About Donald J. Hartman

Donald J. Hartman has been collecting US militaria for over forty-five years, specializing in Krag bayonets and military entrenching tools for most of this time. Having written and published The Krag Bayonets: History, Variations, Modifications in 2009, Don has now turned his attention to entrenching tools manufactured from the Civil War to World War 1.

With a BA degree in English and a MA degree in literature, Don has experienced a fulfilling career teaching English and literature for thirty-two years. Noting the dearth of published material on entrenching tools, and recognizing the need for additional information on this topic, Don has brought his writing and research skills to bear in US Military and Experimental Entrenching Tools: Civil War to World War 1. Visiting and/or corresponding with more than twenty research facilities around the country, interacting with numerous advanced collectors in this field, and analyzing thousands of pages of US Army publications and documents, Don has put together an extensive body of information on these devices, many of which have never before been examined or seen in print.

As a US Air Force officer for four years (1967–1971), and as a decorated Vietnam veteran (Bronze Star), Don has some knowledge and appreciation of the workings of the US military and the importance to the individual soldier of his field equipment. A life member of the National Rifle Association since 1978, he is also a member of several state and national arms collecting fraternities, including the New Jersey Arms Collectors Club, The Forks of the Delaware Historical Arms Society (life member), the Society of American Bayonet Collectors, and The Company of Military Historians.

As is often the case in an endeavor such as this, Don has received a great deal of support and assistance from family members: his wife, Dawn, is the primary photographer for this book and an astute co-researcher; his older daughter, Tracy, contributed the drawings contained herein and has aided in book design; his younger daughter, Kelly, and her husband, Robert Gilpatric, are primarily responsible for book design, photography set-up, and textual editing.