Edward M. Coffman
Encyclopedia
Edward M. Coffman military historian, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Emeritus, was born in Hopkinsville, KY and earned his BA, MA, and PhD at the University of Kentucky
. He served as an Infantry officer in the U.S. Army in 1951-53. He taught at Memphis State University for two years and the University of Wisconsin at Madison (1961-92). He was Forrest Pogue
s research assistant on the first volume of his biography of George C. Marshall. He spent a year each as a visiting professor at Kansas State University
, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, Army War College, and the Army Command and General Staff College. He has served on the History Book Club advisory committee since 1987. A member of the Society for Military History
since 1956, he has held several offices including president. He served on the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (1972-76) and the Department of the Army History Committee for six years and as chair for an additional four years. He received a Southern Faculty Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship
. He is a member of the UK Phi Beta Kappa chapter and is an Honorary Graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College. Over the years the Army awarded him the Commander’s Award for Public Service, Outstanding Civilian Service Award
, and Distinguished Civilian Service Award. He was named a University of Kentucky Distinguished Graduate and the Wisconsin State Assembly gave him a citation for his contributions as a teacher and historian. The Society for Military History gave him the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for his contribution to military history and the distinguished book award for The Regulars. ABC-CLIO gave him the Spencer Tucker Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Military History.
Coffman's research interests are the American participation in World War 1 and the social history of the Regular Army, including not only officers and soldiers but the wives and children who lived on the posts. He has published numerous articles since 1956. In addition to research in secondary scholarly works, he depended on unpublished and published memoirs and records as well as oral history and correspondence, particularly in his books on World War 1 and last book about the Regular Army. His books are The Hilt of the Sword: The Career of Peyton C. March (Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1966), The War To End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War 1 (New York: Oxford University Press,1968; reprinted by the University of Wisconsin Press in 1986, and by the University Press of Kentucky in Lexington, KY in 1998), The Old Army: A Portrait of the American Army in Peacetime, 1784-1898 (New York, Oxford University Press, 1986) and writings in the Journal of Military History, and The Regulars: The American Army 1898-1941 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004).
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
. He served as an Infantry officer in the U.S. Army in 1951-53. He taught at Memphis State University for two years and the University of Wisconsin at Madison (1961-92). He was Forrest Pogue
Forrest Pogue
Forrest Carlisle Pogue Jr. . Forrest C. Pogue was an official United States Army historian during World War II, and attained the rank of Master Sergeant. He may well have been one of the best-educated sergeants in the U.S. Army in World War II...
s research assistant on the first volume of his biography of George C. Marshall. He spent a year each as a visiting professor at Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, Army War College, and the Army Command and General Staff College. He has served on the History Book Club advisory committee since 1987. A member of the Society for Military History
Society for Military History
The Society for Military History is an United States-based international organization of scholars who research, write and teach military history of all time periods and places. It includes Naval history, air power history and studies of technology, ideas, and homefronts. It publishes the...
since 1956, he has held several offices including president. He served on the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (1972-76) and the Department of the Army History Committee for six years and as chair for an additional four years. He received a Southern Faculty Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
. He is a member of the UK Phi Beta Kappa chapter and is an Honorary Graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College. Over the years the Army awarded him the Commander’s Award for Public Service, Outstanding Civilian Service Award
Outstanding Civilian Service Award
The Outstanding Civilian Service Award is the third highest honor within the Department of the Army Civilian Awards scheme, that the United States Department of the Army can bestow upon a private citizen.-Eligibility:...
, and Distinguished Civilian Service Award. He was named a University of Kentucky Distinguished Graduate and the Wisconsin State Assembly gave him a citation for his contributions as a teacher and historian. The Society for Military History gave him the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for his contribution to military history and the distinguished book award for The Regulars. ABC-CLIO gave him the Spencer Tucker Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Military History.
Coffman's research interests are the American participation in World War 1 and the social history of the Regular Army, including not only officers and soldiers but the wives and children who lived on the posts. He has published numerous articles since 1956. In addition to research in secondary scholarly works, he depended on unpublished and published memoirs and records as well as oral history and correspondence, particularly in his books on World War 1 and last book about the Regular Army. His books are The Hilt of the Sword: The Career of Peyton C. March (Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1966), The War To End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War 1 (New York: Oxford University Press,1968; reprinted by the University of Wisconsin Press in 1986, and by the University Press of Kentucky in Lexington, KY in 1998), The Old Army: A Portrait of the American Army in Peacetime, 1784-1898 (New York, Oxford University Press, 1986) and writings in the Journal of Military History, and The Regulars: The American Army 1898-1941 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004).