Department of History

This past May, with the spring semester wrapping up and summer in the air, I found myself sitting in the darkness of a 6:00am flight out of Morgantown to scenic Leavenworth, Kansas. Why, you ask? Had my first year of doctoral studies in WVU’s History Department driven me to the breaking point? Had I done something terrible? Would I ever return to our fair city and university to resume my studies, or would my only taste of West Virginia forevermore be the faint echoes “Country Roads” floating from a transistor radio through the bars of a tiny prison cell?

Fortunately for me, my trip to Leavenworth did not take me to that city’s notorious federal penitentiary, but to the historic grounds of its famous Army post and an amazing experience as a student in the U.S. Army’s Military History Instructor Course (MHIC). Nominated to attend the course by WVU’s Professor of Military Science, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Sampson, for two weeks I joined a handful of civilian academics and a larger group of military personnel for an up-close look at the Army’s approach to the study and use of military history. Conceived in the 1990s to help standardize the military history instruction throughout the Army, today MHIC’s mission is to train ROTC instructors and civilian faculty supporting ROTC units to teach American military history in accordance with Army Training and Doctrine Command guidelines.

The course consisted of 85 hours of instruction spread out over two weeks, and featured a well-balanced mix of classes focused on military history content and on pedagogy. Classes were taught by the top-notch faculty of the Army’s Command and General Staff College and by staff from the Combat Studies Institute, accomplished scholars whose expertise in the history of American warfare was matched only by the energy they brought to the classroom. Perhaps you’re thinking that only a history doctoral student could enjoy sitting through lectures all day, but these instructors were so engaging, thought-provoking, and entertaining that I almost felt guilty that I hadn’t had to pay for the privilege of hearing them speak.

And it wasn’t all classroom, lecture, and PowerPoint. We spent one afternoon on Fort Leavenworth’s rifle range shooting a variety of historical weapons, including replicas of Revolutionary and Civil War-era muskets as well as beautifully restored original rifles from the Spanish-American War and World War II. Thankfully, the point of the exercise wasn’t to test our ability as marksmen. Had that been the case, I would have failed miserably! Rather, it was to experience first-hand (or, as closely as one can on a controlled rifle range) what an individual soldier’s encounter with these weapons might have been like. To feel the recoil, to struggle to see through the smoke. It was quite an amazing experience.

We also ventured afield for a one-day “staff ride” exercise that examined the 1864 Battle of Westport, one of the largest battles to take place in the American Civil War’s western theater. Each of us assumed the role of a Union or Confederate commander, and in teams we traversed the battlefield, analyzing that commander’s tactical decision-making in full operational context. As with the historical weapons shoot, the point of the staff ride wasn’t to test our level of expertise or our ability to summon just the right insight at the right moment. It was to help us shed our modern perspective and begin to understand the American military experience in proper historical context. More importantly, both exercises were designed to get us thinking about how we as instructors could dynamically supplement classroom instruction, and help students better connect with and understand the past.


Following the Battle of Westport staff ride, we attended a talk by a curator at the National World War I Museum, and explored the exhibits of this impressive facility.
I returned from my MHIC experience energized, “armed” with great ideas (sorry, I had to say it!), and excited to teach our Department’s undergraduate course in American military history during the Spring 2010 semester. Interested? Look for HIST 210 in the Spring 2010 WVU Course Catalog. See you then!

Joel Christenson is a 2nd year doctoral student in American history.
For More Information:
U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute, Military History Instructor Course