Introduction

The records of the United States Commission on Military History (1973-2002) were donated to Kansas State University by the Commission in 2004. Materials in the collection range in time from the organization's inception in 1973 through the 2002 ICMH Colloquium hosted by the USCMH.

The collection is housed in 10 boxes (15 linear feet) and divided into ten series: 1) By-Laws, 1974-1997; 2) Membership, 1973-1999; 3) Elections, 1973-1999; 4) Correspondence, 1973-2000; 5) United States Commission on Military History Meetings, 1973-2000; 6) International Commission on Military History Meetings, 1965-2002; 7) Financial, 1973-2000; 8) Printed Material, 1974-1999; 9) Other Historical Associations, 1974-2001; and 10) Audiovisual, 1972 and 1992. Photographs have been transferred to the photograph collection of the University Archives. Published materials were also separated from the collection and cataloged for use in the main library.

The USCMH collection is identified by accession number P2004.09. Processing was completed by Diane Soldan, student employee, in June 2004.

Chronology

1938		International Commission of Military History (ICMH) established in Zurich.	

1973		Nine U.S. scholars traveled to ICMH Colloquium in Stockholm, Sweden.

	        United States Commission on Military History (USCMH) established.

	        "Stockholm Eight" participants appointed as trustees of USCMH.

1974		USCMH officially incorporated by John Jessup, Reamer Argo, Forrest Pogue, and Philip Lundberg.

1974-1979	John Jessup selected President of USCHM.

1975		ICMH Colloquium held at Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

1980-1983	Philip Lundeberg elected President of USCMH.

1982		ICMH Colloquium held at Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.

1984-1987	James Collins elected President of USCMH.

1988-1991	John Jessup elected President of USCMH.

1990		First U.S. issue of Revue International d'Historie Militaire published.

1991-1995	Kenneth Hagan elected President of USCMH.

1996-1999	Dean Allard elected President of USCMH.

2000-2004	Allan Millet elected President of USCMH.

2002		ICMH Colloquium held in Norfolk, Virginia.

Scope and Content Note

The United States Commission on Military History records (1973-2002) contain materials pertinent to the operation of the USCMH and the International Commission on Military History. The ICMH is an organization of national organizations that comprises the USCMH and the national commissions of thirty or more countries at any given time. The ICMH convenes annually at a colloquium hosted by a different foreign commission.

The bulk of material centers on the annual USCMH meetings and ICMH colloquiums. Reports, agendas, and minutes of USCMH meetings document the operation of the commission. Extensive correspondence and various files associated with the three ICMH colloquiums hosted by the USCMH in 1975, 1982 and 2002 contain detailed information about the accommodations, registration, itineraries, papers and publications necessary for each conference.

The papers are divided into ten series: 1) By-Laws, 1974-1997; 2) Membership, 1973-1999; 3) Elections, 1973-1999; 4) Correspondence, 1973-2000; 5) United States Commission on Military History Meetings, 1973-2000; 6) International Commission on Military History Meetings, 1965-2002; 7) Financial, 1973-2000; 8) Printed Material, 1974-1999; 9) Other Historical Associations, 1974-2001; and 10) Audiovisual, 1972 and 1992. The By-Laws series contains the original articles of incorporation of USCMH in 1974 and consequent revisions of the organization's by-laws from 1975-1997. Also included are the by-laws and statutes of the International Commission on Military History.

Membership information and data is assembled in the second series. Annual dues payments and registration data for USCHM is included as well as membership lists from both the USCMH and ICMH. All membership information is arranged chronologically from 1973-1999.

The election series encompasses all aspects of USCMH elections. Every two years USCMH holds elections for president, vice-president, trustees and members of various committees. Materials within the third series include correspondence relevant to the nomination of officers, biographies of nominated persons, official ballots, and results of the elections.

The fourth series contains general correspondence. The material is arranged chronologically and is separated between the USCMH and the ICMH. The material was left together as it was previously arranged and was not divided into categorical sub-series, except when already sorted by the donor organization. The majority of the contents are correspondence written to or by commission officers.

