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Research Guides

Military Affairs

Introduction to the Collection

It should be no surprise that the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, founded in the aftermath of the First World War, holds extensive collections on military affairs from the 19th century to the present day. From world wars through civil wars and low intensity conflict, Hoover’s collections range from the papers of commanders-in-chief through the photographs, diaries and memoirs of ordinary soldiers and sailors. The home front is also not forgotten: many collections deal with the economic and fiscal aspects of war and preparations for war, with the diplomatic side of conflict. A few of the prominent military men whose papers are held by the Hoover Archives: General Chiang Kai-shek, General Peter Vrangel’, General Joseph Stilwell, Admiral Karl Dönitz, Admiral Raymond Spruance, Admiral John McCain.