Life of the Enlisted Soldier on the Western Frontier

LIFE OF THE ENLISTED SOLDIER ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER 1815-1845 DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Stanley S. Graham, M. A. Denton, Texas August, 1972 Graham, Stanley S., Enlisted Life on the Western Frontier, 1815-1845. Doctor of Philosophy (History), August, 1972, 346 pp., bibliography, 463 titles. In almost two centuries of performance, the American army has adjusted to changing technology. Periodically, it has placed more effective weapons and equipment in the hands of its troops. It has also made changes in its administration, training, tactics, and methods of resupply to conform better to new missions. The pay of its personnel has been adequate, although sometimes meager when compared with civilian wages. Equally important for the morale of its soldiery, the army has made occasional efforts to afford moral guidance and recreational facilities. In more recent years, military leaders have even been forced by civilian pressures to reorient their philosophy toward a more humanitarian approach in seeking methods to instill discipline. In contrast to the relatively rapid changes occurring in the modern American army, the period between the end of the War of 1812 and the beginning of the Mexican War offers a definite period for a study of military life when reform came slowly. 1 2 During the. time outlined, one observes changing policies in almost all phases of military life. Tactics and weapons and other equipment improved, with each modification serving to make a more efficient army. Leaders transformed modes of recruitment of personnel to encourage qualified men to enlist. When compared with other frontiers- men, the soldier received adequate food, clothing, and pay. Regulations allowed the establishment of libraries for his education and recreation. By the beginning of the Mexican War, Congress had recognized the importance of moral guidance. Temperance societies had infiltrated some posts, and provided a tool with which commanders could curtail drunkenness. The soldier's children even received an elementary education at the far-flung installations located away from civilization. Although few men received commissions, Congress had made provisions for noncommissioned officers to be appointed to the lowest officer grade. In contrast to the mutability in many areas, officers clung tenaciously to the past in their methods to enforce discipline. They continued to espouse a philosophy that obedience could be attained by inculcating fear in the minds of potential violators of regulations. Enlisted men suffered from harsh, and sometimes brutal, chastisements for minor 3 infractions of rules. The punishments continued to be as excessively severe by the end of the period as they had been in 1815. As a result of the harshness and cruelty of punishments, and a lack of promotion possibilities, many soldiers deserted. Recruiters continually expressed dis- pleasure that they were unable to attract qualified men into the enlisted ranks. With hindsight, an observer can see readily that while officers accepted changes, they failed to understand that the men they commanded were reluctant to defer and subordinate their personalities and desires for advancement in a system that thrived on oppression. The vast majority of the materials researched in this study were found in the North Texas State University Library, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and the state historical society libraries of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. While the personal and family papers of several early pioneers and army officers at these points of collection afforded significant bits of information about enlisted personnel, official records and newspapers proved most useful. Of the government documents, unit orderly books and expedition journals contained vast amounts of information about army life in general. In addition to the Niles' Register and the Army and Navy Chronicle, several 4 of the frontier newspapers also aided immensely in piecing together a general idea of how men of the pre-Mexican War army lived. PREFACE Since World War II, the nation has grown increasingly conscious of the need for social and political reform. Although the clamor for change has not been as turbulent as in other periods of American history, the present move- ment has probably been more widespread. More recently, an unpopular war in Southeast Asia served to induct an influx of dissidents into the ranks of the army. The presence of the more vocal dissenters provided a catalyst to stir public concern over abuses and malpractices of military leaders and force a reorientation of their antiquated philosophy. The present efforts to improve the plight of the rank and file are still in progress, and thus, analyses of their effect must be left for future historians. While protest has brought some change, the modern army continues to be a stratified system, but with decreasing rigidity in the separation of its castes, particularly when compared with conditions in the nineteenth century. Its classes are still readily identifiable, but mobility within the ranks is easier. Its methods employed to instill discipline no longer emphasize degradation and humiliation, iii but rather stress rehabilitation. In short, the men in the modern American army no longer suffer abuse, neglect, and misunderstanding without hope of recourse. They are no longer relegated to a permanent position in the enlisted ranks. In almost two centuries of performance, the army has adjusted to changing technology. Periodically, it has placed more effective weapons and equipment in the hands of its troops. It has also made changes in its administration, training, tactics, and methods of resupply to conform better to new missions. The pay of its personnel has been adequate, although sometimes meager when compared with civilian wages. Equally important for the morale of its soldiery, the army has made occasional efforts to afford moral guidance and recreational facilities. In more recent years, military leaders have been forced by civilian pressures to reorient their philosophy toward a more humanitarian approach in seeking methods to instill discipline. In contrast to the relatively rapid changes occurring in the modern American army, the period between the end of the War of 1812 and the beginning of the Mexican War offers a definite time period for a study of military reform when it came slowly. iv In 1815, the nation's leaders adopted a policy which required the military occupation of more territory west of the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. The increased number of posts, and their greater distances from the earlier- settled regions of the country, created new problems of transportation, supply, and administration. Each new vicissitude brought a need for modification of old procedures, and thus, many traditions soon fell by the wayside in an ever changing frontier army. Many of the alterations affected the daily life and routine of the individual soldier. During the period outlined, one observes changing policies in almost all phases of military life. Tactics and weapons and other equipment improved, with each modification serving to make a more efficient army. Leaders transformed modes for recruitment of personnel to encourage qualified men to enlist. When compared with other frontiers- men, the soldier received adequate food, clothing, and pay. Regulations allowed the establishment of libraries for his education and recreation. By the beginning of the Mexican War, Congress had recognized the importance of moral guidance and had added chaplains to the army's organization. Temperance societies had infiltrated some posts, and provided a tool with which commanders could curtail drunkenness. The soldier's v children even received an elementary education at the far- flung installations located away from civilization. Although few men received commissions, Congress had made provisions for noncommissioned officers to be appointed to the lowest officer grade. In contrast to the mutability in many areas, officers clung tenaciously to the past in their methods to enforce discipline. They continued to espouse a philosophy that obedience could be attained by inculcating fear in the minds of potential violators of regulations. Enlisted men suffered from harsh, and sometimes brutal, chastisements for minor infractions of rules. The punishments continued to be as excessively severe by the end of the period as they had been in 1815. As a result of the harshness and cruelty of punishments, and a lack of promotion possibilities, many soldiers deserted. Recruiters continually expressed dis- pleasure that they were unable to attract qualified men into the enlisted ranks. With hindsight, an observer can see readily that while officers accepted many changes, they failed to understand that the men they commanded were reluctant to defer and subordinate their personalities and desires for advancement in a system that thrived on oppression. While historians have afforded relatively thorough coverage of the life and routine of the officers and their vi families, writers have neglected the enlisted men and their dependents. Although regulations forbade the writing of private letters or reports relative to military operations, many officers maintained daily journals or diaries. In addition each commander kept a book to indicate all orders issued and received. While a unit was on campaign,

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