400 Years of Military Training

A special joint exhibit presented by
K-State Libraries' Special Collections and the
U.S. Cavalry Memorial Research Library, Fort Riley

Every day, world events draw attention to the importance of the history of armed conflict. Awareness of the history of warfare allows better understanding of current challenges. Since the earliest history of the book, armies have relied on the ideas of others to help win wars. Libraries are in a good position to encourage the study of military history, for the book has long been as important to the soldier as his weapons and supplies.

Armies have always needed books of a wide variety of form, content and function. Military institutions have relied on books to convey to their personnel both technical information and abstract ideas to better prepare for and win wars. As soldiers in Western armies became increasingly literate during the last two centuries, training on all levels rested upon the creation of, and access to, the printed word. Further, the development of abstract ideas of strategic thought meant that in some armies the rise of professional officer corps and military reading went hand in hand.

Soldiers attempting to use technical manuals in the field simultaneously relate to books as repositories of ideas and as physical objects in a very challenging way; books are among the most physically fragile of all of human material culture, and combat conditions among the most physically stressful of all human activities. Military theorists attempting to write books about the strategy and planning of military operations also face unique challenges.

Polyaenus (fl. ca. 153 A.D.). Strategemata (Basileae: Per Ioannem Operinum), 1549.

This ancient Macedonian Greek writer, who lived in Rome, utilized many sources (most now lost), including the Persian Wars and earlier conflicts. It was written in anecdotal format specifically for use by emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, who were fighting the Parthian Wars (162-165 A.D.). Among the many suggestions, Polyeanus wrote, "The General must station lovers, beloveds, and relatives together in the phalanxes in such a manner that they will die for each other."

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Aelianus Tacticus (2nd century A.D.).De nomi et de gli ordini militari (Fiorenza: Lorenzo Torrentino), 1552.

Aelian was another Greek writer who lived in Rome. This particular edition was translated from the Greek by Lelio Carani. It is a handbook of drill and tactics as practiced by the Hellenistic successors of Alexander the Great. The most interesting aspect of this work is that Aelian was a critical writer and thinker. Any 16th and 17th century military officers who wished to be proficient in their profession studied every minute detail of this work.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Lazare de Baïf (1496?-1547), De re vestiaria, vascularia, et navali (Luteuiae: Carolum Stephanum), 1553.

French writer and scholar who was at one time in his career, the French ambassador to Venice. This work is a study of classical antiquities pertaining to navies. Abridgment by C. Estienne.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Francesco Feretti (fl. 1577).Della osservanza militare (Venetia: Camillo & Rutilio Borgomineri), 1568.

Little is known about this 16th century author. The work deals with military fortifications and the skills necessary to become proficient in the art of designing fortifications as well as siege warfare.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Roger "the Wise" Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery (1621-1679). A Treatise of the Art of War (London: H. Herringman), 1677.

Born in Ireland, Boyle was a soldier, statesman, and dramatist. He was educated at Trinity College in Dublin and served in the war against the Irish rebels in 1641. Although his family leaned favorably to Charles I, Boyle served in the Parliamentary army after 1647. He became involved in a plot to restore Charles II to the throne, but Oliver Cromwell persuaded him to serve the Commonwealth. When it became evident that Charles II was to become king, Boyle went to Ireland and secured the island for the crown. For this action, he was made earl of Orrery in 1660.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707). De l'Attaque et de la Defense des Places (La Haye: P. de Hondt), 1737.

Vauban was considered the "master" of French fortification theory and practice. Working for Louis XIV, Vauban was responsible for the design of several fortresses including Mont-Louis (the highest in France) and Villefranche-de-Conflent. His theories dominated fortification teachings well into the early 20th century, though many of the principles he espoused are still valid.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

John Muller (1699-1784). A Treatise Containing the Elementary Part of Fortification, Regular and Irregular ... for the Use of the Royal Academy at Woolwich (London: J. Nourse), 1756.

By the mid 18th century, artillery theory and training began to take on new importance. Vauban's theories of fortification construction dictated a necessary response. Although Muller was Professor of Fortification and Artillery at the Royal Military Academy, he taught that gunners should learn to judge by eye rather than rely solely upon artillerist's instruments.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Thomás Cerdá  (1715-1791). Leccion de Artilleria para el Uso de la Classe (Barcelona: Francisco Suria), 1764.

