Interpreting American Military History at Museums and Historic Sites by Marc K. Blackburn

Author:Marc K. Blackburn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Chapter 8

Internal and External Expansion, 1865–1914

Notwithstanding the cudgeling of stress, neglect and hostility that beset the soldier, the army began to be restless for something better. The stir of honest ambition, that lies close to true American hearts, plainly started to transform itself into concrete movement.

William Ganoe, The History of the United States Army.1

The period between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the twentieth century is a period of retrenchment, change, and new horizons. As with other time periods that serve as bookends from one momentous event to the next, certain aspects tend to be neglected. In many regards, the end of the Civil War saw the return to business as usual for the Army and Navy. Both shrank and returned to the duties that occupied their time in the decades before the Civil War. Whereas the Navy protected American commerce around the world, the Army returned to its duties policing the frontier. Enforcing Indian policy made the Army an agent for change at the expense of aboriginal populations, paving the way for settlement of the West and, ultimately, the closing of the frontier. As one frontier closed, new possibilities emerged outside of the continental United States in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

The first task at hand for the Army was reconstructing the South. In the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, until 1877, Federal garrisons remained in the southern states. In 1865, the assassination of President Lincoln left the country without a leader to guide the nation forward. The Republicans dominated Congress and Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s successor, clashed. Johnson wanted immediate reconciliation and the establishment of Southern state governments ready to rule. Grant was put on the spot and came down on the side of Congress, instituting military government. Until the occupation of Germany in 1944–1945, officers were put in uncomfortable situations, protecting public and private property but also acting as the local county government. In what amounted to local police force and municipal authorities, Army officers held a great deal of power at the local level but not a great deal of direction in terms of setting national policy. Despite the overtly political role the Army played in Reconstruction, they were the only Federal institution that had the manpower and authority to carry out the legislative intent of the Republican Congress. For much of nineteenth century, the Army was the only institution that could provide domestic tranquility in uncertain times. However, their chief responsibility was to fall back into the familiar mission of patrolling the frontier.2

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