Military History Commons^™

Writing The Official History Of The Joint Intelligence Committee, Michael Goodman

Secrecy and Society

This article recounts the experience of a professional historian in being given the keys to the kingdom: access to the classified vaults of Britain’s Joint Intelligence Committee. This article includes some of the problems in having access, but complying with the sensitivities around official accounts, difficulties in writing a global history, or trying to make the work of a committee interesting and accessible, and of trying to determine the impact of intelligence on policy.

Remembering The Violence Of Antietam, Cameron T. Saures

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Saturday, September 8th, saw a powerful collaboration between the Civil War Institute, Antietam National Battlefield, Eastern National, and Shepherd University. Together, these organizations hosted an event titled “Remembering the Violence of Antietam” which had a morning session at Shepherd University’s Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education. Those fortunate enough to have secured a seat in the auditorium were treated to a thought-provoking and informative string of talks. The afternoon session took place at different sites around Antietam National Battlefield. [excerpt]

Back In Formation: Presenting The 2018-2019 Cwi Fellows, Olivia Ortman

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

With the new academic year off to a racing start, the Civil War Institute Fellows are back and ready to muster in. Veterans, Ryan Bilger ’19, Savannah Labbe ’19, Jonathan Tracey ’19, and Zachary Wesley ’20 will be joined by new recruits, James Goodman ’20, Elizabeth Hobbs ’21, Benjamin Hutchison ’21, Benjamin Roy ’21, Cameron Sauers ’21, and Isaac Shoop ’21. Everyone is eager to begin working on their new projects and sharing history with all of you. [excerpt]

The Tet Offensive: Are We Mired In A Stalemate?, Colin A. Sawyer

Grand Valley Journal of History

The Tet Offensive of 1968 is commonly looked at as the "turning point" of the American Vietnam War. This leads to the question "what did the American and South Vietnamese militaries think about this 'turning point'?" Using the reports to the White House from General Westmoreland and the retrospective work by Colonel Hoang Ngoc Lung, the conclusion can be reached that the Tet Offensive did not change the military's perception on the course of the conflict.

Trampling Mrs. Lee’S Roses: Union Soldiers At Arlington, Savannah Labbe

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

“I would not stir from this house even if the whole Northern Army were to surround it,” wrote Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee, wife of Robert E. Lee, to her daughter, Eleanor Agnes Lee on May 5, 1861. The Civil War was still in its infancy when Mary Lee wrote this letter, having begun a month earlier on April 12, 1861. Her husband had already sided with the Confederacy but there had not been much fighting yet. Even still, Mary Lee’s life was changing and would continue to change irrevocably throughout the war, especially in relation to Arlington House. Arlington …

Finding Meaning In Land, Keira B. Koch

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This post is the final one of a series featuring behind-the-scenes dispatches from our Pohanka Interns on the front lines of history this summer as interpreters, archivists, and preservationists. See here for the introduction to the series.

This summer, I had the privilege of interning at the Civil War Defenses of Washington, in Washington D.C. The Civil War Defenses of Washington is unique within the National Park system. Unlike most historical and military parks, the Civil War Defenses of Washington has no central location or site. Rather, the park is made up of nineteen different fort sites used in defense …

Captain Medorem Crawford’S 1862 Military Escort Emigration Report, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

An 1862 report of Capt. Medorem Crawford, U.S. Army, Assistant Quartermaster. An account of a military-accompanied emigrant road expedition from Omaha, Nebraska Territory to Portland, Oregon. Includes insights into Civil War conditions on the Overland Trail.

The Moral Fog Of War: Vietnam Through Cracked Reformed Glasses, Sylvan Gerritsma

Pro Rege

Editor’s Note: A version of this article was published in the proceedings of a biennial conference of the Association for the Advancement of Dutch American Studies (DUTCH AMERICANS AND WAR: UNITED STATED AND ABROAD, edited by Robert Swierenga, et.al., Van Raalte Press, 2014. They have granted us permission to publish this version, though we are responsible for any errors not in the original publication. Also, a part of this article was published in Christian Courier, November 14, 2016, no. 3044, which also gives us permission to publish, though we assume responsibility for all errors from the original.

The Distant Early Warning Line: Geographies, Infrastructures, And Environments Of Warning, Jordan Steingard

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line was a Cold War era project aimed at providing advanced warning of incoming Soviet attack via the northern periphery of Canada and the United States. The Line was comprised of radar stations across the 69th parallel, spanning from Western Alaska to Baffin Island, about 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Academic institutions and research labs, private corporations, and military entities collaborated to develop the DEW Line.

The domes used to shield the radar from the extreme terrain were designed by architectural icon Buckminster Fuller, who was elaborating upon a symbolic language of security …

The Mclean House: Symbol Of Reunification Or Surrender Grounds?, Carolyn Hauk

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This post is part of a series featuring behind-the-scenes dispatches from our Pohanka Interns on the front lines of history this summer as interpreters, archivists, and preservationists. See here for the introduction to the series.

While enjoying live music in a small coffee shop nestled in historic Appomattox, Virginia, a local asked me where I was from and what had brought me here this summer. Mine was a new face among the Friday night crowd and I expected some curious glances. However, when I explained that I was working at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, I was surprised to …

Richmond National Battlefield Park, Albert Wilson

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This post is part of a series featuring behind-the-scenes dispatches from our Pohanka Interns on the front lines of history this summer as interpreters, archivists, and preservationists. See here for the introduction to the series.