Each year the USCMH holds a general membership meeting and a board of trustees meeting. Agendas and minutes of annual USCMH meetings as well as correspondence relevant to the planning and execution of meetings are included in the fifth series. Most notable among these records is the 1998 Report of the Long Range Planning Committee.

The ICMH Meetings series contains information on the annual ICMH colloquiums. The colloquiums hosted by the USCMH and held in the United States in 1975, 1982 and 2002 make up the majority of the substance of the sixth series.

Financial materials make up the seventh series. The USCMH functions as a not-for-profit organization and operated out of several different accounts. Annual financial reports and bills and receipts are filed chronologically from 1976-1999.

Printed materials in the eighth series include USCMH bulletins and newspapers. Circulated to members monthly, the newsletters contain announcements, reports, and remarks from the current president and served as a means of communication to the general membership. Certain published material was removed from the collection and was catalogued for the main library. This included International Review of Military History, 1975-1992; International Bibliography of Military History, 1978-1999; and Proceedings from the ICMH Colloquiums, 1975-2002.

The USCMH is affiliated with the American Historical Society and is listed in the AHA Directory of Affiliated Societies. The ninth series also includes information about a variety of other historical associations including newsletters, meetings, and conferences.

The audiovisual materials make up the tenth series which contains audio recordings of the 1972 USCMH meeting and the April 15 and November 21, 1992 USCMH Board of Trustees meetings. Written records of the 1992 meetings are located in the USCMH Meetings series, however, no other record of the 1972 meeting exists in this collection.

Container List

Box	Folder
		Administration
01	01		Articles of Incorporation, 1974
	02		USCMH, History
	   	   	By-Laws
	03			1975-1980
	04			1990-1992
	05			1994 Revision
	06			1995 Revision		
	07			1996 Revision
	08			1997 Revision
 	09	   	ICMH, By-Laws and Statutes    
	10	   	Letter of Understanding, 1986-1989
	11	   	Proposed USCMH Seal 

		Membership
	12	   	Original Membership Drive, 1973
	13	   	Membership Survey, 1979
		   	Registration and Dues
	14			1981
	15	   		1982
	16	   		1983
	17	   		1984
	18	   		1985
	19	   		1986
	20	   		1987
	21	   		1988
	22			1989
	23	   		1990
	24	   		1991
	25	   		1992
	26			1994, A-M
	27	   		1994, N-Z

02	01	   		1995
	02	   		1995
	03	   		1995
	04	   		1996
	05	   		1997
	06	   		1997
	07	   		1998
	08	   		1999
	09	   		1999
	10	   	Change of Address Notification, 1985-1991
		   	Membership Lists
	11			1974-1982
	12	   		1983-1984
	13	   		1985-1990
	14	   		1997-1998
	15	   		1999
	16 		ICMH, Membership Lists 

		Elections
03	01		1973
	02	   	1975
	03	   	1977
	04	   	1979
	05	   	1981
	06	   	1983
	07	   	1985
	08	   	1987
	09	   	1989
	10	   	1991
	11		Ballots, 1991
	12		1993
	13		Ballots, 1993
	14		1995
	15		1995
	16		Ballots, 1995
	17		1997
	18		Ballots, 1997
	19		1999

		Correspondence
	20		1973
	21		1974
	22		1975
	23		1976-1977
	24		1978
	25		1979
	26		1980
	27	   	1981
	28	   	1982
	29	   	1983
	30	   	1984
	31	   	1985
	32	   	1986
	33	   	1987

