Military History Commons^™

Beneath The Mulberry Tree: Sarah Edmonds And Women In Memory, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

In her memoir Nurse and Spy in the Union Army, Sarah Emma Edmonds, a woman fighting in the Union Army disguised as a man, employed florid diction and a subtle romantic flare to illustrate an emotional and confounding moment in the aftermath of the Battle of Antietam: discovering another woman undercover. Edmonds writes of the “pale, sweet face of a youthful soldier,” of a boy trembling from blood loss who, she knew, had only a few more minutes on earth. He tasted his last sip of water, and with his remaining breaths the soldier beckoned Edmonds closer and uttered a …

From Xst To F-117a, Alan Brown

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

Learn the remarkable story of stealth technology from the man often referred to as “Mr. Stealth.” From 1975-1989 Alan Brown was a member of Lockheed “Skunk Works”, becoming program manager & chief engineer for the F-117A Stealth Fighter from initial concept until the first production aircraft was built, 1978 to 1982. Hear the inside story of the many challenges faced by the stealth program and how they were solved.

Wedding Family Papers (Sc 3053), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 3053. Miscellaneous papers of the Wedding family of Ohio County, Kentucky: “A Soldier’s Valentine,” a Spanish-American War-era poem by C. L. Wedding; clippings, including article about the poem and obituary of Denver E. Wedding; 1942 Hopkins County Rationing Board notice appointing Christine Wedding as a registrar; and 1942 letter to Christine Wedding from a serviceman’s wife regarding his departure overseas. For Spanish-American War related material in this collection, click on "Additional Files" below.

Bowling Green Civil War Round Table Newsletter (Sept. 2016), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Bowling Green Civil War Round Table Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Overview History Of The Nrotc Unit, Brendan J. O’Donnell, Usn (Ret)

75th Anniversary of NROTC at Holy Cross

This historical overview of the Naval ROTC Unit at the College of the Holy Cross was prepared for the 75th anniversary of the Unit's establishment in 1941. It summarizes three distinct eras and calls attention to transition points in the Unit’s history: the Vietnam War crisis in 1970 and 1971, the introduction of women to the Unit, the transition from a Holy Cross-only Unit to one based on the Worcester Consortium for Higher Education, the Peace Dividend years of the 1990s, the role of the Marine Officer Instructor, and the value of a liberal arts education.

An End To Slavery In The Confederacy: One Of The Civil War's Greatest "What-Ifs", Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

A few weeks ago one of our readers posted a comment on one of our blog posts asking for a “best guess” as to when slavery would have ended in the South had the Confederacy been successful in winning its independence. There is, of course, no easy answer to this question, as counter-factual history is just that: not factual. However, the question is an important one that deserves attention and at the very least can be used to explore some ways in which slavery can be contextualized in the Civil War era.

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Ten Weeks At Manassas, Kevin P. Lavery

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

My heart was pounding, my breath was shallow, and I wanted nothing more than to begin so that it would all be over sooner.

No, I was not preparing to jump from a plane. Nothing so dramatic. I was preparing myself to give a tour of Henry Hill detailing the position’s salient importance in the First Battle of Manassas.

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Attitudes About Work And Time In Los Angeles, 1769-1880, Tyler D. Lachman Mr.

Theses

This thesis argues that the industrious Californio people continued to prosper in Los Angeles after statehood in 1850. Certain historians have emphasized the hardworking Californio culture at various points in Los Angeles history. But no one has defended their overall work ethic. Thus, this thesis goes farther than other historians in discrediting the notion that Californio Angelinos died out quickly because they could not sustain success under American leadership.

“Absolutely Incapable Of ‘Carrying On:’” Shell Shock, Suicide, And The Death Of Lieutenant Colonel Sam Sharpe, Matthew Barrett

Canadian Military History

This article examines Canadian social and medical responses to nervous breakdown and suicide in the First World War through the case study of Lieutenant Colonel Sam Sharpe, a Member of Parliament and commander of the 116th Battalion. An historical analysis of Sharpe’s experiences and reaction to war trauma provides wider insights into how shell shock and military suicide represented a potential threat to prewar masculine ideals. Medical and political interpretations of Sharpe’s breakdown initially aimed to preserve social stability and validate the war’s moral justifications but contradictory understandings of shell shock ultimately made for a complicated and unstable process of …

A Summer At Fredspot: Far More Than Answering Phones And Getting Coffee, Jeffrey R. Martin

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Going into this summer, I was not quite sure what to expect at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Part of me suspected that since I was an intern, I would do nothing more than answer phones and get coffee. I was prepared to accept this; after all, I do want to work for the National Park Service someday, and if the only way to get my foot in the door was to do menial tasks for two and a half months, so be it. What I actually experienced, however, was something far different and far better.

