Question??? Company of Military Historians

[csuniforms]

Have a question? How many of you out there are members of the Company of Military Historians? If not, why not? The members produce one of the finest Military Journals today and each issue has at least one article or section from the Civil War. The Les Jensen article on Confederate Jackets, that most quoted and referred to piece of research by Living Historians is a Company Journal article. Les Jensen beside the arms curator at West Point is the current President! The Company also issues a set of uniform prints, many again on the Civil War. If you want to talk to those who do the research, people from the Smithsonian, and all those State collections, you get to meet them first hand at their annual convention. This year it is in Albany and these seminars are terrific! I know many of you already have access to these places and special collections, but being a member of the Company does lend a little more credibility to your search.
Come join us! We need new blood and perspectives. It is your turn to carry the torch.

CSuniforms (will be 60 years old next month and getting older every day)
Tom Arliskas

[Dennis W. Duerbeck]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

Tom, I have been a member of ' The Company' for over 30 years and totally agree with you. Company members have the opportunity of making contacts that otherwise would never happen. If you are doing research on a particular topic those chiefly involved are many times just a handshake away. A trip to the "back room" is always another good reason to attend our Annual Meetings. If anyone is interested in The Company of Military Historians send me a PM. Dennis W. Duerbeck

[Joe Walker]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

I'm a member- Bob Parker's buddy from Texas. I met and got to know Les when he was working at the 2nd AD museum in Killeen, Texas and I have known Myers since he was a high school kid. I am working on an article to go in the periodical someday. I didn't see you in Nashville last month.

Joe Walker

[DougCooper]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

Fantastic organization that I have been a member of for about 5 years...but should have been for 20. Its really a "gotta join" for anyone who considers themselves a military historian, full or part time, or is interested in broadening their knowlege. :D

[stri volunteer]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

Member. Great writing with well researched articles but a little light on the historical weapons and a little too heavy on the minutiae of uniforms. Tom, you need to submit something to the Journal so we can get a feel for what your new "Wearing the Gray" material will be like. We have a copy of Cadet Gray and Butternut Brown around here someplace, it's about worn out.

[Gary of CA]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

Member. Wrote several articles for them and have three more in the bin. At the Annual Meeting last year, we were taken behind the scene of the Tennessee State Museum and shown uniforms and flags not on display to the public. Alex Quesada and I also visited the Williamson County Museum (in Franklin) and they opened the display cases for us to examine the UCV uniforms displayed there. We also suggested corrections on the labels for some displays.

[JimKindred]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

Former 25 year member. My experience with the CMH is a little different. Several years ago during the process of renewing my membership I was told by the vice president for membership that as a collector of military firearms and associationed field gear it would be better for me to find another organization better suited to my interests. To be frank, I was more than shocked at that attitude. I decided that if that was the attitude of the person in charge of maintaining and recruiting members I saw no reason to continue my membership. I later exchanged emails with Les Jensen concerning this, he was very understanding of my position but in the end I decided to stick with my decision to end my membership.

Since leaving the CMH I have found other organizations dedicated to the specific subjects of my collecting interests and time period that open just as many doors if not just a few more. One of the problems facing the CHM in gaining and maintaining membership is going to be how to compete with such subject specific organizations such as this. At one time the CHM was the only game in town but with the introduction of these subject specific organizations they have given people other choices to organizations whose collecting interests are directly in line with their own.

I will suggest, especially for those interested in uniforms of the pre 1940 time period, that CHM is a fine organization to start with due to its broad subject area. It will introduce you to the level of research that as a collector you will find necessary to adopt if you plan to become a serious collector. As you progress in your collecting you may find that the subject specific organizations will aid you more than one that covers a broad subject and time period format.

[garyjd]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

Several years ago during the process of renewing my membership I was told by the vice president for membership that as a collector of military firearms and associationed field gear it would be better for me to find another organization better suited to my interests. To be frank, I was more than shocked at that attitude.

WOW! unreal. Well if they have that big of a problem with guys interested in weapons and fieldgear maybe they should take SMALL ARMS off of the membership application. What a jerk.

I did belong for 1 year while in the military and moved half way though my membership and the remaining journals were never forwarded. After that I decided to not renew, so I buy the journals and plates that pertain to my interests. It's a great organization if you're into uniforms. ~Gary

[JimKindred]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

....... and plates that pertain to my interests. It's a great organization if you're into uniforms. ~Gary

I still have my first eight years or so of their plates in the original mailing containers, I suppose those will be up on Ebay in the near future.