04	01	   	1988
	02	   	1989
	03	   	1990
	04	   	1991
	05	   	1992
	06	   	1993
	07	   	1994, January-September
	08	   	1994, October-December
	09	   	1995
	10	   	1996, January-September
	11	   	1996, October-December
	12	   	1997, January-May
	13	   	1997, June-October
	14	   	1997, November-December
	15	   	1998, January-June
	16		1998, July-December
	17		1999
	18	   	2000
	 	   	Bibliographie 
	19			1977-1986
	20	   		1992
	21	   		1993-1994
	22		Revue, 1982-1988
	23		Revue Proposals, 1986-1991
	24	   	Christmas Cards
	   	   	International Commission on Military History 
	25			1972-1973
	26			1974
	27			1975-1976
	28			1977
	29			1978
	30	   		1979
	31			1980

05	01			1981-1982
	02			1983-1984
	03			1985-1986
	04			1989-1990
	05			1991-1994

		USCMH Meetings
	06	   	1973
	07 	   	1976
	08 	   	1977
	09 	   	1978
	10 	   	1979
	11 	   	1979, Colloquium on Military History, Chicago
	12 	   	1980
	13 	   	1981
	14 	   	1982
	15 	   	1982, International Military History Symposium, Carlisle
	16 	   	1983
	17 	   	1984
	18 	   	1985
	19 	   	1986
	20 	   	1987
	21 	   	1988
	22 	   	1989
	23 	   	1990
	24 	   	1991
	25 	   	1992
	26 	   	1993
	27 	   	1994
	28 	   	1994, Board of Trustees
	29 	   	1995
	30 	   	1996
	31 	   	1997
	32 	   	1998
	33 	   	1998, Report of the Long-Range Planning Committee
	34	   	1998, Kansas City
	35	   	1999
	36 	   	2000

		ICMH Meetings
06	01		1965, Vienna
	02	   	1973, Stockholm
	03	   	1974, Montpellier
	04	   	1975, Washington D.C., Grant Information
	05			Grant Information
	06			Registration
	07	   		ACTA
	08	   		Program Information
	09	   		Program Information
	10	   		Correspondence
	11	   		Correspondence and Financial
	12	   		Proposed Papers, Belgium
	13	   		Proposed Papers, Canada
	14	   		Proposed Papers, Finland
	15	   		Proposed Papers, France
	16	   		Proposed Papers, Germany
	17	   		Proposed Papers, Great Britain
	18	   		Proposed Papers, Indonesia
	19	   		Proposed Papers, Norway
	20	   		Proposed Papers, Poland
	21	   		Proposed Papers, Romania
	22	   		Proposed Papers, Sweden
	23	   		Proposed Papers, Turkey
	24			Proposed Papers, United States of America, A-H
	25	   		Proposed Papers, United States of America, K-M
	26	   		Proposed Papers, United States of America, M-Z
	27	   		Proposed Papers, USSR
	28	   	1975, San Francisco
	29 	   	1976, Tehran
	30	   	1978, Ottawa
	31	   	1978, Ottawa Programs
	32	   	1980, Bucharest

07	01		1981, Montpellier
	02	   		Proposed Papers, Algeria, Belgium, Canada
	03	   		Proposed Papers, France
	04	   		Proposed Papers, France
	05	   		Proposed Papers, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Israel
	06	   		Proposed Papers, Poland, Lebanon
	07	   		Proposed Papers, Spain, Sweden
	08	   		Proposed Papers, United States of America
	09	   	1982, Washington D.C., Planning Meeting Agendas
	10	   		Announcement Letters 
	11	   		Registration Forms
	12	   		Registration Forms
	13	   		Registration Forms
	14	   		Registration Packet, Mailing Lists
	15			Participants Lists
	16			Program
	17			Proposed Papers
	18			Memorabilia
	19			Events, 26-30 July 1992
	20	   		ACTA Correspondence, 1979-1981
	21	  		ACTA Correspondence, 1982
	22	   		ACTA Correspondence, 1983
	23	   		ACTA Correspondence, 1984
	24	   		ACTA Correspondence, 1985-1986
	25	   		Frequent Correspondence
	26			Miscellaneous Correspondence
	27	   		Background Information
	28	   		International Visitors Information Service
	29	  		Biographical Information
	30	   		Letter to Military Attaches
	31	   		Financial
	32			L'Enfant Plaza
	33			Smithsonian and Capitol Hill Contacts
	34			Publicity in Other Newsletters
	35			Thank-You Letters
	36	   	1983, Vienna

