Oregon volunteer soldiers fought two wars in the Philippines from 1898 to 1899, one against the Spanish colonial government (from May to August 1898), and one against the Philippine insurgency (beginning in February of 1899). This thesis examines the connections between Oregonians' racial characterization of Filipinos and their beliefs about the wars' purposes and moral characteristics. The source material is drawn from the personal papers of Oregon volunteer soldiers and from the Portland Oregonian.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment is one of the most famous regiments of the Civil War through its membership in the Iron Brigade of the Union Army of the Potomac. This brigade has been hailed as an elite unit of the Civil War. This thesis is a regimental history which critically examines the socio-economic profile of the 19th Indiana and the combat record of the Iron Brigade. This thesis finds that the 19th Indiana is largely reflective of the rest of the Union Army in terms of its socio-economic profile. Also, the combat record of the brigade was not overly successful and not necessarily deserving of being singled out from among the hundreds of other brigades in the Civil War.

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This thesis presents an original annotated translation of Xiangyang shou cheng lu 襄陽守城錄 [A Record of the Defense of Xiangyang’s City Wall] written by Zhao Wannian (ca. 1169-1210) in 1207. In this record, Zhao, a low ranking official in the Song army, describes the events of a two and half month siege imposed upon the city of Xiangyang by invading Jin troops. Currently the only other full translation of this text that is available is in German by Herbert Franke and can be found in Studien und Texte zur Kriegsgeschichte der südlichen Sungzeit that was published in 1987. In addition to my translation, an overview of this event in the war between Song and Jin (1206-1208) as well as an overview of Xiangyang’s strategic geographic location is included in the introduction. A copy of the Yue ya tang edition of the text is provided in the appendices, along with an index of names which appear in the text, an explanation of the translation of titles, a glossary of weapons, a glossary of place names, and supplementary maps and photographs.

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This thesis looks at the social, political, and military effects of epidemic polio on America's war effort during World War II. The primary sources consulted include newspapers, military medical reports, photographs, memoirs, speeches, and archival collections. It looks at the effects of polio on the home front, more specifically how epidemics and the rising rates of polio were a detriment to the civilian war effort. It also focuses on the American military's preparation for and response to polio outbreaks among troops both at home and abroad. Finally, it discusses the experiences of the servicemen who contracted polio during the war. This work fills a major hole in the historiography of the disease and highlights the overlapping interests of the public, the medical community, and the military during a time of war.

During the South Pacific campaigns of World War II, the United States Navy faced a formidable challenge in waging nighttime surface battles against the Japanese Navy. In a war that emphasized the carrier and battleship, the little destroyer became a key player in these actions. By studying this campaign from the perspective of the destroyers, three key factors emerge that allowed the Americans to achieve victory: innovation in tactics, adaption of technology, and efficient use of resources. The research for the thesis was based upon action reports, oral histories, and other documents obtained from the National Archives, Naval War College, Naval History and Heritage Command Center, and East Carolina University. The Japanese perspective was attained from numerous secondary sources. Innovation in tactics, technology, and resources allowed the Americans to persevere through severe defeats to achieve success against a very skilled Japanese Navy in the seas of the South Pacific.