For Release
Feb. 17, 2005

 The Citadel and history department
to host military scholars, historians

           Military historians and scholars from around the country will visit The Citadel and Charleston for the 2005 Society for Military History annual meeting. The gathering is hosted by The Citadel History Department.

           This is the first time the Society for Military History has met in Charleston. More than 500 members are expected to attend the conference, which begins Thursday, Feb. 24 and concludes Sunday, Feb. 27 at The Citadel. Among those expected attend are defense intellectuals, retired military personnel, graduate students and academics from across the nation.

           David Hackett Fischer, the Warren Professor of History at Brandeis University, will deliver the keynote addressat 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25.

           Fischer specializes in Colonial and Revolutionary America and has long researched issues of cultural persistence in American history. His landmark books, Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America and Paul Revere's Ride represent well his greatest gifts as a historian: rigorous scholarship and a knack for storytelling. More recently, Fischer has devoted himself to writing about Revolutionary era military history, and this can be seen in his latest book, Washington's Crossing. It is a critically acclaimed and provocative examination of the generalship of George Washington and his conduct of the Trenton Campaign. Fischer's keynote address will cover Washington and the development of the American military tradition.

           Founded in 1933, as the American Military Institute, and renamed the Society for Military History in 1990; the organization is devoted to stimulating and advancing the study of military history. Among its 2,300 members are many of the nation's most prominent scholars, soldiers, and citizens interested in military history.

           The Society sponsors The Journal of Military History, published quarterly by The George C. Marshall Foundation and the Virginia Military Institute, and is the leading scholarly journal disseminating new research in military history.

           The Citadel's long history of military education exemplifies the 2005 conference theme "The Rise of the Military Profession."

           For more information regarding the Society for Military History or the annual meeting click here or contact Dr. Jennie Speelman, meeting coordinator, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (843) 953-5045.

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