08	01	   	1984, Tel Aviv
	02		1985, Stuttgart
	03		1985, Stuttgart
	04 	   	1986, Seoul
	05 	   	1987, Athens
	06 	   	1988, Helsinki
	07 	   	1988, Montreal
	08 	   	1989, Paris
	09 	   	1990, Madrid
	10 	   	1991, Zurich
	11			Proceedings, Volume 1
	12			Proceedings, Volume 2
	13 	   	1992, Turin
	14 	   	1992, Turin
	15 	   	1993, Istanbul
	16 	   	1994, Warsaw
	17 	   	1994, Warsaw
	18 	   	1995, Quebec
	19 	   	1995, Quebec
	20 	   	1996, Venice
	21 	   	1996, Vienna
	22 	   	1996, Australia
	23 	   	1997, Prague
	24 	   	1998, Lisbon
	25 	   	1999, Brussels
	26 	   	2000, Stockholm/Oslo
	27		2002, Norfolk, Itinerary and Travel
	28			Correspondence and Financial
	29 		2002, West Point

		Financial
09	01		University City Bank, 1973-1979
	02 	   	Guaranty Federal Savings and Loan, 1976-1980
	 	   	Riggs National Bank
	03			1976-1980
	04 			1981-1982
	05 			1983-1984
	06 			1986-1988
	07 			1989-1990
	08 			1991-1992
	 	   	Shearson Account
	09			1980-1982
	10 			1983-1984
	11 			1985-1986
	12 			1987-1989
	13 			1990-1993
	14 	   	Navy Federal Credit Union, 1995-1999
	 	   	Bills, Receipts, etc. 
	15			1976-1979
	16 			1980-1983
	17 			1988-1991
	18 			1995
	19 			1996
	20 			1997
	21 			1998
	22 			1999
	23 	   	Financial Reports, 1976-1999
	24 	   	Federal Tax Status, 1974-1999
	25 	   	Registered Agent Forms, 1978-2000

		Printed Material
		   	Newsletters
10	01			1974-1979
	02 			1980-1982
	03 			1983-1984
	04 			1985-1987
	05 			1988-1990
	06 			1991-1992
	07 			1993-1994
	08 			1995-1996
	09 			1997
	10 			1998-1999
	 	   	Bulletins
	11			1975-1989
	12 			1991-1996
	13 			1997-1999

		Other Historical Associations
		   	American Historical Association	
	14 	   		Standards
	15 	   		Annual Meetings
	16 	   		Luncheons, 1974-1988
	17 	   		Directory of Affiliated Societies
	18 	   	   		Correspondence
	19 	   	Society for Military History, Directory of Members, 1992
	20 	   	Journal of Military History
	21 	   	Organization of American Historians
	22 	   	USCMH and American Military Institute Affiliation
		   	International Commission on Military History
	23 	 		Dues, 1980-1999
	24 			Foreign Commissions
		   	Other Historical Associations
	25 			Meetings and Conferences, 1970-1992
	26 			Meetings and Conferences, 1993-2001
	27 			Newsletters

		Audiovisual
	28 	   	Reel Tape, USCMH Meeting, 1972
	29	   	Cassette Tapes, USCMH Meeting, Board of Trustees, 15 April 1992
	30		Cassette Tapes, USCMH Meeting, Board of Trustees, 21 November 1992

		Photographs
		   	International Commission on Military History
	01 	   		Colloquium participants, Montpellier, 1974
	02 			Colloquium participants, Washington D.C., 1975
	03 			Negative of Colloquium participants, Washington D.C., 1975
	04			Negative of Colloquium participants, Washington D.C., 1982
	05			Colloquium participants, Warsaw, 1994
	06	   	USMCH, Negative of logo