An American profession of arms
Subtitle: the army officer corps, 1784-1861
By: William B. Skelton.
Series: Modern war studies
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: 1992
Place of publication: Lawrence, Kan
Language: eng
Number of pages: 481
Subjects: United States. Army -- Officers -- History -- 19th century.; United States. Army -- Officers -- History -- 18th century.
Description: Historians, while recognizing the emergence of a pre-Civil War professional army, have generally placed the solid foundation of military professionalism in the post-Civil War era. William Skelton maintains, however, that the early national and antebellum eras were crucial to the rise of the American profession of arms. Although tiny by today's standards, the early officer corps nevertheless maintained strong institutional support and internal cohesion through a regular system of recruitment, professional training and education, and a high degree of leadership continuity. Through socialization and lengthening career commitments, officers came to share a common vision of their collective role with respect to warfare, foreign policy, Indian affairs, domestic politics, and civilian life. The result, Skelton shows, was the formation of a distinctive military subculture rooted in tightly knit garrison communities across the frontier and along the seaboard from which prominent Civil War leaders would emerge and whose essential character would persist well into the twentieth century.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 447-467) and index.