American Military History

Newspaper accounts of the Philippine-American War (Library of Congress Chronicling America)

Naval battles of the War of 1898

Troops landing at Daiquiri, Cuba

Some links for your consideration:

Matthew Pearl, “K Troop,” Slate 3/4/16

The Army and Reconstruction, 1865-1877 (Army Center of Military History)

Little Bighorn National Monument (National Park Service)

Wounded Knee Massacre (1890) Primary Source Set from Digital Public Library of America

A Civil War Soldier’s Equipment

Civil War Rations

Infantry Tactics

Battle of First Manassas (Bull Run) 16-21 July 1861

Summary of Eastern Theater

Summary of 1862

Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam), Maryland – 17 Sept 1862

Battle of Fredericksburg – 11-13 Dec 1862

Battle of Buena Vista late February 1847 (animation, 16:47)

Contemporary legacies: Mexican Americans still fighting land claims from the 1846 treaty era (ABC News Nightline)

Lots to cover in this early 19th century era! Some useful links and resources:

“Fighters to the End,” about the bitter rivalry between Sylvanus Thayer and Alden Partridge.

Ships of Sail (US Navy. Explore frigates, brigs, and sloops). The only remaining US Navy sailing ship in commission is the USS Constitution. See for example, the USS Constitution‘s Battle Record (our source for last time’s letters describing battle with HMS Java, Dec 1812)

1821 Army Regulation Manual, authored by Gen. Winfield Scott

A Soldier Recalls the Cherokee Trail of Tears (1838, written in 1890)

Maj Gen Scott’s Military Order No. 25 regarding Cherokee removal, 1838

Seven Years’ War – Battle scene (Barry Lyndon, 1975)

Flintlock musket demo (a British reenactor demonstrating top speed for re-loading a “British Brown Bess”-style flintlock musket & getting 3 shots off in 46 seconds)

Flintlock Loading (slower motion, FYI)

American Battlefield Trust – Bunker Hill (this organization has created many such 4-minute explainers, they’re all quite good)

Revolutionary War Battles, interactive maps and other resources from American Battlefield Trust

Mount Vernon, Yorktown Battle Animation (there’s also a Winter Patriot film covering the winter of 1776-1777 and the battles of Trenton and Princeton)

Watch and take notes on this 5-minute clip from the 2006 Spanish film Alatriste, depicting Spanish tercio (“pike and shot”) formations against French forces during the Battle of Rocroi in 1643, during the Thirty Years’ War. Rocroi was fought in the Ardennes region of northern France.

Questions to consider:

What equipment are the soldiers using?
What tactics does each side employ?
How do forces communicate on the battlefield?
How does this depiction differ from paintings made of the battle? For example …

In the late 1600s by Savuer Le Conte

Or in 1834 by Francois Joseph Heim

Links to Explore:

Jamestown Fort 1607 (Virginia)
Pequot War, 1636-1637 (Connecticut)
Overview of Iroquois Wars (“Beaver Wars”) 1640-1701 (Great Lakes Region / Eastern Canada)
Pueblo Revolt 1680, a firsthand account from the Spanish (present-day New Mexico)
Narrative of Mary Rowlandson, a New England Puritan captive during King Philips’ War 1675
Lachine Massacre, 1689 (Montreal, New France)

Hello and welcome to the course!

Our first class meeting will take place Tues, Jan 18 in Sullivan 314.

Please make sure you do the following in Week 1.

• Read the syllabus. Several times.
• Familiarize yourself with the Blackboard set-up and bookmark the course website.
• Obtain the textbook by Glatthaar, The American Military: A Concise History — from campus bookstore or rent/buy online.
• Download the 2-volume textbook, American Military History as free PDFs — see links in the sidebar or under “Getting Started” on Blackboard.
• Contribute to the Day 1 introduction discussion board by 11:59 pm on Jan 18.
• Read the assigned chapters for Jan 18 and 20. Take notes and define the syllabus terms as you read.
• Sign up to present 2 different chapters, on the Google spreadsheet linked on Blackboard and the course website, by Jan 21 at 11:59 pm.
• Got questions? Put them on the Troubleshooting discussion board, or email me at thangen@worcester.edu

Finally, yes — this class has a significant reading load. I’ve identified key terms in each chapter on the syllabus for each day, which should help you know what to look for as you read, and the peer chapter presentations starting next week will also help make sense of the readings. I’ll have more to say about how to read the textbooks in our early days together — don’t let the length of these books concern you too much at this point.

We have (almost!) made it through a truly strange and historic semester. Thank you for your patience and persistence as we adjusted and readjusted to all the changing circumstances and new realities.

Some reminders for this last week:

I will update grades in Blackboard for all your submitted work over the next week, hopefully with final grades in place by the 11th or 12th.

If you need an extension for any classwork beyond that point, please email me to make arrangements and discuss options.

You have until May 22 to decide if you want to take this class pass/fail. Forms for that can be found in the student portal of WSU under worcester.edu/registrar. I do not know, and do not need to be informed, whether you are taking this class P/F or not — it’s between you and the registrar.

I have posted the third and final Discussion Forum. Your post (worth 10 points) is due by the end of day (11:59 pm) on Wed May 6. This forum takes the place of an online class on Tuesday the 5th.

The Final Exam will be available at 6 am on Thursday, May 7, and is due by 11:59 pm same day.

Questions on the final will be drawn from syllabus vocabulary terms and from questions in the Guided Notes provided for Volume 2, Chapters 2-15 and The American Military, pp. 68-127. The final is open book, open resource, open internet, and open note. However, I will give priority grading to answers that use the resources provided on Blackboard and the course website, and that are thoughtfully crafted in your own words . Responses that cut-and-paste directly from internet content, including from Wikipedia, will receive no credit.

Please email me with any questions or concerns.

Best wishes ~ Dr. Hangen