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Emergence of Professionalism,1783-1860
Dr. Gregory S. Hospodor
CGSC, Department of Military History
Time of Revolutionary Change: America in 1790 and 1850
I. Demographic Revolution
II. Political Revolution
III. Market Revolution
IV. Transportation Revolution
V. Communication Revolution
Theme: You might think about quickly setting the background within which the US military operated during the period.
Relevance: Is change occurring at a faster or slower rate now than then? What are the implications for the Army you will serve in? How do militaries adapt during rapidly changing times? Recent—Combined-ops to full-spectrum ops. How did the antebellum US Army adapt during its own period of rapid change? Are the officers then that different than you?
1770 2,205,000
1790 3,929,214 3.7 million rural .7 million urban
1850 23,191,876 19.6 million rural 3.2 million urban2.2 million immigrant
Territory (land and water in square miles)
1790 888,811 .22 sq. miles per person
1850 2,992,747 .13 sq. miles per person
1851 13 states in 1790
30 states in 1850
$1.15 billion in national wealth $293 per capita
$7.16 billion in national wealth $308 per capita
Demographic Revolution
Political Revolution
Market Revolution
Transportation Revolution
1800
1860
Communication Revolution
YYou’ve just defeated the ou’ve just defeated the greatest army in the world.greatest army in the world.And you’ve made Mel Gibson a And you’ve made Mel Gibson a national hero…national hero…
Sure, you needed help from the snotty French. But now you can relax. Now you can have some fun now that the parent (nation) is not around. Now you drink imported tea, guilt-free. Now you can wait patiently for the next British Invasion (in 1964)
Now comesNow comesMiller time…Miller time…
Hey, American Army…..
It’s 1783. What should the military strategy of the young United States be?
Army Problems?
• Funding
• Composition
• Mission
• British
• Indians
• Leadership (Civilian/Military)
Sentiments on a Peace Establishment—1783
1) Small regular army (2,631)
2) Militia
a. Federal standardization
b. Volunteer and Common militia
3) Federal arsenals and factories
4) Military Academies
“… Regular Troops alone are equal to the exigencies of modern war, as well as for defense as offence, and whenever a substitute is attempted it must prove illusory and ruinous”
George Washington 15 September 1780
“Standing armies in time of peace are inconsistent with the principles of republican government.”
The Confederation Congress 2 June 1784
A standing army as a political issue.
Militia vs. Professional Standing Army
Why were folks concerned about this? --- Power; just fought a RevolutionWhy was a militia considered a better fighting force despite evidence to the contrary? ---motivated by love of freedom rather than pay; self-interest; civic virtue
Events that worked against a decent sized standing army:
1.Newburgh Conspiracy (winter 1782-1783) a great story with tons of leadership potential2.Society of the Cincinnati (1783) membership hereditary3.Philadelphia Riots (1783)4.Whiskey Rebellion (1794)5.Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) Quasi-War with France6.Political Ideology and Party Politics: Nationalism (Alexander Hamilton—Federalists) vs Republicanism (Jeffersonian Republicans)
Nationalists were petrified by Shays’ Rebellion (1786-1787); Washington, who didn’t frighten easily, was “mortified beyond expression.” Crisis atmosphere—led to Constitutional Convention.Constitution stuck a balance regarding military power—the fear remained.
Washington’s War: 1790-1795• Confederation of Miami, Shawnee,
Delaware, and Wyandot Indians– Defending the Ohio Country encouraged by
the British – Led by Blue Jacket of the Shawnee and
Little Turtle of the Miami• Battle of Kekionga (Harmar’s defeat) – 20-
22 October 1790• Battle of the Wabash (St. Clair’s defeat) – 4
November 1791• Wayne placed in command - organizes
“Legion of the United States”• Victory at Fallen Timbers on 20 August
1794• Treaty of Grenville - 3 August 1795
Washington to St. Clair: "Trust not the Indian; leave not your arms for the moment; and when you halt
for the night be sure to fortify your camp. Again and again, General: Beware of surprise!"