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"Throwing Light" On Life At The Wayside, Alexandria J. Andrioli

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Over the course of these past ten weeks, I have come a long way since I started my internship at the beginning of June at Minute Man National Historical Park. This is my second Brian C. Pohanka Internship; last summer, I lived and worked at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. In Harpers Ferry, I was given a lot of responsibility while working for the education department, but at Minute Man, my responsibilities far exceeded just working with children.

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Francophone Enlistment In The Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914–1918: The Evidence, Jean Martin

Canadian Military History

Francophone enlistment during the First World War has been estimated in the past between 35,000 and 50,000, including the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the merchant marine. Information on the language spoken was not recorded at enlistment and those estimates were based on very cautious guesses only. We had suggested in a recent paper (Canadian Historical Review, vol. 96, no. 3) that this participation had been significantly higher, in part due to the contribution of Francophones from outside the province of Quebec. Information have now been extracted from enlistment sheets and one new B database, comprised of 10 …

A Connecticut Yankee In Jeff Davis's Court, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

For the past ten weeks or so, I have been interning at Richmond National Battlefield Park. The experience has been like no other. I began the summer with a few goals. First, I wanted to see if working for the National Park Service was everything that my fellow park geeks said it was. Second, I wanted to enrich my understanding of the Civil War by focusing my study on one particular community’s experience in the Civil War (Richmond). Third, as a born-and-raised New Englander, I wanted to see what it was like to spend a summer in Dixie. Finally, …

Changemakers: Harpers Ferry History Prompts Social Awareness, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

The day after the mass shooting at the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse was a Monday, and I was thoroughly unable to process my emotions or ponder the repercussions of the massacre upon walking into work that morning. I oscillated between bewilderment, grief, hopelessness, anger. My heart was tender. I chose silence as a defense mechanism.

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Ansel Brooks Smith-Mrs. Marie Smith, No Date Noted, France, Ansel Brooks Smith Sr.

Ansel Brooks Smith, Sr. Letters

No abstract provided.

Serving The Public First: Archives 2.0, Matthew D. Laroche

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

The hallmarks of contemporary archival philosophy, known casually as “Archives 2.0,” have everything to do with making archives open, attractive resources for researchers of all persuasions. These rotate around a few main assertions. First, that archivists should endeavor to make their repositories as attractive as possible to users—this means offering friendly, all-inclusive access, being responsive to user desires, being tech-savvy, and leaving some discovery and processing of collections to the researcher. Secondly, modern archiving stresses accessibility—having a standardized way of organizing collections that will be easily understood by visiting researchers, utilizing language familiar to average people for finding aides, and …

Yonder Stands Jackson Beyond Reproach, Kevin P. Lavery

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Yonder, he stands, a lone sentinel of stone amidst the fallow fields of Henry Hill. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, his nom de guerre earned here on the fields of First Manassas, rides tall in the saddle of his steed. The statue’s commanding presence on Henry Hill anchors a memory of that battle that emphasizes the triumph of Jackson, his brigade, and the Confederate army in the defense of Southern soil. It is an embodiment of idealized notions of Southern courage, honor, and martial spirit. At the same time, the monument serves to depoliticize Jackson and the Confederate war effort—yet in doing …

The Civil War And Reconstruction In Mississippi County: The Story Of Sans Souci Plantation, Lonnie R. Strange

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“The Civil War and Reconstruction in Mississippi County: The Story of Sans Souci Plantation” examines Sans Souci plantation in northeast Arkansas and the McGavock-Grider family who lived there as a microcosm of the establishment of other plantations in the Arkansas delta. From the settlement of the plantation in the 1830s to the end of Reconstruction, Sans Souci closely resembles what life was like for other planters and their families in what was then the frontier. John Harding McGavock and his wife Georgia saw their planter status rise throughout the 1850s, but as the Civil War came to Mississippi County, the …

The Poet's Corpus: Memory And Monumentality In Wilfred Owen's "The Show", Charles Hunter Joplin

Master's Theses

Wilfred Owen is widely recognized to be the greatest English “trench poet” of the First World War. His posthumously published war poems sculpt a nightmarish vision of trench warfare, one which enables Western audiences to consider the suffering of the English soldiers and the brutality of modern warfare nearly a century after the armistice. However, critical readings of Owen’s canonized corpus, including “The Show” (1917, 1918), only focus on their hellish imagery. I will add to these readings by demonstrating that “The Show” is primarily concerned with the limitations of lyric poetry, the monumentality of poetic composition, and the difficulties …

Mr. Jefferson's Army In Mr. Madison's War: Atrophy, Policy, And Legacy In The War Of 1812, David Alan Martin

Master's Theses

President Thomas Jefferson is a well-known figure, who is not well understood. His military policies are under-examined in the historiography. Yet, he had a tremendous impact on martial development in the Early Republic. Jefferson reshaped the military to suite his pragmatic republican ideals. His militia system expanded while the regulars were disbanded. The Navy was greatly decreased, and the remainder of his military was used for frontier exploration, riverine trade, road development, and other public works. This disrupted the precedent of strong federal military development as set by his predecessors: George Washington and John Adams. His reforms also left the …