For more than two centuries, the U.S. military has relied not only on those who wore the uniform, but also on those who built the world that sustained it. Every battle fought abroad has had a quieter campaign unfolding at home.

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Homefront Archives: Behind the Uniform explores that unseen side of military history — the lives of military spouses and families who helped shape, support, and sustain the armed forces from the American Revolution to the present day.

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This project uncovers the history of the home front as a living, evolving institution — one that mirrored the military’s own transformations. While generals and battles often dominate the story, the Homefront reveals another kind of heroism: the creation of community, continuity, and culture within an organization built on constant movement and change.

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      Why I Started This Project

For 26 years, I lived that life — packing up homes, raising kids through deployments, building networks, and watching spouses quietly keep the institution running.

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As a military wife, veteran, and historian, I began to see patterns in what official histories often left out. Spouses weren’t just supporting the mission; in countless ways, they were helping to design it.

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That realization became the foundation for Homefront Archives — a digital history project dedicated to documenting how military spouses and families have shaped the systems, traditions, and social structures of military life.

 

This isn’t a military lifestyle blog.
It’s history — told from behind the uniform.

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                 My Purpose

 

My goal is to challenge the traditional divide between the “home front” and the “battlefront.” The two have always been connected.  Military spouses and families have continuously influenced how the military functions — socially, structurally, and operationally.

 

From Martha Washington visiting encampments during the Revolution to Civil War wives running correspondence networks, to modern spouses coordinating readiness groups during deployments — the home front has always been a strategic space of its own.

 

Spouses managed logistics, cared for the wounded, built informal networks long before they had official titles, and filled institutional gaps during times of upheaval. Their labor and leadership shaped the modern military family — and, in turn, the military itself.

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​           What I Mean by “Military Spouse”

 

When I say “military spouse,” I mean it inclusively. This project recognizes anyone partnered with or supporting a service member — through marriage, long-term partnership, or shared service.

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That includes male and female spouses, people of color, LGBTQ+ partners, same-sex couples, and dual-military families across all branches and ranks. Each has contributed a unique perspective to how military systems evolved — socially, culturally, and institutionally.

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​        My Approach to This Work

 

I bring my background as a Veteran, military spouse, and someone from an extended military family, as well as my experience as a Curator of Military History and a military historian, to every story I tell.​

• Reframing History: I look at spouses as participants who shaped military culture, not just maintained it.

• Grounded in Evidence: Each post and article draws on archival research, oral histories, and institutional records.

• Context Matters: Every story is placed within the larger military system — showing how home front actions influenced organizational change.

• Inclusive Scope: From 18th-century camp followers to 21st-century readiness leaders, I trace how military families built the frameworks that sustain today’s armed forces.

 

 By blending personal experience with academic research, I hope to make this history accessible, engaging, and meaningful — not just for historians, but for anyone who’s ever lived within or beside the military world.

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       Why This Matters

The story of America’s military is incomplete without the story of those who built its backbone.

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Military spouses created continuity in a system defined by movement, community in the face of separation, and culture in a space that constantly rebuilds itself. They turned survival strategies into institutions — from the earliest regimental laundresses and nurses to the creation of family readiness programs, education networks, and advocacy groups.

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Recognizing spouses as stakeholders and architects, not just supporters, reframes military history itself. It shows that service extends far beyond the uniform — into the homes, partnerships, and communities that make the mission possible.

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      About the Historian

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I’m Melissa, a military historian with a master’s degree in history (concentration in military history) and the Curator of Military History at a military museum.

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I’m also an Army BRAT, USAF veteran, and military wife of 26 years.

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My work focuses on what I call the “invisible architecture” of military history — the systems built by families, spouses, and communities that have shaped the armed forces into what they are today.

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Through Homefront Archives, I’m bringing those stories to light — one chapter of the home front at a time.