Cerdá was a mathematician by profession. His understanding of geometry was applied to his theories of artillery fire. Unfortunately, the two are not entirely compatible. Still, this is one of the earliest examples of the transformation of military training from theory to scientific practice.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Maurice, Comte de Saxe (1696-1750). Ouvrage sur la Guerre, manuscript in an unknown hand, ca. 1770.

Born Moritz von Saschen (the illegitimate son of Frederick Augustus I of Saxony later King Augustus II of Poland), he became a Marshal of France and a renowned military theorist. He successfully led French armies in the War of Austrian Succession (1740- 1748).

This manuscript is largely a transcription of the Marshal's Mes rêveries, a posthumous work which appeared in 1751. The book was later owned by Lieutenant General Marquis François Charles Du Barail (1820-1902) he made extensive annotations throughout. The volume was sold by Sotheby's in 1958 from the estate of Andre de Coppet.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Pedro de Lucuze. Principios de Fortification (Barcelona: Thomas Piferrer), 1772.

Here is an excellent example of another European military theorist basing his ideas upon that of a previous writer. Note the nearly identical instructional map to the map used by Vauban. Plagiarism not withstanding, it was the nearly identical military training of European officers that led to the battlefield stalemates of World War I.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Henry Lloyd (1720?-1783). A Political and Military Rhapsody on the Invasion and Defence of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Sold by Debret, et. al.), 1792. 2nd edition

Lloyd was a Welsh soldier-of-fortune who served in the armies of France, Prussia, Austria, Russia, and Britain. He originally published this work as Rhapsody on the Present State of French Politicks in 1779, but the work was suppressed by the British government and is now exceedingly rare. The book is a theoretical defense of Britain following a French invasion from Brest via Isle of Wight to Plymouth. Lloyd's service in the British army is still a mystery, but he wrote to his friend John Drummond that he had "made his peace with the British government, and was in receipt of a pension of £500 a year."

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

The Officer's Manual in the Field (London: T. Bensley), 1798.

Translated from a work which was published at Berlin, under the auspices of General Czetteritz without any date. It is supposed to have been written a few years subsequent to the peace of 1763.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Alexander Gillespie. An Historical Review of the Royal Marine Corps (Birmingham: M. Swinney), 1803.

Gillespie, a major in the Royal Marines, published this volume, which is considered to be the first "modern" history of the service. Following many of Britain's colonial wars of the early 19th century, it became popular for regiments to commission histories to record for posterity, their achievements and exploits. Regimental histories were extremely popular with veterans following the U.S. Civil War and some unit histories are now being published by Gulf War veterans.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

William Duane (1760-1835). The American Military Library; or, Compendium of the Modern Tactics (Philadelphia: Printed for the Author), 1809.

This anthology of treatises on tactics documents the importance of military writing in a society that often rejects the idea of a mass standing army. At a time when American political culture required reliance on militia forces rather than a large professional army, Americans concerned with military readiness turned to the printed book as one means of trying to ensure the preparedness of part-time military forces.

[USCRML Collection]

Samford Whittingham. System of Cavalry Manoeuvres in Line (London: C. Roworth), 1815.

No information about the author is available and the book itself is quite rare. Nevertheless, it is an excellent example of a highly detailed study of cavalry training and tactics. Books such as these were frequently written by officers in the hope that their commanding officers would take note of their abilities and possibly adopt the text as a training manual for the service.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Naval Gunnery: Instructions for the Service and Exercise of Great Guns on Board Her Majesty's Ships, manuscript notebook of J. D. Keane, 1841.

Located on Whale Island in Portsmouth, H.M.S. Excellent is actually the Royal Navy's oldest shore-based, naval gunnery school. This classroom notebook by J. D. Keane contains copious notes from every lecture he attended, as well as highly detailed drawings (many of which he also hand-colored) of artillery pieces, ships, projectiles, and rockets. Note the illustration of a "rocket boat."

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Baron Antione Henri de Jomini (1779-1869). Summary of the Art of War (New York: G. P. Putnam & Co.), 1854. 1st American edition

In 1798 Jomini joined Napoleon Bonaparte's forces, retiring in 1801 after which he wrote a history of the campaigns of Frederick the Great. Jomini rejoined Napoleon in 1804 as a staff officer, but he was transferred as a colonel to Marshal Ney's corps. Jomini participated in the German campaigns (1813), but defected to the Russian army in 1814. Jomini's Precis de l'Art de la Guerre was first published in 1838. West Point cadets and American military officers studied the teachings of Jomini and Carl von Clausewitz (Vom Kriege [On War], 1832) for many decades before and after the Civil War. Their theories are still studied today as they still have some practical applications for modern armies.

