There was some fear among Americans in the
Army’s early days that it could be used against
them by a strong federal government. That
fear accounted for the adoption of the second
amendment to the constitution: “A well-regulated
Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear
Arms, shall not be infringed.” Thus, the country
had a militia and an Army. The Army had a much
broader responsibility, since its charge was to
protect the country at home and abroad. The
opportunities to pursue both missions abounded as
the United States matured.
The ink from Madison’s pen had hardly dried before
the wisdom of his advice regarding a standing
Army became apparent. One critical element was
missing from its mission: the need for training.
The lack of training showed as the Army engaged
in its first significant post-Revolutionary War
conflict, the Northwest Indian War (1785-1796).
The Army, composed of poorly trained and largely
undisciplined regular troops and militiamen, fared
poorly in the early years of the war, incurring
approximately 1,900 casualties during a series
of embarrassing defeats. That turned out to be
a blessing in disguise. Lesson learned. Leaders
began to focus on training. By the turn of the 19th
century the country had an Army it could be proud
of, and was.
The 19th century was an active period for the Army.
Its soldiers engaged in conflicts large and small:
The War of 1812, where they made history at the
Battle of New Orleans, the Mexican-American War
(1846-48), the American Civil War (1861-1865), the
Indian campaigns of the late 1800s, and finally the
1898 Spanish-American War.
One of the hallmarks in Army history happened in
1866 after Congress passed the Army Organization
Act. It created units comprising large numbers of
African-American soldiers who served mainly on
the western frontier. Their primary assignments
included controlling the Native Americans,
1775
1886
56 ARMY 245: Call to Duty