The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art’s Post

Because history is always present...

Part of not forgetting is education...

For this We Fight: Saving a National Treasure is my latest book about the most important photograph of African American soldiers from the Civil War that has been recently discovered! In the 150+ years since the ending of the Civil War, it has been believed that all of the most important photographs taken during that conflict had been found. But this was not true. After a perilous journey that could have destroyed it at every turn, this previously lost National Photographic Treasure was discovered in 2011 and is now recognized THE most important photograph of African American soldiers taken during the war! FIRST. It is the ONLY KNOWN COPY of the ONLY photograph of a group of U.S. Colored Infantry soldiers and military chaplain where they are all identified! SECOND. It documents the faces and lives of these previously unknown Black men who had either been enslaved and born free before beginning their military service. THIRD. All had sacrificed for the cause of freedom by suffering wounds from battle or service related illnesses. LASTLY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY- these men participated in the what may have been the first successful Civil Rights protest in U.S. history! You won’t find this one mentioned on GOOGLE! And for those of you in museums and other institutions charged with interpreting African American history in your state, here are the photographs and stories of a dozen previously unknown African Americans with connections to Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Kansas (one became a Buffalo Soldier after the war), Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. All now becoming a permanent part of the American memory. Now available on Amazon Books.

My recent book, "MacArthur Reconsidered" received a very positive review from Professor Robert Young of American Military University. The link to the review can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eWv5deqX

MISSING IMAGES OF NAVAL WOMEN: Royal Museums Greenwich is trying to improve the representation of women, including Wrens' history. See yesterday's Observer article: "The war hero without a name: London museum hunts for Wren’s identity" https://lnkd.in/esbvE62W. (See pic in comment box.) Fortunately, as a historian of women in maritime, I can assure questors that, although there may not be much 'Art' featuring Wrens - 'heroic' Wrens,- there are actually thousands of images of women in Royal Navy work. You can easily see: # many photos of Wrens in context # cartoons that tell us much about gendered attitudes towards womenof every status in that very male-majority life. For example, I wanted my 'Women and the Royal Navy' book to includes hundreds more images than the 60 that the publisher allowed! You can go looking: # in the RMG's own library, which has wonderful photos of them, in fascinating scrapbooks. # at the National Museum of the Royal Navy Portsmouth, which in 2017 displayed an exhibition on naval women and has a very rich WRNS archive.

Books serve as resources, and this month we are highlighting “Why We Serve: Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces” by National Museum of the American Indian “Why We Serve: Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces" explores the rich and often overlooked history of Native Americans who have served in the U.S. military. The book delves into the diverse motivations that drive Native individuals to enlist, highlighting their unique contributions, sacrifices, and the challenges they face both within and outside the military. Through personal narratives and historical context, the author sheds light on the complex relationship between Native Americans and the U.S. military, offering a compelling exploration of identity, patriotism, and the pursuit of equality in the armed forces. To learn more bout this book, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eKBVxjja

An event that is greatly appreciated and honored by Americans of subsequent generations for the sacrifices and bravery of the "Exceptional Generation" of WWII veterans of whom very few remain alive today. My only regret is that the contributions and sacrifices of the Red Army go largely ignored in the annual D-Day celebrations, when in fact were it not for Russian advances on the Eastern Front, D-Day could never have taken place when it did. The Soviets probably killed The Soviets killed probably 2,8 million German (born) soldiers and German auxiliary troops in battle or died of their wounds, helped by their allies like Polish, Rumanian and Bulgarian troops. Another 1.1 million German born soldiers died in Soviet custody (50% during the war and 50% after the war). Estimates of Russians killed by Germans range in the millions- some say as high as 20 million died fighting the Wehrmacht and driving them back to Poland and eventually to Berlin. No Western leader has ever attended a Russian Victory Day celebration and no Russian leader has ever been invited to a D-Day commemoration.

II Marine Expeditionary Force was identified as the ideal Fleet Marine Force for Force Design 2030’s modernization efforts to take place. One such effort was the creation of the Marine Littoral Regiment, a naval formation capable of conducting several mission-sets that support and enable the joint force across multiple domains.

Updated French and Indian War entries for France and South Carolina in my timeline chart "Black Soldiers: Integration, Segregation, and Exclusion in Armies Fighting in North America, 1754-1865." Black Soldiers: Integration and Segregation in Armies Fighting in North America, 1754-1865 (https://lnkd.in/gEatsgKZ) This chart shows the inclusion or segregation of black soldiers in the armies of five nations that fought in North America's founding wars, from 1754 to1865. Formulated from research done for the book: Don Troiani and John U. Rees, Don Troiani’s Black Soldiers in America’s Wars, 1754-1865 (Essex, Ct., and Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 2025)