Title: Samuel J. Watson. Jackson's Sword: The Army Officer Corps on the American Frontier, 1810–1821.
Abstract:This book is the first volume in a proposed two-part series that examines the officer corps of the United States Army from the War of 1812 through the Mexican-American War. Samuel J. Watson analyzes t...This book is the first volume in a proposed two-part series that examines the officer corps of the United States Army from the War of 1812 through the Mexican-American War. Samuel J. Watson analyzes the evolution of the officer corps from a roguish outfit characterized by insubordinate, cavalier personalities to a professionally trained officer class in tune with the role of the frontier army as a constabulary force subordinate to civilian authority. This volume deals primarily with the earlier manifestation of the officer corps during the second decade of the nineteenth century, as Watson examines the conduct of U.S. officers during operations in the Texas-Louisiana borderlands, Florida, and the lower Missouri Valley. Watson contends that army officers played an extremely important role in these border regions as “‘men on the spot,’ exercising substantial and sometimes decisive discretionary influence over the implementation and final shape of national policy” (pp. 31–32). They were agents of national authority, often forced to mediate between federal policy and a host of antagonists, ranging from the political intrigues of the British and Spanish to the resistance of Indian tribes and maroons, with aggressive western settlers, filibusterers, freebooters, smugglers, and pirates thrown in for good measure. Thus, as Watson persuasively argues, “an examination of the officer corps in the borderlands can serve as a valuable exercise in the study of diplomatic history, American foreign policy and international relations, and nineteenth-century imperialism” (p. 31).Read More
Publication Year: 2014
Publication Date: 2014-10-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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