military historical society massachusetts

Welcome to The Military Historical Society of Massachusetts

The Military Historical Society of Massachusetts, founded in 1876 by John Codman Ropes, is the nation's oldest incorporated military history society. The original membership lists boast legendary names from Civil War history, including Gen. William T. Sherman U.S. Army, and Lt. Gen James Longstreet, Confederate States Army. A future admiral, who catapulted to fame in the Spanish-American War, Commander George Dewey, enhanced the rolls, along with others whose names are found elsewhere on this site. The Society's purpose is to encourage studies of United States military history and that of other countries, the maintenance of social meetings for lectures and discussion of the history and cooperation with organizations with similar goals and purposes. Read more about our history and purpose.

News

An exhibit of: "First Hand Civil War Era Drawings" from the Becker Collection, which has been supported by our Society, was displayed at the McMullen Museum of Fine Art at Boston College in December.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY MAKES HISTORY: CADET MAKES MONEY. The winner of this year's MHSM Essay Competition is Cadet William Mathews, a student at Boston University who is enrolled in the Charles River Battalion, Boston University's Army R.O.T.C. unit. Cadet Mathews read and presented his work at the 2009 May 8 Meeting. Details on the essay topic and read the winning essay!

Membership

The Society presently consists of approximately one hundred-fifty members, most of whom are resident in the Greater Boston area. The society is governed by a board of directors and officers. The Society sponsors two types of meetings in addition to the annual and semiannual business meetings. Four or five social meetings are held annually. The usual format is a social hour followed by dinner and then a presentation by a guest lecturer or member. View additional information on officers | directors | events

Upcoming Events

12:00 Noon Friday 19 March 2010 at the Union Club of Boston. "The State of Jones" details and registration information

Archives and Library

A listing of past activities, summaries of speaker presentations and photographs are available.

In the1890's, one of the stated purposes of the Society was "the establishment of a reading room and library devoted to" military history. This was accomplished when the Cadet Armory was built (as is described under the origins and background of the Society. The reading room and library were maintained until the Armory was sold in the 1960's. The library collection is now on permanent loan to the Mugar Library at Boston University. Read more about the collection | Visit the Mugar Library website.