Henry Knox of MA, Secretary of War and Chief Little Turtle
War with the Indians brings up the question of a standing army!
“the Constitution certainly never contemplated a Standing Army in time of Peace”
Sen. William Maclay
Republican Defense Policy:Jefferson Administration (1800-1808)
Hippies or Pragmatists?
• Reduce standing Army (budget)
• Establish USMA at West Point & “Republican-ize” officer corps
• Create Gunboat Navy; “Mosquito Fleet”
• Build stone masonry fortresses along the coast
• Economic sanctions in response to British outrages
Ft. Jackson, LA
Ft. Moultrie, SC
Ft. Monroe, VAFt. McHenry, MD
Coastal Defenses
Reality intrudes!T.J. and the Pirates
After 1803, Britain and France are once again at war.
The British blockade Europe and forbid any neutral ships to trade in European ports. U.S. ships are treated by British as hostile vessels. British board and sink U.S. ships.
French also treat U.S. ships as enemy.
Toward the War of 1812
War of 1812
Causes:• Impressment• Indian Problems• British forts on the Ohio frontier• War Hawks want to annex Canada• Americans tired of being pushed around.
Problems• U.S. unprepared for war. 6,000 soldiers and 18
war ships. British have 600 ships, 250,000 soldiers.
• Most of the U.S. army in the West, war is in the East.
• Lack a coherent strategy
Endstate?
Strategy?
The War of 1812
Battle of Chippewa, July 5, 1814“Those are regulars, by God!”
The White House
Ft. McHenry
Francis Scott Key
Hartford Convention, 1814
The Battle of New Orleans—8 January 1815
Andrew Jackson
British 385 killed /1,186 wounded/ 484 captured/ Total:2,055Americans 13 killed/ 58 wounded/ 30 captured/ Total: 101
Treaty of Ghent
Break
American Military Leadership:“Old Hickory” or “Fuss and Feathers”?
What is a Professional?
ProfessionalismProfessional attributes include the following: The occupation
1. is a full-time and stable job, serving continuing societal needs; 2. is regarded as a lifelong calling by the practitioners, who
identify themselves personally with their job subculture; 3. is organized to control performance standards and
recruitment; 4. requires formal, theoretical education; 5. has a service orientation in which loyalty to standards of
competence and loyalty to clients’ needs are paramount; 6. is granted a great deal of collective autonomy by the society it
serves, presumably because the practitioners have proven their high ethical standards and trustworthiness.
[Allan R. Millett, Military Professionalism and Officership in America (Columbus, Ohio, 1977), 2.
General James Wilkinson and the Early National Armies
• Little professional education• No standards of entry or
promotion• In and out of service• Did not see himself solely as
a member of the officer corps• Often politically appointed• Little self-identity with the
nation
“The Thirty Years’ Peace”1815-1845
• Calhoun Reforms (1817-25)– John C. Calhoun, SecWar,
idea of using Regulars as a cadre (Expansible Army)
– Continues to build coastal forts– Enlarges Regular army– Establishes Army staff
(ordinance, QM, etc.)• West Point reforms under Thayer
(1817-32)– USMA as preeminent
engineering school in America• Scott Reforms
– Military Laws– Regulations– Tactics
“Expansible Army” Concept
• 1821: Congress plans to cut the army• Calhoun developed a plan in
coordination with his generals• Army to be small in peacetime• Cadre top-heavy with officers & NCOs• Capable of rapid wartime expansion • Demands an officer corps dedicated to planning for war• Congress disapproved, but the concept endured
“at the commencement of hostilities, there should be nothing either to new model or create”
Agents of Reform:
Sylvanus Thayer Superintendent, USMA, 1817-
1833
Reforms
•Four-year program
•Thayer method
•Regular examinations
•Engineering curriculum
•Order of merit
•Disciplinary system
•Office of Commandant
•Academic Board
•Board of Visitors
Educator of a New ProfessionEducator of a New Profession
New Conceptualization of Officer Profession, 1815-1861
• now lifelong commitment
• educational system
• social system – shape their craft
-apolitical
-truly national
-anti-amateur
Antebellum Army – Operations other than War
• Clearing Indians/security
• Exploration/mapmaking
• Internal improvements
• Enforcing trade regulations
What does the U.S. Army bring to the table in order to accomplish these missions?