[Dennis W. Duerbeck]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

Having served on The Board of Governors I'm sorry to learn of a loss of a former member especially after 25 years. The Board is definetly aware of many issues , one of which is member retention. The Company may not be for everyone but it certainly offers much to many. Many of us are either members in other organizations and/or magazines, websites, papers, etc. We all have something to share with one another. If a Company member has in their collection: longarms, smallarms, uniforms, documents, edged weapons, jeeps, tanks, or cannon , it doesn't make a difference. As it is stated on the header page of the Journal "... The purpose of the journal is to diseminate information on the material culture, history, and traditions of members of the Armed Forces of the United States worldwide and other nations serving in the Western Hemisphere...". This encompasses a great many items not just uniforms or "field gear". If it did then where would it place Civil War cartridge boxes (Paul Johnson) and tents and cap boxes (Fred Gaede) ?

Any current member may act as recruiter that is not the sole duty of just one person. As I stated in an earlier reply to this post the Annual Meetings may be for a researcher a connection that may only be a handshake away. There are also tours to the "back room" where all the 'good stuff' ' is stored. I hope this may answer questions anyone may have, if not anyone is free to send me a PM. I also thank Jim Kindred for his frank comments and Gary Dombrowski for his concerns, those CMH members for their replies, and the moderators. Dennis W. Duerbeck.

[csuniforms]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians-Uniforms

Hello, Have so much information on uniforms Its so hard to put it all down with so little time. If I did not have to work for a living I could devote my life to uniform research. -- The Company, they are after me to do more and I promised them I would. Some of the projects I am working on for the new Kenosha Museum is on the uniforms of the 90 day volunteers. Have a cart load of information on the 1st Wisconsin Infantry, 1st Iowa, and first 7 Illinois Regiments. Bill Carr send me a book literally on Michigan uniforms! Confedederate stuff-- I will never get through it all. Am working on the Missouri Chapter for WTG. I dont even want to mention what is in there on the Missouri State Guard.-- Anyway, join the Company of Military Historians. You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk--????
Tom Arliskas
CS uniforms

Member. Great writing with well researched articles but a little light on the historical weapons and a little too heavy on the minutiae of uniforms. Tom, you need to submit something to the Journal so we can get a feel for what your new "Wearing the Gray" material will be like. We have a copy of Cadet Gray and Butternut Brown around here someplace, it's about worn out.

[Gary of CA]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

For those who are not members of the honorable Company, let me share a sample of an article. It was originally published in their magazine, The Military Collector and Historian, and was later republished (sans endnotes) by Bivouac Books. There's a little bit about uniforms in it, but most of it isn't.

Sharpshooters as Prisoners

One neat thing about their annual meetings is that you actually meet the people who write the books we read or work curators or directors in museums, or teach at universities or are noteable (or yet to be known) park rangers.

[fire_zouave]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

Another MC&H article that can be found on the web- particularly on the Liberty Rifles website, is John Rees's article on Civil War campaign shelters found in the Winter of 2004 issue.

http://www.libertyrifles.org/research/campaignshelters.html

It is an extensive article to say the least, well worth buying the back issue for $3.33 from the Company.

[Gary of CA]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

The Spring 2009 issue, Vol 61, No. 1 has the following Civil War related articles:

The Candid Testimony in the Case of the Shooting of G. W. Spears, Prisoner of War by Clarence Wicks of the 19th Wisconsin Infantry Camp at Camp Randall, Wisconsin, 16 May 1862 by Jason Wickersty

Some Glimpses of Mississippi's Volunteer Militia, 1860-61 by Thomas G. Rodgers

"Pat" Murphey: An Officer of Two Navies and his Surrendered Sword by Dave Sullivan.

The 15th Confederate Cavalry Regiment (or 1st Regiment, Alabama and Florida Cavalry): Some Soliders and Their Artifacts by Capt. Edwin W. Besch and Arthur E. Green

Military Leather in the Nineteenth Century: Its Methods and Secrets by David Jarnagin and Ken Knopp

'Gwine today!

[ThehosGendar]

Re: Question??? Company of Military Historians

I submitted that article two years ago... I totally forgot about it, so it was a nice surprise when the issue came in the mail and it was in there!

Hope you all liked it!