[Collection of Roger C. Adams]

Jared Bell Waterbury (1799-1876). Something for the Knapsack (New York: Anson D. F. Randolph), 1861.

This religious tract is an example of one of the many thousands like it given to soldiers during the Civil War. Keeping soldiers' minds and souls safe fell to civilian relief organizations and was typically not a function of the military, though many regiments did have chaplains. This book belonged to Private Frank A. Haughy of the 3rd Ohio Infantry, who was mortally wounded at Flat Top Mountain, Alabama, April 30, 1863.

[Collection of Roger C. Adams]

Silas Casey (1807-1882). Infantry Tactics: For the Instruction, Exercise, and Manœuvres of the Soldier, a Company, Line of Skirmishers, Battalion, Brigade or Corps d'Armée (New York: D. Van Nostrand), 1862. 3 volumes

At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, the official U.S. Army training manual was William Joseph Hardee's Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics (1855). Hardee (1815-1873), an 1838 West Point graduate, resigned his commission as lieutenant colonel in January 1861 and served the Confederacy, attaining the rank of lieutenant general in 1863. An additional insult to loyal officers was that Hardee's manual carried an endorsement from then Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. Casey's manual is largely a reiteration of Hardee's principles. Casey attained the rank of major general during the Civil War and retired on his own application in 1864 after 46 consecutive years of service.

[Collection of Roger C. Adams]

George Brinton McClellan (1826-1885). Manual of Bayonet Exercise (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott), 1862. 4th and final printing

In 1850, Captain George B. McClellan of the Corps of Engineers began work on this manual. In his preface, McClellan wrote that he had adapted much of the text from the work of a French fencing master, M. Gomard. McClellan, an avowed Francophile, believed that simplification of movements was necessary to instruct all soldiers for proper bayonet use. He also believed that it was "an excellent gymnastic exercise, a useful amusement, and gave the men great confidence in themselves and their weapons." The first edition appeared in 1852 and was reprinted in 1856, 1861, 1862. During the Civil War, Major General McClellan attained unique distinction of being the only commanding general of the Army of the Potomac to be removed from command twice by President Abraham Lincoln. McClellan was nominated by the Democratic party on a "peace at any price" platform in 1864; he resigned his commission on election day. Although McClellan only won three states, he did become governor of New Jersey from 1878-1881.

[Collection of Roger C. Adams]

Tour of Artillery Officers in Russia (London: George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode), 1867.

Published for use by Britain's Royal Artillery Regiment this extremely rare item is the only known copy in the United States. It was added to the Malta Garrison Library in 1904 and later withdrawn. Note the fortifications at Warsaw which appear to have been planned entirely upon Vauban's ideas.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Sir Edward James Reed (1830-1906). Our Iron-Clad Ships: Their Qualities, Performances, and Cost with Chapters on Turret Ships, Iron-Clad Rams, &c. (London: J. Murray), 1869.

On March 8, 1862, the Confederate ironclad ship Virginia steamed out to meet several U.S. blockade ships. The gallant officers of the U.S. Navy watched in astonishment as their artillery shots bounced harmlessly off of the Confederacy's "secret weapon." The following day the Virginia was met in battle by the USS Monitor, the first turreted ironclad battleship. Within days, the navies of Europe realized that the age of wooden ships was at an end. The British rapidly responded with several new designs for ironclad vessels. Reed was "chief constructor" for the British Navy and he created many new innovations. Note the illustration reminiscent of the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia, showing the fields of fire for each ship.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

William Babcock Hazen (1830-1887). The School and the Army in Germany and France: With a Diary of Siege Life at Versailles (New York: Harper & Brothers), 1872.

Hazen was a close boyhood friend of James A. Garfield. He was graduated from West Point and served as a 2nd lieutenant in the infantry in the Pacific Northwest and Texas where he was severely wounded in a fight with Comanche Indians in 1859. He remained on sick leave until October 1861 when he was appointed colonel of the 41st Ohio Infantry. Hazen was promoted to brigadier general in April 1863 and finished the war as commander of the 2nd Division of the XV Corps. He spent his post-war career in the 38th Infantry and later the 6th Infantry on the western frontier. He visited Europe as an observer with the German armies during the Franco-Prussian War. This book is largely a memoir of his observations in Europe. Hazen was appointed chief signal officer in 1880 following Albert Myer's death.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Albert James Myer (1828-1880). A Manual of Signals for the Use of Signal Officers in the Field, and for Military and Naval Students, Military Schools, Etc. (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office), 1877.

