Military History
Sources in the Blume Library and on the Web

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In the Library

Gen. Ref. Books/Series • Specific topics • Agencies
On the Web: Major Sites • Subject Index headings

(NOTE: Call numbers given after each title are in the Main Floor Federal Documents Collection, unless preceded by a REF or FIRST or THIRD FLOOR designation.)

General reference books and series

American Military History. (D 114.19:M 59/3). 2005. This two-volume textbook developed by the Army's Center of Military History provides a brief but comprehensive review of the subject. Volume 1 covers 1775-1917 and Volume 2, 1917-2003.

Black Americans in Defense of Our Nation (D 1.2:B 56/991) and Hispanics in America's Defense (D 1.2:H 62/2/989). These volumes discuss the contributions of these ethnic groups in general as well as giving specific biographical information on outstanding individuals, including Medal of Honor Winners, general officers, etc.

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. (D 207.10: )  (A volunteer group maintains an online version of this title.)  This 8-volume set gives histories of Continental Navy and U.S. Navy ships, in alphabetical order. Information given includes technical description of the vessel, builders' information, commissioning date, first commander, and concise operational record, as well as for what person, place or other object the ship was named.

Guide to the Study and Use of Military History. (D 114.12:St 9). 1982. Covers all of world history. Includes a bibliographical guide and lists of journals and reference works.

Medal of Honor Recipients, 1863-1978. (Y 4.V 64/4:M 46/3/863-978). Contains citations for all awards of the medal grouped by war, campaign or historical era. The Army Center of Military History has an online listing of citations that is more up to date than this printed edition.

U.S. Air Force Reference Series. (D 301.82/5: ). Volumes of reference information. Some representative titles: Air Force Bases, Post World-War II Fighters, Air Force Combat Medals, etc.

Reference sources and series dealing with specific conflicts
Revolutionary War
  • Naval Documents of the American Revolution. (D 207.12: ). This 10-volume set, arranged chronologically, contains letters, newspaper articles, official documents and other material relating to the Navy's role in the Revolution.
  • Revolutionary America, 1763-89: a Bibliography. (LC 1.12/2: R 32/4/763-789). A guide to the Library of Congress' most valuable printed primary and secondary works on the period, published through 1984. The listings are arranged topically, but there is a detailed index.

Civil War

  • War of the Rebellion; a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies. (THIRD FLOOR E 464 .U61). Massive (129 volumes) compilation of the official records of both armies. It was edited by War Dept. historians and published at the end of the 1800's.

World War I

  • American Armies and Battlefields in Europe (D 114.2:AR 5/4, Y 3.Am 3:B 32/938). Subtitled "A History, Guide and Reference Book," this volume details World War I battles involving Americans by region, using narrative, maps and photographs. Detailed directions to and descriptions of the battlefields are given (and their conditions as of the publication date--1938--which should be noted). Subsequent chapters review American military cemeteries and monuments in Europe, as well as giving miscellaneous information such as unit insignia and various statistics on the forces.
  • Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War (D 114.2:B 32). This multivolume set is a facsimile reprint (1988) of the original 1937 publication which details the operations of American Forces in the "Great War." There are narrative sections describing events, tables of information such as lists of units participating in particular actions, organization charts, and other details. Each volume begins with a brief guide to its use.
  • U.S. Army in the World War. (D 114.8: ). In 17 volumes, this set provides a selection of records (some transcribed, some facsimiles) dealing with the buildup and employment of the American Expeditionary Force. It is organized topically, with volumes covering Organization, Policies, Training, Military Operations, Armistice, Occupation, Reports, General Orders and Bulletins. There is no index, but a detailed table of contents in each volume.
World War II
  • Army Air Forces in World War II. ( THIRD FLOOR D 790.A89 1983). This is a reprint of the 1948 edition, which was prepared by Air Force Historians. Volumes 1-3 cover the European theatre, volumes 4-5 the Pacific. Concluding volumes are: Men and Planes, and Services around the World. Each volume contains voluminous notes and a detailed index.
  • U.S. Army in World War II. (THIRD FLOOR D 769.A533; also D 114.7: ). This comprehensive set contains several topical sub-series and volumes, covering different theatres of the war and special topics. The information is primarily given in narrative form, but there are also biographical sketches and listings of various kinds. Each volume has a detailed index. The most complete run of the volumes held by the Library is in the 3rd floor collection; to see a listing of the volumes we own, perform a CALL NUMBER search in the Online Catalog using the number D 769.A533. To see which volumes are in the Documents stacks (a few are also in electronic format) perform a SUDOCS or GOVT. DOCUMENT NUMBER search using D 114.7: .

