HS 383
Dr. Geib
March 8, 2011 Paper 2 The American Soldier, 1860-1920 The philosophy and makeup of the United States military underwent more drastic changes during the sixty years between the outbreak of the Civil War and the conclusion of World War I. During this time period, the military went from small, localized, unprofessional and poorly trained groups to large, centralized, professional military units that rivaled the best militaries in the world. The transition of the U.S. Military started when the United States’ foreign policy increased their interests worldwide following the Civil War, engaging in conflicts in both the Caribbean and in Asia, culminating when the United States entered World War I not in their own interest, but rather in the interest of protecting European allies. This signaled the U.S.’s new role as a world power that has interests in global stability and maintaining strong alliances. However, none of these military advancements would have been likely to take place had the initial priority to increase military operations hadn’t occurred solely to preserve the Union.
The Civil War began with the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861, but both the Union and Confederate armies were not prepared to fight a ground war at that time, as armies had to be raised, mobilized, trained, and supplied for the upcoming war. The first ground battle of the war, the Battle of Bull Run, was not fought until more than three months after the attack on Fort Sumter, and even then those armies were disorganized and ill-prepared for war. The Union Army consisted of only 16,000 men when the South seceded, but then underwent the monumental task of mustering 500,000 troops by the end of the year. Due to the fairly organized militia system, most of these men were enrolled from the local volunteer armies, with only 50,000 men being conscripts. The