Myer began his military service as a post physician, but ultimately became founder of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. In 1856 he suggested the use of a single flag system ("wigwaging") which received the approval of an army board in 1859. Myer's system was first used on campaign in the Navajo Expedition, 1860-1861. The Civil War sparked many advances in communication between armies. Observations balloons, telegraph, railroads, flares, and rockets were all used for communications. He remained chief signal officer until his death. This is a signed presentation copy from the author to Jules Verne, author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Albert Todd (1854-d. before 1912). Synopses of Lectures on Military Science (Manhattan, KS: College Press), 1883.

The act establishing land-grant colleges required that military instruction be part of the curriculum. General John W. Davidson served as military Professor of Military Science and Tactics from 1868 until 1871, when he was removed from command. During this time, interest in military drill was not high and students were required to use muskets from the Civil War. Until 1881, no military instruction was taught and most of the equipment was lost, stolen, or destroyed. That summer, 1st Lieutenant Albert Todd (pictured at right) of the 1st Artillery was assigned to Kansas State Agriculture College by the War Department as Professor of Military Science and Tactics. Classes in drill began immediately, but no equipment was received until May 1882. Todd remained at KSAC until 1884 when he was replaced by Lieutenant W. J. Nicholson of the 7th Cavalry.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Evelyn Wood (1838-1919). Achievements of Cavalry (London: George Bell & Sons), 1897.

Personal reading was as important for army officers as was the use of books in formal instruction. Many officers accumulated large personal libraries, which included works on the intersection of military theory, tactics and military history. This particular volume is from the personal library of Captain J. C. Rhea of the 7th U.S. Cavalry, while he was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

[USCRML Collection]

Sir Cyprian Arthur George Bridge (1839-1924). The Art of Naval Warfare (London: Smith & Elder), 1907.

Vice-Admiral Bridge was particularly interested in the history of navies and was considered an expert on naval strategy and tactics as they were taught to those who fought at the Battle of Trafalgar. Bridge succeeded Sir E. Seymour as Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's Naval forces on the China Station in 1901. Note the signed presentation letter from the author to his daughter, which is actually pasted into the front of the volume.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Arthur Frank Umfreville Green (1878-d. after 1945). Landscape Sketching for Military Purposes (London: Hugh Rees, Ltd.), 1908.

Despite its relatively recent publication date, this volume is particularly rare with only one other copy known to exist. Very little is known about the author. He published at least three other books: Evening Tattoo (1940,) Home Guard Pocket Book (1940), and Questions Answered About Rifle Shooting (1945). This particular volume is intended specifically for the use of junior officers in the field to help them understand the lay of battlefields and the military significance of landmarks.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

John Frank Morrison (1857-1932). Applied Minor Tactics (Fort Leavenworth, KS: Army Service Schools Press), 1911.

Major General Morrison was a significant leader in the early development of the Command and General Staff School. After serving in Cuba and the Philippines, Morrison was a U.S. observer during the Russo-Japanese War. He was then transferred to Fort Leavenworth where he eventually became the acting commandant, a post he held until 1912. On the training of officers he wrote, "The main need of our officers is a knowledge of the fundamental principles of tactics and how to apply them. This knowledge is to be gained, not by studying rules, formulas, or 'normal schemes,' but by practice in solving problems. Such practice, combined with knowledge of human nature and common sense, is what makes a tactician."

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

The Manual of Equitation of the French Army for 1912, translated at the Cavalry School (Fort Riley, KS: Cavalry School), 1912.

Since the earliest days of the printed book and its use by armies, military scholarship and publication has taken on transnational characteristics. During peacetime ties of military professionalism, and during wartime connections between allies, armies share ideas about all areas of training. Here, a French cavalry riding manual has been translated for instructional use and dissemination at the U.S. Army Cavalry School.

[USCRML Collection]

Preparing for entry into World War I, the U.S. military issued many manuals, such as those shown here, to accommodate changes in tactics, weapons, and strategy. The U.S. invited many British and French officers and non-commissioned officers to help train our soldiers for trench warfare.

William Henry Waldron (b. 1877). Scouting and Patrolling (Washington: The United States Infantry Association), 1916.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]
Parker Hitt and Thomas W. Brown. Description and Instructions for the Use of Fire Control Rule (Washington: United States Infantry Association), 1917.