Richmond National Battlefield Park consists of thirteen sites around Richmond that document the battles for control of the Confederate capital. Several of the park sites feature earthworks; at Fort Harrison the earthen wall of the fort towers twenty feet over the ditch below, by the Totopotomoy Creek the earthworks have been eroded to barely a few inches in height. But the most infamous earthworks are …

Andersonville’S Providence Spring, Maci Mark

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This post is part of a series featuring behind-the-scenes dispatches from our Pohanka Interns on the front lines of history this summer as interpreters, archivists, and preservationists. See here for the introduction to the series.

At Andersonville National Historic Site there is not much left of what was here in 1864 when this site operated as a prison, aside from the earthworks, which now have pleasant green grass growing on them. The petrified stumps of the original stockade do still remain in the ground, but otherwise the park is a quaint pretty scene of rolling hills with tall grass. The …

The Remnants Of The Crater, Claire Bickers

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This post is part of a series featuring behind-the-scenes dispatches from our Pohanka Interns on the front lines of history this summer as interpreters, archivists, and preservationists. See here for the introduction to the series.

In the final years of the Civil War, the Army of the Potomac laid siege to Petersburg, Virginia. Petersburg was the center of supply for both the city of Richmond and Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, and Grant understood that he could cripple the Confederate army by capturing the city. He hoped to end the battle quickly, but through a series of missteps and complicated …

“Pretty Well Swiss Cheese”: The Innis House And The Battle Of Fredericksburg, Zachary A. Wesley

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This post is part of a series featuring behind-the-scenes dispatches from our Pohanka Interns on the front lines of history this summer as interpreters, archivists, and preservationists. See here for the introduction to the series.

A sea of houses and alleys covers the bloody path taken by seven Union divisions during the Battle of Fredericksburg. Nevertheless, a silent witness remains before the Sunken Road: the Innis House, one of two wartime properties owned by Martha Stephens is still standing today. It is not an impressive structure at first glance. The building stands at only one-and-a-half stories tall and consists of …

Notes On Canadian Units And Formations Engaged: Battles Of The Somme, March-April 1918, Archer Fortescue Duguid

Canadian Military History

Although the Canadian Corps did not participate directly in the German Spring Offensives that began on 21 March 1918, detached Canadian cavalry, artillery, and motor machine gun units serving with British divisions played important roles at various points in the battles. In one of the better known instances, Canadian cavalry were instrumental in delaying a German drive on 30 March south of Amiens at Moreuil Wood where, in one of the most dramatic cavalry actions of the war, Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew led a mounted charge with sabres drawn. For that action, he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

Le Corps …

The Shifting Meaning Of The Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road, Lillian Shea

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This post is part of a series featuring behind-the-scenes dispatches from our Pohanka Interns on the front lines of history this summer as interpreters, archivists, and preservationists. See here for the introduction to the series.

The part of the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road running through Appomattox Court House holds various meanings for those that have used it through the years. The early 19th-century inhabitants of Appomattox Court House viewed it as the source of prosperity for the town. By connecting the two wealthy cities of Richmond and Lynchburg, it ensured a steady flow of traffic that would spur construction of the …

Antietam’S Dunker Church: Meaning In The Viewpoint Of The Beholder, Ryan Bilger

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This post is part of a series featuring behind-the-scenes dispatches from our Pohanka Interns on the front lines of history this summer as interpreters, archivists, and preservationists. See here for the introduction to the series.

Antietam National Battlefield’s venerable Dunker Church stands out today as one of the battlefield’s most recognizable landmarks. While visitors to the park commonly seek it out as a place to explore today, the church has held several different meanings for those who have interacted with it over the years. These varying perspectives on the simple white brick structure provide great insight into how material objects …

Doors Into The Past, Emily Vega

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This post is part of a series featuring behind-the-scenes dispatches from our Pohanka Interns on the front lines of history this summer as interpreters, archivists, and preservationists. Seehere for the introduction to the series.

Submerged into the side of a grassy hill are two large white doors. As one looks at Fort Stevens from a distance, the doors seem misplaced. They randomly appear in a visitor’s line of sight as he/she examines the curves and dips of the earthwork before them. But these doors tell a much more interesting story than might be expected. To the left of these …

To Forgive Or Not To Forgive? A Reappraisal Of Vietnam War Evaders And Deserters In President Gerald Ford's Clemency Program, Courtney Carver

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In 1974, President Ford began the arduous task of healing the wounds sustained by the United States during the Vietnam War. His controversial clemency plan gave those who had either deserted the military or those who evaded the draft the chance to earn their way back into American society. President Ford was willing to face this opposition to move the country closer to resolving an issue that was tearing the nation apart. In the applications to Ford’s Presidential Clemency Board, thousands of deserters and evaders reveal their motivations, and in doing so present a large body of evidence that contradicts …

Thietmar Of Merseburg's Views On Clerical Warfare, Benjamin Joseph Wand

Dissertations and Theses

The tenth-century German bishop was more than just a spiritual leader, he was also a territorial lord with secular power. These bishops also lived in an environment where violence was sometimes a way of life. His culture contained a social dynamic that saw violence as a tool for defending and maintaining honor and as a mechanism for dispute resolution. Therefore, some bishops behaved violently, either to defend their diocese from threats or to serve their own political intrigues. In some instances bishops were said to be more skilled in warfare than secular lords. However, while some clergy participated in warfare …