Vietnam

  • Honor Bound: The History of American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973 (D 1.2:H 75/3). This volume draws upon research in official records, published literature and interviews with former POW's to chart the history of those taken prisoner during the Vietnam conflict. There is a companion volume: The Long Road Home: U.S. Prisoner of War Policy and Planning in Southeast Asia (D 1.2:P 93/5) which focuses on the policy aspects of the POW issue.
  • U.S. Air Force in Southeast Asia. (D 301.86, 86/2:). Some sample titles: Last Flight from Saigon (D 301.86:4/6), Air Force Heroes in Vietnam (D 301.86:7/9), Interdiction in Sourthern Laos (D 301.86/2:L 78).

Persian Gulf War

  • Conduct of the Persian Gulf War (D 1.2:P43/2). This report was made to Congress in accordance with the requirements of the law authorizing the war. It provides historical and diplomatic background information and details on the conflict by type of mission (air, maritime, ground). Half of the volume is composed of appendices giving information such as the names of those killed in the fighting, assessments of the performance of logistics, special operations and reserve units, and the role of women in the conflict. There is a glossary but, regrettably, no index to the volume.

Some agencies producing information of interest.Since the previous section offers only a selection of the major titles available, you may find other publications of interest under the following classification numbers:

On the Web

Major Sites

Research in Military Records. This sub-section of the Genealogy pages at the National Archives web site provides links to information from a list of specific conflicts, which are arranged chronologically. Some of the links lead to descriptions of NARA's archival holdings (some of which are available online) dealing with that period; others provide detailed descriptions of the conflict as well. A link to "More Military Resource Links" at the bottom of the main page, leads to an impressive collection of links to information elsewhere on the NARA website as well as on other government sites.

A related site with extensive information on combatants in wars back to World War II is the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, which has background information and databases of personnel.

Air Force Museum. Much of the information on this web site is arranged in a collection of "galleries." One set of these pages features aircraft, with pictures and descriptions arranged by era. A set of "Special Galleries" leads to information about people, historical periods, aircraft engines, particular weapons, etc. The website offers a search feature.

Naval Historical Center. This web page links to information about the Center's various programs, including ordering information for their publications, as well as an extensive collection of naval history links. There are also links to the Center's various branches, which include a Photographic Section and a Navy Art Gallery that both offer online images and exhibitions. The Ships History and Naval Aviation History branches also have substantial online content. The site gives information for visitors (hours, restrictions, etc.) for all of the Center's facilities.

 U.S. Army Center of Military History. In addition to detailed information such as the history of specific Army units and citations of Congressional Medal of Honor winners, there is a great deal of general historical information available through this website. Under their "Online Bookshelves" you can access their various series of publications, as well as general "Research Materials," arranged by chronological period. There is also a substantial online gallery of artworks and photographs, links to various Army museums and a site search feature.

U.S. Marine Corps History and Museums Division. This site gives information for visitors to the Division's facilities, as well as information on Marine traditions and operations. The "Frequently Requested" link leads to reference material, such as listings of top officers and honors, casualty counts by conflict, chronologies, and information on special topics, such as the Navajo code talkers of World War II. There is also a collection of Marine Corps art and links to related sites, such as the Marine Corps Heritage Center.

For general current (and recent historical) information on the U.S. military, Defenselink is a good source, especially their "Publications" and "Special Reports" sections.

The U.S. Army has this Army Heritage Collection Online which allows searching and browsing of their collections of manuscripts, archives, photographs, artifacts, and publications. You may also search their catalog, but many of the items in it have not yet been digitized. Another useful feature are detailed resource guides and finding aids to the collections.

Southern Methodist University in Dallas has an extensive collection of digitized government publications dealing with World War II.

Government Information on the Web Subject Index

In addition to the major government websites described above, headings listed below might lead you to useful information in these specific areas:
American Revolution   Iran   Pearl Harbor
Armed Forces   Iran-Contra   Pentagon
Arms Control   Iraq   Persian Gulf War
Army...   Japanese-American Internment   Ships
Balkans   Joint Chiefs of Staff   Special Forces/Warfare
Bosnia   Korean War   Taliban
Buffalo Soldiers   Prisoners of War/Missing Personnel   Terrorism
Civil War   Marine Corps, U.S.   Vietnam War 
Coast Guard  Military/Defense   War Crimes
Cold War Naval History   War of 1812
Confederate States of America Navy, U.S.   War/Warfare

 World War I, II