[Collection of Roger C. Adams]
Provisional Machine-Gun Firing Manual (Washington: Government Printing Office), 1917.

[Collection of Roger C. Adams]
Manual for Noncommissioned Officers and Privates of Infantry of the Army of the United States (Washington: Government Printing Office), 1917.

[Collection of Roger C. Adams]

Collected U.S. Army Training Regulations (1920s).

These documents were assembled and arranged in a patented metal and cloth binder by Lieutenant F. Devereux, Jr. He added the index tabs for expedient use. It is stamped with Devereux's name and two units in which he served during his career, Troop E, 2nd Sqn, 101st Cavalry, and U.S.M.A. Cavalry Squadron, West Point, New York. This item shows how an officer assembled his copies of training circulars intended for mass distribution into his own personalized access system.

[USCRML Collection]

United States Army. Cavalry School Department of General Instruction. History of Cavalry During the World War (Fort Riley, KS: Q.M.C. Printing Plant), 1924. Vol. II

As industrial societies developed means of mechanical reproduction of printed works, armies put them to use for training. This item, produced at the Quartermaster Printing Plant on post for use during one of the classes at the U.S. Army Cavalry School, and marked "Stencil No. 218", shows how armies reacted to often-changing needs in institutional training.

[USCRML Collection]

William Mitchell (1879-1936). Winged Defense: The Development and Possibilities of Modern Air Power Economic and Military (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons), 1925.

General Billy Mitchell did more to promote the use of air force than any other American officer of his time. It also marked him as a rebel for his outspoken criticism of his superiors who believed that airplanes were better suited for reconnaissance than attack. He especially wanted to separate air units from the Army and create a separate branch of service. Mitchell later demonstrated to U.S. military officials that the battleship was obsolete (note the photograph shown here). Following the crash of the Navy dirigible Shenandoah in September 1925, he lashed out at his superiors claiming that the War and Navy Departments were incompetent. He was immediately court-marshaled and his trial became a platform for his views. Mitchell was convicted in December of insubordination and sentenced to five years' suspension of rank and pay (the only vote in his defense came from Colonel Douglas MacArthur). Mitchell resigned in February 1926. Following the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, many of his prophecies were proven true and the Army Air Force adopted many of his ideas. Note the highly critical summary, presumably penned by a military officer.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Marcel S. Keene (et. al.). War Department Correspondence File . . . (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office), 1926. rev. ed.

Not only did the larger armies of the 20th century require men trained specifically in military administration and clerical work, they also required books about the very organization of printed information itself. Here the U.S. Army has devised a decimal classification system for filing records. The complexity and inclusiveness of the system illustrates the extremely wide array of information and specialized records that modern armies need to function bureaucratically.

[USCRML Collection]

Cavalry Journal, January, April, and October 1928.

Military professionalism has always been linked to the sharing of knowledge through the printed word. Periodical publications have often been as important to armies as books. From the 1880s until the 1940s, Cavalry Journal (earlier entitled, Journal of the United States Cavalry Association) was the professional periodical of U.S. cavalry officers. In it, officers communicated to each other new ideas about strategy, tactics, doctrine, equipment and leadership.

The three issues here, bound together, are from the personal library of Major General John K. Herr, Chief of Cavalry, U.S. Army, 1938-1942.

[USCRML Collection]

Edward Cathcart Crossman (b. 1881). Military and Sporting Rifle Shooting (Marines, NC: Small-Arms Technical Publishing Company), 1932.

In the last 100 years, some armies began to appreciate the value of a positive public image among the civilian population. During the interwar period a special effort was made by the U.S. Army to bridge the gap between civilians and the military. As a result a significant number of publications were introduced about skills gained in the army that could be successfully transplanted to the civilian sphere.

[USCRML Collection]

John H. Burns (b. 1889). Psychology and Leadership: Submitted as a Study in Individual Research (Fort Leavenworth, KS: The Command and General Staff School Press), 1934.

The question as to why soldiers fight is as old as war itself. The educated officer of the early 20th century often found it necessary to understand the rationale of leadership. Up to this time, questions of leadership were often clinical studies that pertained little to the military and combat situations. Before the turn of the century only a French officer, Ardant du Picq in his Battle Studies, attempted a psychological study of combat leadership. In the 1920s and 1930s the U.S. Army began to publish pamphlets that provided officers insights into the nature of leadership.

[USCRML Collection]

Binder of War Department and U.S. Department of Agriculture printed regulations, War Department Memoranda and personal notes of Colonel Wayne O. Kester, DVM, U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, 1930s-1940s.