War with Mexico…Why?
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
(1794-1876)
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
(1794-1876)
War with MexicoCauses:• Manifest Destiny – U.S. wants the
West for expansion and settlement.
• Mexican Government untidy – lots of revolutions and govt. changes in Mexico between 1830-1844.
• American citizens living in Mexico treated badly by government, usually when the Americans plan revolutions and stuff.
• Mexico owes U.S. a lot of money, and due to political instability, not likely to pay it off.
• Dispute between Mexico and the U.S. over boundaries of Texas.
• In 1844, Democrats make expansion a key plank in their presidential election platform.
James K. Polk
Polk elected in 1844. He hoped that he could acquire Mexican territories in the West through diplomacy. Mexico severed diplomatic ties with the U.S., so Polk decided to go to war.
He wanted the Mexicans to start the war, so that an outraged U.S. public would demand war. But the Mexicans refused to cooperate.
Just as Polk was about to ask for war anyway, Mexican and U.S. troops fought a skirmish on the Rio Grande River. Polk blamed Mexico. Got his war.
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
(1794-1876)
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
(1794-1876)
War with Mexico
• War would be unpopular in the Northeastern U.S.
• Great Britain Might ally with Mexico in the war.
• Santa Anna was the greatest general in the world – he liked to call himself the Napoleon of the Western Hemisphere.
Mexico also had sufficient grievances to want a war with the U.S.
They believed that they could win the war because:
Mexican hopes were unfounded. Mexico lacked the military power to defend even its home territory, much less an empire.
Who was at fault?
Americans said that the Mexicans shot first, and had crossed the Rio Grande to attack U.S. troops.
Mexicans said Americans had attacked them across the river, and were the aggressors.
Whig Congressman, Abraham Lincoln asked where the first spot of American blood fell in the skirmish. If on Mexican soil then the war was unjust. His question called the “Spot Resolution.”
Lincoln’s constituents showed their appreciation by not re-electing him.
Mexican War Highlights
American volunteers in Upper California rebelled against Mexico and established the Bear Flag Republic.
Under Capt. John Frémont, Bear Flaggers begin attacks against lower California and northern New Mexico.
Frémont took volunteers and regular army into New Mexico where he met up with U.S. troops under S.W. Kearny who had advanced from Missouri.
Zachary Taylor Won victories along the Rio Grande, took Monterrey, Mexico and inflicts a major defeat on Santa Anna at Buena Vista.
Winfield Scott landed at Vera Cruz. After a series of battles across Mexico, Scott enters Mexico City on September 14, 1847. Mexico Surrenders.
So what did we get?
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gives the U.S., California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona and area of New Mexico not claimed already by Texas. U.S. gives Mexico $15 million and pays Mexico’s outstanding debts to U.S. creditors.
The Army in the Mexican War
“I give it as my fixed opinion that but for our graduated cadets the War between the United States and Mexico might, and probably would, have lasted some four or five years, with, in its first half, more defeats than victories falling to our share.”
-General Winfield Scott
Lieutenant Sam Grant Captain R. E. Lee
Lessons Learned in Mexico for West Point Grads
• Flanking Maneuvers• Training/Discipline• Logistics• Engineering• Artillery
• For the home front, the war affirmed a romantic view of armed conflict.
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Interior LinesExterior LinesIt’s All Here!
Democracy, Nationalism, and Expansion
So you want to be a General?
The Importance of Logistics“Amateurs study tactics; professionals study
logistics.”
58
Next Up: What I know you’ve all been waiting for: THE CIVIL WAR
