Despite its failure to unseat King James II, the Monmouth Rebellion had a profound influence upon English politics. In particular, it reignited the debate about whether the country should rely on a professional army under direct royal control or local country militias made up of part-time soldiers. King James favoured the former, and used criticism of the militia’s performance during the rebellion to support his argument. Contemporary commentators and historians alike all certainly seemed to agree that the king’s victory was won in spite of - not because of - the militia. But is this a fair judgement? Drawing upon a wealth of information gathered from personal accounts, private papers, letters, financial records, diaries and memoirs, this book revisits the events of 1685 to assess the militia’s performance in helping to defeat the so-called ’pitchfork rebellion’. Through an extensive investigation into the militia itself, its social composition, role, training, armament and leadership the study sets a benchmark for what could have been realistically expected of these part-time soldiers, and then sets this against the actual tasks that were asked of it in 1685. The results that emerge from this exercise paint a very different picture of the militia’s role in the rebellion than has hitherto been accepted by historians. Judged by these criteria, a convincing case is made that the militia was in fact an efficient military organisation according to contemporary expectations and demands made of it. Criticisms of it, it is argued, stem more from political expediency than impartial judgment. As well as being of interest to military and social historians, this book demonstrates the dangers to all historians of taking at face value contemporary comments. It shows how subtle and interlocking forces, that may at first glance appear unrelated, can work together to colour opinions of events and organisations.

American Military History provides the United States Army-in particular, its young officers, NCOs, and cadets-with a comprehensive but brief account of its past. The Center of Military History first published this work in 1956 as a textbook for senior ROTC courses. Since then it has gone through a number of updates and revisions, but the primary intent has remained the same. Support for military history education has always been a principal mission of the Center, and this new edition of an invaluable history furthers that purpose. The history of an active organization tends to expand rapidly as the organization grows larger and more complex. The period since the Vietnam War, at which point the most recent edition ended, has been a significant one for the Army, a busy period of expanding roles and missions and of fundamental organizational changes. In particular, the explosion of missions and deployments since 11 September 2001 has necessitated the creation of additional, open-ended chapters in the story of the U.S. Army in action. This first volume covers the Army's history from its birth in 1775 to the eve of World War I. By 1917, the United States was already a world power. The Army had sent large expeditionary forces beyond the American hemisphere, and at the beginning of the new century Secretary of War Elihu Root had proposed changes and reforms that within a generation would shape the Army of the future. But world war-global war-was still to come. The second volume of this new edition will take up that story and extend it into the twenty-first century and the early years of the war on terrorism and includes an analysis of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq up to January 2009.

Charles Lee, a former British army officer turned revolutionary, was one of the earliest advocates for American independence. Papas shows that few American revolutionaries shared Lee's radical political outlook, and his confidence that the American Revolution could be won primarily by the militia (or irregulars) rather than a centralized regular army.

"This is a comprehensive research guide to the careers and manuscript sources for President and Commander-in-Chief James Madison, his secretaries of war, major generals, brigadier generals, departments and regiments during the War of 1812. Each unit has a history and a listing of resources. A directory of manuscript repositories and their addresses is included"--Provided by publisher.

As summer turned to fall in 1812, two armies watched each other warily across the turbulent Niagara River that formed the border between the United States and British Canada. On the American side, regular soldiers and state -militia trained under the inexperienced, -politically--appointed General Stephen Van Rensselaer, while on the British side General Isaac Brock worried about defending his long frontier with a meager force of regulars and militia and a group of native warriors about whom he held serious doubts.This is, surprisingly, the first full-length study of the Battle of Queenston Heights. We see the American government stumble into war and send a weakly supplied force to invade across the Niagara River. We follow the battle through the eyes of participants: Jared Willson wonders if he is going to become a cold Yankee, and the Canadian Archie McLean ignores orders by running to the fight with his friend John Beverley Robinson. Winfield Scott strides across the field in full dress Chapeau and plume, and John Norton exhorts his warriors with Come forward whoever hold a manly heart! Artillery Captain William Holcroft retakes Queenston and writes, His Majesty's arms gained a complete victory over those of the United States yesterday in a very brilliant affair.The battle was a sharp lesson for the young U.S. Army and its political masters in Washington and a critical morale booster in Upper Canada. The death of Brock led to an outpouring of grief among Canadians and an impressive monu-ment was raised in his name.This new look at the battle tackles many of the myths that have grown over the years. Was Brock the hero of the day? Was this a victory for the Canadian militia? Were the oft--maligned New York militia responsible for their army's -defeat? What was the role of the native allies of the British? Could the American invading force have won?Robert Malcomson's exciting and readable account will add a new level of appreciation for the drama and significance of the War of 1812.