American Military History

American Military Historycuts to the heart of each war or military campaign in American history. Originally designed with future United States Army officers in mind, this is a true nuts and bolts approach to military history. Volume 1 of this landmark work offers a unique opportunity to learn the principles of war as seen by the current U.S. military leadership. The smaller campaigns and simpler world of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are utilized by the authors to go into greater depth on the principles of war followed or violated by American commanders during the early wars from the Revolution to the War with Spain. A fascinating introduction discusses in depth the nine principles of war currently recognized by the U.S. Army. This is history as few outside of professional military circles have seen it before. American history is presented from a new perspective, beginning with the War of Independence. Some readers will learn for the first time how lesser-known battles like Oriskany and King’s Mountain decisively shaped subsequent military thinking, how supply oversights helped doom Burgoyne at Saratoga, or how Nathanael Greene set the stage for Cornwallis’ defeat by violating European military principles to meet the conditions for the American frontier. Volume 1 ends with the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer Rebellion, with the United States on the brink of its twentieth century role as a world power. The account of the War with Spain candidly examines the Army’s lack of preparedness in contrast to the Navy, and the Importance of the Navy’s role in the campaign. The Philippine involvement is placed in the context of America’s growing interest in the Pacific, and the Boxer Rebellion is presented as the first time since 1781 that Americans had participated in a multi-national force, the harbinger of things to come. American Military History was originally designed by the U.S. Army’s Office of Military History for the instruction of officer cadets and other military personnel. 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 of the Persian Gulf War by Dr. Albert A. Nofi and others.