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Military Collections - Columbus State University

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Archives and Special Collections

Military Collections

Focus on Military History

The CSU Archives and Special Collections has been strategically emphasizing and cultivating our US Military History Program over the last several years.

This is part of a concerted partnership between the Libraries, Archives, the Hallock Endowment for Military History, and Department of History, Geography, and Philosophy. A key component of cultivating Columbus State as a center for the study of military history is expanding its holdings of original primary source archives. This provides our students a unique opportunity to generate original scholarship directly from the source, and it makes CSU a leading international destination for scholars.

Over the last several years the Archives has greatly emphasized and expanded its military history related collections.

  • papers from former Secretary of the Army John O. Marsh that document his work as a congressman, his tenure as army secretary, and his continued public service in retirement. They provide unparalleled insights into the post-Vietnam transformation of the U.S. Army during the Reagan era. 
  • the Pierre Sprey Papers that document the design of aircraft like the A-10 Warthog, civil-military dynamics, defense reform, and the technological evolution of air combat strategy.
  • the James Martin Papers that document the three decades of work of the pioneering Army social worker and researcher who developed soldier substance abuse programs, researched psychological readiness, and advised on personnel policy during major conflicts.
  • Papers of Major General (ret) Patrick Donahoe, former Commanding General of the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning. These papers document his service in Bosnia and Kuwait, the 9-11 attacks, battalion command in Iraq in 2005-2006, service in Afghanistan in 2012-13 as the Senior NATO Advisor to the Chief of the General Staff of the Afghan National Army and 2016-17 as the Chief of Plans for NATO Resolute Support Mission in Kabul.

In addition to the above major new acquisitions, the Archives maintains and existing currently strong collections with examples including:

  • Civil War era correspondence from privates as well as an artillery officer and an Irish immigrant who enlisted and achieved the rank of Captain. Its Civil War era collections also include the papers and war time correspondence of General Henry Benning.
  • Numerous papers from both World Wars are also held in the Archives of both enlisted and drafted individuals from both theaters of war.
  • Colonel Hallock’s own personal papers documenting his time in the Korean War as well as his time as a private defense contractor and personal adviser to the Shah of Iran in the years directly leading up to the Iranian Revolution.

In addition to the growing collection of scholarly materials we are collecting in the Archives, CSU is proud to be the home of the Colonel Richard R. Hallock Endowed Chair of Military History, Dr. David Kieran. We also work closely with Fort Benning and the rich nearby military related museum network (The National Infantry Museum, The US Armor and Calvary Collection, and the National Civil War Naval Museum.

Columbus State University offers an unparalleled research and internship destination for students and scholars of all disciplines. We strive to be a national and international institution for students and scholars studying military history from around the world. For more information about CSU’s military history program visit the Hallock Military History website.