In and out of Crecy

by Scott Manning April 20, 2013
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I find the French method of marking town boundaries very amusing.

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William Freehling on Why another Lincoln Biography

by Scott Manning March 24, 2013
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This past Friday, I had the privilege of hearing Dr. William Freehling deliver the keynote lecture at the 18th Annual James A. Barnes Conference, at Temple University in Philadelphia. Freehling has written much about the Civil War, but now he is taking on an effort to write a Lincoln biography. Given that Lincoln’s life is [...]

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What Does It Take to Earn a Military History Degree?

by Scott Manning March 11, 2013
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Several folks have asked me about my experience acquiring a bachelor’s in military history. While I cannot answer what goes into a military history degree at every university offering it, I can highlight what it took me to finish mine at AMU. In short, it was 121 credit hours, which translated to 41 courses and [...]

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Defining Grand Strategy Succinctly

by Scott Manning March 6, 2013
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Those studying political and military history will inevitably come across the term “grand strategy.” Books on grand strategy are becoming more prevalent nowadays, but the basic concept is not always clear to laymen, but it can be crucial in understanding historical outcomes. For example, to explain why America never lost a single battle during the [...]

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An Alternative Design to the National Wallace Monument

by Scott Manning February 10, 2013
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The same year that America broke out into a civil war, the Scots and English began construction on their National Wallace Monument. The massive structure was not complete until 1869 and it stands to this day on the Abbey Craig as an imposing structure over Stirling and the River Forth. Here is the monument in [...]

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Richard III: How we know it is him and how he died

by Scott Manning February 6, 2013
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The recent announcement that we finally found the body of English King Richard III (r. 1483-1485) has brought loads of press coverage to the medieval period and to warfare. Here is quick primer on Richard, how we are certain it was his body, and how he died. Who was Richard III? The best context that Americans [...]

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Why You should Care about the War of 1812

by Scott Manning February 3, 2013
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It is a common misperception that only recent wars have been politically controversial. When the House and Senate voted 69% and 77% respectively in favor of the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, this was not the first time Congress was divided on starting a war. In the summer of 1812, the House and Senate voted [...]

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Why Military History Prior to 1939 is Important

by Scott Manning January 29, 2013
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I am making my way through Jeremy Black’s Rethinking Military History (2004). Now that I can own a copy that costs less $89, I am ready to rethink. In it, Black sees a problem among American leaders in that if they do study history, they rarely venture further back than World War II. Indeed, despite [...]

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History raises more questions than it answers

by Scott Manning January 27, 2013
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In reading the introduction to The Past as Prologue (2006), Williamson Murray puts forth some succinct, yet profound thoughts on history. His overall thesis is that studying military history is critical for not only officers, but for state leaders as well. Murray immediately recognizes that “current senior leaders seem to have neither the time nor [...]

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A New Gettysburg Casualty

by Scott Manning January 15, 2013
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While giving a tour of Gettysburg on January 5, we encountered loads of snow and ice. I was continually warning folks with me to be careful and not slip. In a twist of irony, I slipped down the last four or five steps of the 44th and 12th New York monument on top of Little [...]

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