George C. Marshall Lecture in Military History
An annual lecture at the American Historical Association meeting, printed in the Journal.
By invitation25 lectures
About the lecture series
The George C. Marshall Foundation, the John A. Adams '71 Center for Military History and Strategic Analysis at the Virginia Military Institute, and the Society for Military History sponsor the George C. Marshall Lecture in Military History. The lecture aims both to keep Marshall’s memory alive and to stimulate interest in the study of military history more broadly.
The lecture is given each year at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association, and the text is published in The Journal of Military History.
How the lecturer is chosen
The lecturer is invited by the sponsors. There is no application.
Lectures
The series began in 1999. No lecture was given in 2003, or in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Early lectures were given at the Organization of American Historians meeting (2000, 2002, 2010) and at the Society’s own annual meeting (2001).
2025
The Cutting-Off Way: Indigenous Warfare in Eastern North America, 1500-1800
American Historical Association annual meeting
2024
Thinking about Military History as a History of Social Change · The Journal of Military History Vol. 88, No. 3, July 2024
American Historical Association annual meeting
2023
The Rise and Fall of the Grand Alliance: The U.S. Airmen behind Stalin’s Lines, 1944–1945 · The Journal of Military History Vol. 87, No. 2, April 2023
American Historical Association annual meeting
2022
Sally Paine
Centuries of Security: Chinese, Russian and U.S. Continental versus Maritime Approaches · The Journal of Military History Vol. 86, No. 4, October 2022
In the Journal: S. C. M. Paine
American Historical Association annual meeting
2020
Developing Strategic Empathy: History as the Foundation of Foreign Policy and National Security Strategy · The Journal of Military History Vol. 84, No. 3, July 2020
American Historical Association annual meeting
2019
Fredrik Logevall
How Should We Think About the Vietnam War
American Historical Association annual meeting
2018
Isabel V. Hull
The Armistice of 1918: A Study in Defeat and Victory
American Historical Association annual meeting
2017
For Want of a Nail: The Impact of Shipping on Grand Strategy in World War II · The Journal of Military History Vol. 81, No. 3, July 2017
American Historical Association annual meeting
2016
Projecting American Power in the Second World War · The Journal of Military History Vol. 80, No. 2, April 2016
American Historical Association annual meeting
2015
Mark Stoler
George C. Marshall and the ’Europe-First’ Strategy, 1939–1951: A Study in Diplomatic as well as Military History · The Journal of Military History Vol. 79, No. 2, April 2015
In the Journal: Mark A. Stoler
American Historical Association annual meeting
2010s · 5 lectures
2014
The Rewards of Risk-Taking: Two Civil War Admirals · The Journal of Military History Vol. 78, No. 4, October 2014
American Historical Association annual meeting
2013
David Hackett Fischer
American Historical Association annual meeting
2012
Andrew J. Bacevich
The Revisionist Imperative: Rethinking Twentieth Century Wars · The Journal of Military History Vol. 76, No. 2, April 2012
In the Journal: A. J. Bacevich
American Historical Association annual meeting. The video is in three parts; parts two and three are at youtube.com/watch?v=kMvEriVZKfw and youtube.com/watch?v=xNxV8e8jtUw
2011
Gerhard Weinberg
Some Myths of World War II · The Journal of Military History Vol. 75, No. 3, July 2011
In the Journal: Gerhard L. Weinberg
American Historical Association annual meeting
2010
Clausewitz and the First World War · The Journal of Military History Vol. 75, No. 2, April 2011
Organization of American Historians annual meeting
2000s · 9 lectures
2009
History from the Middle? The Case of the Second World War
American Historical Association annual meeting
2008
History, and the History of War · The Journal of Military History Vol. 72, No. 4, October 2008
American Historical Association annual meeting
2007
States Make War, and Wars Also Break States
American Historical Association annual meeting
2006
Drew Faust
'Numbers on Top of Numbers': Counting the Civil War Dead · The Journal of Military History Vol. 70, No. 4, October 2006
In the Journal: Drew Gilpin Faust
American Historical Association annual meeting
2005
After Hiroshima: Allied Military Occupations and the Fate of Japan's Asian Empire, 1945-1947
American Historical Association annual meeting
2004
Richard Kohn
The New American Militarization
In the Journal: Richard H. Kohn
American Historical Association annual meeting
2002
Ernest May
1947-48: When Marshall Kept the U.S. Out of War in China
In the Journal: Ernest R. May
Organization of American Historians annual meeting
2001
Allan Millett
Introduction to the Korean War
In the Journal: Allan R. Millett
Society for Military History annual meeting
2000
Edward Coffman
The Duality of the American Military Tradition
In the Journal: Edward M. Coffman
Organization of American Historians annual meeting
1990s · 1 lectures
1999
Russell Weigley
What Military Historians Can Teach Other Historians
In the Journal: Russell F. Weigley
American Historical Association annual meeting