When on actual service in the field during both peace and war, officers have to manipulate printed items as physical objects just as much as they have to appropriate their intellectual content. Here, a U.S. Army Veterinary Corps officer has physically integrated printed manuals with typescript memoranda, and printed and manuscript notes to create a combined work best suited to his own needs in the field.

[USCRML Collection]

United States Army. Cavalry School. Electricity and Magnetism (Fort Riley, KS: The Cavalry School), 1942.

As the 20th century progressed, the conduct of war became more dependent on mechanized armies and armies requiring increasingly complex technical skills. Military training during the 20th century included significant technical training, which may not have previously centered on machine power.

[USCRML Collection]

Henry C. Coleron and F. Allen Burt (b. 1885). How to Conduct Army Correspondence: A Manual for All Engaged in Its Preparation and Use (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers), 1943.

With the rise of mass armies and conscription in the 20th century, military leaders found it necessary to provide soldiers with training outside their sphere of military science. During World War II thousands of men were inducted into the military service requiring armies to assign men to purely administrative tasks necessitating the teaching of basic clerical skills. This 1943 manual for both officers and enlisted men taught writing skills necessary for producing clear and concise military correspondence. Besides teaching the basics of grammar and punctuation, this manual provides hints at improving the soldier's ability to express himself in a "more meaningful and understandable" way.

[USCRML Collection]

Ernest E. Epps. History of the Fourth Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron: European Theater of Operations (S.l.: Gerhard Blumheim & Co.), 1945.

This item may not be directly relevant to how armies use books to train personnel and prepare for war, but it does document another important dimension of the relationship between the printed word, the book as material culture, and the effects of war on American history. Many military units printed unit histories shortly after the end of WWII, often contracting with German printers in recently occupied areas. The appearance of these works show how individual veterans and group of veterans used books to create and perpetuate institutional memory. The owner's annotations show how one uses the memory created through print and publication to make sense of one's own experience in war.

[USCRML Collection]

United States Army. Army General School. Instructor Folder: Employment of Tanks. (Fort Riley, Kansas: Army General School), 1952.

Modern military training has relied heavily on the medium of the printed word, but military preparedness has still required a reciprocal relationship between personal reading and writing. The relationship between an officer's personal teaching or study notes and a printed text can help military historians learn about the divergence and convergence of the ideal and the practical in military planning.

At right are the personal teaching notes of Captain Howard Kitterman.

[USCRML Collection]

Richard O'Connor (1915-1975). Sheridan the Inevitable (New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc), 1953.

This is a common monograph, but was purchased by Captain William Vail soon after publication. In a manuscript note written inside to a fellow officer, Vail recommended the book as military reading important to their profession. The book and the note together document how officers' informal discussions of military reading contribute to the overall importance of books and military scholarship. It is also interesting to note that U.S. Army officers were still looking to the Civil War era to guide them in an age dominated by tanks, airplanes, and nuclear weapons.

[USCRML Collection]

Tips on Atomic Warfare for the Military Leader (S.l.: United States Army, V Corps, G- 3 Special Weapons Personnel and Chemical Sections), ca. 1955.

In the 1950s the U.S. Army produced this short primer on combat on the nuclear battlefield. In comic book format, the author attempts to play on what he believed were soldiers' likely beliefs about gender and humor to calm potential fears about the horrific nature of nuclear warfare.

[USCRML Collection]

When soldiers go to war, they invariable have many more days of "down time" than combat. In 1943, a program was begun to help alleviate soldiers' boredom and educate them at the same time. Thousands of titles were selected to become part of the "Armed Services Editions" small-format texts that could easily be carried in a soldier's pocket or knapsack. Nearly all of the books were full-text and titles were incredibly diverse. By the end of the program 1,322 titles had been published.

Antonio de Fierro Blanco. The Journey of the Flame (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company), 1933.

Dorothy B. Hughes. The Fallen Sparrow (New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce), 1942.

Robert Bright. the Life and Death of Little Jo (New York: Doubleday, Doran and Company), 1944.

Stewart H. Holbrook. Ethan Allen (New York: The MacMillan Company), 1940.

Ernest Haycox. Rim of the Desert (Boston: Little, Brown & Company), 1941.

[Morse Department of Special Collections]

Exhibit text and labels prepared by Roger Adams (KSU), Mark Danley (USCAMRL), and Bob Smith (USCAMRL).