Development of the U S Army

DEVELOPMENT OF THE U S ARMY

Since its birth on 14 June 1775-over a year before the Declaration of Independence-the United States Army has played a vital role in the growth and development of the American nation. It won the new Republic's independence in an arduous eight-year struggle against Great Britain, at times providing the lone symbol of nationhood around which patriots could rally. During the Civil War it preserved the Union through four years of biter conflict that turned brother against brother. It has repeatedly defended United States against external threats, from the "second war of independence" with Great Britain in 1812 through the crusades that finally rid the world of the specters of Nazi totalitarianism, Japanese imperialism, and world communism. The defense of the nation has always been the Army's primary mission. From the beginning the Army has also been involved with internal improvements, natural disaster relief, economic assistance, domestic order, and a host of other contingencies. Although these missions may not have always been those it would have chosen for itself, Army has drown great satisfaction from knowing that when the nation was in need, it answered the call.

Over the past 225 years, the United States has grown from a loosely organized confederation of thirteen English colonies scattered along the Atlantic seaboard to a superpower whose influence reaches around the globe. The U.S. Army has contributed immeasurably to the rise of the American nation, first as the shield of the Republic during its vulnerable early years and later as means to project power in defense of American interests worldwide. The Army's contributions, however, go far beyond the role of military force. Its ready availability as a source of disciplined and skilled personnel has made it an attractive option for American leaders confronted with a wide array of nonmilitary demands and crises.

Adaptation to the latest technology is no new experience for the United States Army. Throughout the events described below, the Army has attempted to better accomplish missions and to save lives by harnessing newly developed capabilities. This innovation in turn has radically altered tactics, organization, and industrial relationships.

The soldiers of the Revolutionary War Army went into battle with a great assortment of firearms, many of them personal and most of them muskets accurate only to a range of 100 yards. Following its independence, the federal government nurtured a small but healthy arms industry, spurred along by Eli Whitney's invention of interchangeable parts, which made possible standardized gun design. Once brought to an appropriate standard of training, the soldiers fighting the War of 1812 greatly benefited from the improved quality and standard of their equipment. By the time of the Mexican War, American arms were technologically equivalent to those of Europe, with particular advances made in the mobility, flexibility, and potency of field artillery. So-called Horse Artillery deployed onto Mexican War battlefields with impressive speeds and often provided decisive concentrated fires.

The American Civil War catapulted warfare into the Industrial Age. On the battlefield, the barrel-hugging features of the newly designed Minie Ball extended effective rifle range to 600 yards, several times that of earlier wars. Great masses of men advancing shoulder to shoulder against each other were now perilously exposed, and Civil War armies eventually disappeared into trenches except during the most daring of attacks. Radically increased ranges and capabilities characterized the most modern of Civil War artillery. Off the