From the Foreword: This volume provides short biographical sketches of the commanding generals and chiefs of staff who have led the United States Army. Their rise through the levels of leadership to the pinnacle of their profession reveals both striking parallels and equally fascinating contrasts. While their responsibilities have evolved over the years, the essential elements of leadership remain unchanged. The format of this volume combines biographical information along with the officially designated portraits of the commanding generals and chiefs of staff. It also includes brief accounts of the artists selected to paint the official portraits. As an aspect of the Army art program, these portraits add an interesting and revealing dimension to the biographer's words. This volume not only celebrates the legacy of dedication and patriotism left by these leaders, but also enhances our understanding of military leadership at the highest levels. All those interested in the profession of arms should become familiar with those who have led our Army.

From the Foreword: This volume provides short biographical sketches of the commanding generals and chiefs of staff who have led the United States Army. Their rise through the levels of leadership to the pinnacle of their profession reveals both striking parallels and equally fascinating contrasts. While their responsibilities have evolved over the years, the essential elements of leadership remain unchanged. The format of this volume combines biographical information along with the officially designated portraits of the commanding generals and chiefs of staff. It also includes brief accounts of the artists selected to paint the official portraits. As an aspect of the Army art program, these portraits add an interesting and revealing dimension to the biographer's words. This volume not only celebrates the legacy of dedication and patriotism left by these leaders, but also enhances our understanding of military leadership at the highest levels. All those interested in the profession of arms should become familiar with those who have led our Army.

This is the story of how the United States Army responded to the challenges of the end of the Cold War by transforming itself into the most capable ground force in the world today. It argues that from 1989 through 2005 the U.S. Army attempted, and largely achieved, a centrally directed and institutionally driven transformation relevant to ground warfare that exploited Information Age technology, adapted to post?Cold War strategic circumstances, and integrated into parallel Department of Defense efforts. The process not only modernized equipment, it also substantially altered doctrine, organization, training, administrative and logistical practices, and the service culture. Kevlar Legions further contends that the digitized expeditionary Army has withstood the test of combat, performing superbly with respect to deployment and high-end conventional combat and capably with respect to low-intensity conflict and the counterinsurgency challenges of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Few American military figures are more revered than General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing (1860--1948), who is most famous for leading the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The only soldier besides George Washington to be promoted to the highest rank in the U.S. Army (General of the Armies), Pershing was a mentor to the generation of generals who led America's forces during the Second World War. Though Pershing published a two-volume memoir, My Experiences in the World War, and has been the subject of numerous biographies, few know that he spent many years drafting a memoir of his experiences prior to the First World War. In My Life Before the World War, 1860--1917, John T. Greenwood rescues this vital resource from obscurity, making Pershing's valuable insights into key events in history widely available for the first time. Pershing performed frontier duty against the Apaches and Sioux from 1886--1891, fought in Cuba in 1898, served three tours of duty in the Philippines, and was an observer with the Japanese Army in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War. He also commanded the Mexican Punitive Expedition to capture Pancho Villa in 1916--1917. My Life Before the World War provides a rich personal account of events, people, and places as told by an observer at the center of the action. Carefully edited and annotated, this memoir is a significant contribution to our understanding of a legendary American soldier and the historic events in which he participated.

This almanac provides a comprehensive, chronological overview of all American military history, serving as the standard reference work of its type. Almanac of American Military History is yet another reference work from acclaimed historian Dr. Spencer C. Tucker and ABC-CLIO, offering an unprecedented resource for a wide range of students and researchers. A comprehensive, four-volume title, this almanac traces all of American military history from the European voyages of discovery through 2011, chronicling the pivotal moments that have shaped the United States into the country it is today. In addition to documenting key events, this title presents biographies of more than 250 key individuals and provides information on more than 250 historically significant technologies and weapons systems. A detailed glossary is included, as are discussions of ranks and military awards and decorations. Divided into conflict periods, each chapter includes a detailed chronology, reference-entry sidebars, statistical information, primary-source documents, and a bibliography.

This work is the most comprehensive reference work on the War of 1812 yet published, offering a multidisciplinary treatment of course, causes, effects, and specific details of the War that provides both quick reference and in-depth analysis for readers from the high school level to scholars in the field. The Encyclopedia of the War of 1812: A Political, Social, and Military History dedicates 872 entries—totaling some 600,000 words—to this important American war. It is the most comprehensive and significant reference work available on the subject. Its entries spotlight the key battles, standout individuals, essential weapons, and social, political, and economic developments, and examine the wider, concurrent European developments which directly affected this conflict in North America. A volume of primary documents provides more avenues for research. This three-volume work offers comprehensive, in-depth information in a format that lends itself to quick and easy use, making it ideal for high school, college, and university-level learners as well as general learning annexes and military libraries. Scholars of the period and students of American military history will find it essential reading.

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the Lone Star State can certainly boast of immense ranches, vast oil fields, enormous cowboy hats, and larger-than-life heroes. Among the greatest of the latter are the iconic Texas Rangers, a service that has existed, in one form or another, since 1823. Established in Waco in 1968, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum continues to honor these legendary symbols of Texas and the American West. While upholding a proud heritage of duty and sacrifice, even men who wear the cinco peso badge can have their own champions. Thirty-one individuals—whose lives span more than two centuries—have been enshrined in the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame. In The Ranger Ideal Volume 2: Texas Rangers in the Hall of Fame, 1874-1930, Darren L. Ivey presents capsule biographies of the twelve inductees who served Texas in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Ivey begins with John B. Jones, who directed his Rangers through their development from state troops to professional lawmen; then covers Leander H. McNelly, John B. Armstrong, James B. Gillett, Jesse Lee Hall, George W. Baylor, Bryan Marsh, and Ira Aten—the men who were responsible for some of the Rangers’ most legendary feats. Ivey concludes with James A. Brooks, William J. McDonald, John R. Hughes, and John H. Rogers, the “Four Great Captains” who guided the Texas Rangers into the twentieth century.