US Army

by

Bartosz Kruszyński

• LAST REVIEWED: 27 February 2019
• LAST MODIFIED: 27 February 2019
• DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199791279-0183

Introduction

The tradition of the US Army dates back to the era of patrimony of the Continental army, which was established on June 14, 1775. Topics related to land troops of the US Army are very complex and involve many substantial threads from the 18th to the 21st century. Publications on this subject can be divided into articles published in scientific journals, popular-science articles, and books. The books on the army can be further divided into synthesis (general overviews), anthologies, encyclopedias and dictionaries, autobiographies and biographies (personal and collective), journalistic reports, and monographs. In terms of thematic monographs, there are monographs of individual battles, campaigns, wars, intervention units, doctrines, and weapons. Autobiographies and biographies relate specifically to leaders of the US Army, and in doing so highlight related topics of the US Army’s evolution and history. Encyclopedias and dictionaries of armed conflicts focus on concepts or people. Journalistic reports apply to individual campaigns. These publications represent the achievements of military institutions connected with the US Army, analytical centers, think-tanks, and independent researchers. The most valuable publications, in terms of the merit, are those issued by the US universities and research institutions associated with the US Army, including the official US Army Center of Military History.

General Overviews

Among the works devoted to the overall history of the US Army (synthesis), the edited works Stewart 2009 and Stewart 2010 are very valuable. The contributors to these volumes present the history of the American Land Forces from 1775 till 2008. In both volumes, the events are presented with numerous maps and illustrations. Richly illustrated popular-science publications in Bluhm 2012 and Giangreco 2011 are also valuable. Both portray the development of the US Army on the basis of a large iconography. Weigley 1960 makes an analysis of the American military strategy in relation to politics from 1775 to the Vietnam War.

• Bluhm, Raymond. U.S. Army: A Complete History. Universe Publishing, New York, 2012.

  A popular-science publication with nearly one thousand pages. It is lavishly illustrated and meticulously prepared. It is designed for people who are beginning to study the development of the US Army.

• Giangreco, D. M. United States Army: The Definitive Illustrated History. New York: Sterling, 2011.

  Although this publication has the popular-science character, it is worth noting for its expansive treatment of the US Army. The book presents the US Army on the basis of the iconography—photography and drawings—which are very well prepared and presented.

• Stewart, Richard W., ed. American Military History. Vol. 1, The United States Army and the Forging of a Nation, 1775–1917. Washington, DC: Center of Military History United States Army, 2009.

  The first volume of the popular-science publication that focuses on the US Army from 1775 to 1917. Valuable due to the synthetic scope of major events, substance, and high quality.

• Stewart, Richard W., ed. American Military History. Vol. 2, The United States Army in a Global Era, 1917–2008. Washington, DC: Center of Military History United States Army, 2010.

  The second part of the Center of Military History publication. An encompassing approach to the history of the US Army from its involvement in the First World War to the global war on terrorism. A good starting point for those beginning research on a particular subject.

• Weigley F. Russell. The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1960.

  Analysis of the formation of US military strategy, based on a study of selected cases from the beginnings of the American military to the atomic era. A publication strongly recommended.