soon after the end of Operation DESERT STORM, the book retains a sense of immediacy in its approach. Yet the manuscript also went through a series of reviews, and the maps were subsequently carefully researched and compiled as original documents in their own right. The result is a volume that takes its place in the first round of the historical analysis of the events described. More definitive studies will undoubtedly follow, as ever more documents are assessed. But this book is intended to bridge that gap, and I commend it to all readers interested in the current and future role of American ground forces.

Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders - 383pgs.
by Robert W. Coakley

A survey of the use of federal forces, including federalized militia and National Guard, in domestic disturbances, with special emphasis on legal and Constitutional issues.

Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812 - 1,080pgs.
by Benson J. Lossing (printed in 1869)

The author of this volume said to the readers of his PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION, at the close of that work, "Should time deal gently with us, we may again go out with staff and scrip together upon the great highway of our country's progress, to note the march of events there." The implied promise has been fulfilled. The author has traveled more than ten thousand miles in this country and in the Canada's, with note-book and pencil in hand, visiting places of historic interest connected with the War of 1812, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, gathering up, recording, and delineating everything of special value, not found in books, illustrative of the subject, and making himself familiar with the topography and incidents of the battlefields of that war. Access to the archives of governments, state and national, and to private collections, was freely given him; and from the lips of actors in the events of that struggle he received the most interesting information concerning it, which might have perished with them. The results of the author's researches and labors are given in this volume. The narrative of historic events is resumed where his work on the Revolution left it. An account is given of the perils of the country immediately succeeding the Revolution; the struggles of the new nation with the allied powers of British and Indians in the Northwest; the origin and growth of political parties in the United States, and their relations to the War of 1812; the influence of the French Revolution and French politics in giving complexion to parties in this country; the first war with the Barbary Powers; the effects of the wars of Napoleon on the public policy of the United States; the Embargo and kindred acts, and the kindling of the war in 1812. The events of the war are given in greater detail than in any work hitherto published, and the narrative brings to view actors in the scenes whose deeds have been overlooked by the historian. The work is a continuation of the history of our country from the close of the Revolution in 1783 to the end of the Second War with Great Britain in 1815.

The Mexican War: A History of Its Origin - 377pgs.
by Edward D. Mansfield (printed 1848)

The Mexican War: a history of its origin, and a detailed account of the victories which terminated in the surrender of the capital; with the official dispatches of the generals. To which is added, the treaty of peace, and valuable tables of the strength and losses of the United States Army.

The Spanish - American War: The Events of the War Described by Eye Witnesses (1899) - 233pgs. Illustrated

CONTENTS

How the War Began
Preliminary Incidents
With Dewey At Manila
Matanzas and Cienfuegos
The Bombardment of San Juan
Hobson and the Merrimac
Landing at Guantanamo
The Battles of Las Guasimas, San Juan, and El Caney
With Grimes' Battery
Destruction of Cevera's Fleet Witnessed from the Brooklyn
Destruction of Cevera's Fleet as Seen From the New York
Surrender of Santiago
The Puerto Rican Campaign
The Fall of Manila
Peace

U.S. Military Intelligence Story - A Photographic History - 168pgs.

Published by the Defense Department, Army, United States Army Intelligence and Security Command, Office of the Chief of Staff, History Office. Uses the medium of photography to trace the beginning of the various intelligence disciplines. Shows the major transformations undergone by the Army's intelligence components in the 1970's. Provides the reader with an overview of modern military intelligence activities in the 1980's and 1990's. Contains appendices with lists of intelligence milestones, past and present senior intelligence officers, and members of the MI Hall of Fame.