History of the United States Army

Macmillan Wars of the United States

by Russell F. Weigley

Traces the strategic and ideological development of the United States Army as an institution from the seventeenth century to the present "Age of Overkill"

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Military History, American History, Nonfiction

688 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1967

About the author

Russell Frank Weigley, PhD, was the Distinguished University Professor of History at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a noted military historian. His research and teaching interests centered on American and world military history, World War II, and the American Civil War. One of Weigley's most widely received contributions to research is his hypothesis of a specifically American Way of War, i.e. an approach to strategy and military operations, that, while not predetermined, is distinct to the United States because of cultural and historical constraints.

Weigley was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on July 2, 1930. He graduated from Albright College in 1952, attended the University of Pennsylvania for his masters degree and doctorate, and wrote his dissertation under Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, Roy F. Nichols. It was published as Quartermaster General of the Union Army: A Biography of M.C. Meigs (Columbia University Press, 1959). After receiving his degree, Weigley taught at Penn from 1956 to 1958, and from 1958 to 1962 at Drexel University. Then he joined the faculty at Temple as an associate professor and remained until his retirement in 1998 as Distinguished University Professor. The school considered him the heart and soul of the History department, and at one point he had over 30 PhD candidates working under him concurrently. He also was a visiting professor at Dartmouth College and the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Weigley's graduate teaching emphasized military history defined in a broadly comprehensive way, including operational, combat history but also extending to the larger issues of war and its significance; to the history of ideas about war, peace, and the armed forces; and to the place of the soldier in the state and in society.

Weigley was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, 1969-70. He received the Athenaeum of Philadelphia Award for Non-Fiction in 1983 and the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize of the American Military Institute in 1989. His Age of Battles received the Distinguished Book Award of the Society for Military History for 1992 for a work in non-American military history. He has served as President of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the American Military Institute. In recognition of his scholarly achievements, Weigley was named Distinguished University Professor at Temple in 1985.

- from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although published during the Vietnam war, Weigley's work remains the standard for histories of the US army. He argues that the army only became fully professional after the Civil War and that they set the grounds for today's army after the Spanish American War. He also emphasizes the nation's reluctance to field a professional army and his survey of each American epoch includes discussions of logistics, command structure, and leadership including civilian leadership.

[Jerry D. Vanvactor, DHA · Rating 4 out of 5]

This amazing book should be a required read for all senior NCOs and Field Grade officers within the Army. Written, not from a battles and campaigns perspective, but an organizational leadership approach, Weigley walks the reader "soup to nuts" through what trials and tribulations have faced our force. Warts and all, the author asks readers to consider the organizational foundation of our Army and challenges us to look beyond what caused potential problem areas and look for opportunities for continued growth. The book was published in 1984, so for contemporary officers, there are volumes of history that are not included. Debatedly, though, to understand the organization now we must first know from whence our Army originated. This book was recommended to me by another senior officer (USMA graduate) and I appreciate his recommendation. Again, I would encourage other field grade and senior NCO leaders to take the time necessary to read this book. This book should then be included among discussions with junior officers when offering mentorship and professional development.