Personal Webpage:
http://astro.temple.edu/~gurwin
Research and Teaching Interests:
U.S. Military History, War of Independence, Civil War, Indian Wars, World War II, U.S. Marine Corps
Personal Statement:
I am a military historian with an interest in the armed forces of the United States and Great Britain. My research has emphasized the American Revolution, American Civil War, America's Indian Wars, and World War II in the Pacific. My earlier work consisted of traditional "drum and bugle" military history -- battles, campaigns, and military biography. Since the late 1980s, however, I have taken more of an interest in the "New Military History," which focuses on the political, sociological, institutional, and cultural aspects of war. This has led me to look more closely at the experiences of ordinary soldiers and the history of African Americans in uniform. I am currently working on a book about the defenders of Wake Island as prisoners of war during World War II. The Wake Islanders enjoyed one of the highest survival rates of any group of Caucasian troops taken by the Japanese, and I will try to identify and explain the reasons for their good fortune. After that, I plan to go back in time and tackle research projects relating to the American Civil War and War of Independence.
Representative Publications:
"U.S. Marine Survival Success in Japanese POW Camps," World War II Quarterly (2007).
"Arkansas in the Civil War: A Strategic Perspective," Introductory Essay for the "Arkansas in the Civil War" Web Site Produced by HarpWeek.
"Discipline, Camaraderie, and Luck: A Tale of POW Survival," Twenty-Fifth George Bancroft Memorial Lecture, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, October 18, 2004.
Editor, Black Flag over Dixie: Racial Atrocities and Reprisals in the Civil War (2004).
"Cornwallis and the Slaves of Virginia: A New Look at the Yorktown Campaign," in John A. Lynn, ed., ACTA, International Commission of Military History, XXVIII Congress: Coming to the Americas (2003).
"Poison Spring and Jenkins' Ferry: Racial Atrocities during the Camden Expedition," in Mark K. Christ, ed., "All Cut to Pieces and Gone to Hell": The Civil War, Race Relations, and the Battle of Poison Spring (2003).
"'A Very Disastrous Defeat': The Battle of Helena, Arkansas," North & South: The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society (2002).
"The Army of the Constitution: The Historical Context," in Max G. Manwaring, ed., ". . . To Insure Domestic Tranquilty, Provide for the Common Defense . . .": Papers from the Conference on Homeland Protection (2000).
"Cut to Pieces and Gone to Hell': The Poison Spring Massacre," North & South: The Officical Magazine of the Civil War Society (2000).
Co-Editor (with Cathy Kunzinger Urwin), History of the 33d Iowa Infantry Volunteer Regiment, 1863-6, by A. F. Sperry (1999). Visit the Book's Web Site.
Facing Fearful Odds: The Siege of Wake Island (1997). Winner of the 1998 General Wallace M. Greene, Jr., Book Award from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. Visit the Book's Web Site.
"'We Cannot Treat Negroes . . . as Prisoners of War': Racial Atrocities and Reprisals in Civil War Arkansas," Civil War History (1996). Winner of the 1997 Harold L. Peterson Award from East National Park and Museum Association.
Wake Island in World War II: An Annotated Bibliography (1996).
"'The Lord Has Not Forsaken Me and I Won't Forsake Him': Religion in Frederick Steele's Union Army," Arkansas Historical Quarterly (1993).
"Custer: The Civil War Years," in Paul A. Hutton, ed., The Custer Reader (1992).
"The Defenders of Wake Island and Their Two Wars, 1941-1945," Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives (1991).
The United States Infantry: An Illustrated History, 1775-1918 (1988).
Editor, Custer and His Times: Book Three (1987).
The United States Cavalry: An Illustrated History (1983).
Custer Victorious: The Civil War Battles of General George Armstrong Custer (1983).
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Dr. Urwin presents doctoral student Richard N. Grippaldi with the Russell F. Weigley Award for Military History from the U.S. Army Heritage Center Foundation at the 2006 Barnes Club Graduate Conference in History on April 1. Grippaldi was honored for his paper, “’The Best Appointments Should Be Made’: The Officers of the U.S. Regiment of Dragoons and Military Professionalism.”
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Dr. Urwin receives a certificate of appreciation from the American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia after addressing that group on "Cornwallis and the Slaves of Virginia" in March 2005.
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