Science in Uniform, Uniforms in Science: Historical Studies of American Military and Scientific Interactions is a collection of essays, which owes its existence to the fortuitous conjunction of two events. The first was a temporary exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington that opened in October 2002, entitled "West Point in the Making of America, 1802-1918." Sponsored by the U.S. Army, it commemorated the bicentennial of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Rather than recount the academy's history, however, this exhibit focused on the lives and work of a select group of West Point graduates, some famous, others less well known, in the context of American national development from the beginning of the 19th century through the First World War. One of the exhibit's central themes was the significant part West Pointers played in the creation of American science and engineering. An extraordinary display of objects, such as natural history specimens sent by antebellum soldier-explorers in the West to the newly formed Smithsonian Institution, augmented the biographical narratives with visual and material historical evidence. Sixteen months later, in January 2004, the annual meeting of the American Historical Association came to the same city. The AHA seemed to offer a perfect venue for the exhibit's final public program, a symposium on the historic links between America's armed forces and the development of American science and technology. Not all those who participated in the symposium were able to prepare articles for this volume, but this book nonetheless represents an impressive cross-section of work being done on an important but too often overlooked aspect of American history.

War is part of American history. This book examines how military technology both molded and reflected interactions between American military institutions and other American institutions. The growth of engineering and science has reshaped military technology, organization, and practice from the Colonial era to the present day. At the same time, military concerns influenced, and and sometimes channeled, American engineering and scientific development American Military Technology chronicles the interactions of technology and science with America's armed forces from colonial times to the end of the 20th century. Each period of the nation's history brought new and influential changes to the interaction of the military and technology, such as: The Beginning of the The Military-Technological Revolution, 1840-1865: The introduction of modern small arms, steam power, and technology, science, and medicine Militarization and Motorization, 1900-1914: The naval arms race, torpedoes and submarines, and the Signal Corps and the Airplane. Science, Technology, and Vietnam, 1965-1971: McNamara's Pentagon, Technology in Vietnam, Smart Bombs and Guided Missiles. The book is an excellent springboard for understanding the complex relationship of science, technology, and war in American history.