(James Duncan) J. Duncan Campbell

J. Duncan Campbell was an American author and military historian born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on May 17, 1916. Obituary records identify him as a graduate of John Harris High School and Gettysburg College, class of 1937, and note that he died in Harrisburg on November 8, 2007.

His best-known work is American Military Insignia, 1800-1851, published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1963 with Edgar M. Howell. The book is described in library and book records as a detailed study of early U.S. Army insignia, and it helped establish Campbell’s reputation among readers interested in uniforms, symbols, and material culture.

Campbell also co-wrote The Centennial History of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, 1852-1952 with Harry S. Gorgas. Beyond his books, he is remembered as one of the co-founders of the Company of Military Historians, an organization formed in 1949 for the study of military history, uniforms, and traditions. I wasn’t able to confirm a suitable portrait from reliable page images, so no profile image is included here.