Alexander Barnes

Alexander F. Barnes brings a unique perspective to the study of U.S. military history by combining his 30 years of military experience in the Marine Corps and the Army with his scholarly training as a professional archaeologist. Growing up in Germany and Italy as child in a military family, he uses this background and education to provide understanding of military events and processes and is often able to explain why events happened rather than just how they occurred. His first book, "In a Strange Land; the American Occupation of Germany 1918-1919" was well received and considered by many to be the definitive study of the American Army and Marine Corps' occupation of the German Rhineland after the end of the First World War. Barnes recently retired after 30 years of service as an Army civilian at Fort Lee, Virginia. He is currently serving as the Command Historian for the Virginia National Guard.

His second book for Schiffer Publishing was released in July 2014. Entitled "Let's Go! The History of the 29th Infantry Division from 1917 to 2001, it is an easy to read narrative for the amateur historian and a valuable research tool for the professional historian. Working from many previously unpublished sources, it provides an enlightening view of the history of the 29th Infantry Division in the 20th century as well as serving as a unique vantage point for understanding American military history from 1917 through World War II and up to 2001.

Barnes' "To Hell with the Kaiser; America Prepares for War 1916-1918" was released in December 2015. It is a two-volume set that describes the history and events surrounding the training of the AEF in 1917 and 1918---these books will cover all aspects of the 32 main training sites as well as describing the effects of national conscription, the integration of African American soldiers into the AEF, the drafting of immigrants and the Spanish flu on the growth of the American Army.

"Desert Uniforms, Patches and Insignia of the US Armed Forces" was co-written with Kevin Born and released in December 2016. It describes the development and use of American Armed Forces desert uniforms in combat from 1975 to 2012. It has become the definitive publication for military uniform and patch collectors as well as the guidebook used by many Living History groups.

A recent publication, co-authored with Pete Belmonte, author of "Days of Perfect Hell," on the definitive study of the service of foreign-born men and women in the US military in WWI. This book, "The Forgotten Soldiers of the Great War: America's Immigrant Doughboys" was released in June 2018. It was awarded the 2019 Gold Medal in the Military/War category by the Forward Indies annual book review.

Most recently Al and Pete were joined by Samuel Barnes to research and write a definitive history of Baseball and World War I entitled "Play Ball! Doughboys and Baseball during the Great War." This work was published in April 2019 and covers the combined history of American soldiers, professional ballplayers, and the game they loved from the beginning of the war to the end of the American Occupation of the German Rhineland in 1923. It also tells the story of the first women's baseball game played in Germany in 1920 between Army nurses and YMCA lady volunteers and perhaps was the impetus for the Professional Women's Baseball League during the Second World War. This book is also on sale at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Barnes is also well known for his series of articles on logistics operations in support of expeditionary and small unit military operations. These articles cover such diverse subject areas as the Army's operations in Northern Russia and Siberia during 1918 to 1920, the Punitive Expedition in 1916 and 1917 and Marine operations in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua during the 1920s. The articles have appeared in Army Logistician Magazine, Army Sustainment Magazine and the National Defense Transportation Association Journal.