An American Profession of Arms

by William B. Skelton

1992

Following the formation of a regular army in 1784, a popular distruct of military power and the generally unsettled nature of national administration kept the army in a continual state of fluctuation, both in terms of organisation and size. Few officers were making a long-term commitment to military service. But by 1860, a professional army career was becoming a way of life. In that year, 41.5 percent of officers had served 30 years, compared to only 2.6 percent in 1797.

America's First Battles, 1776–1965

by Charles E. Heller, William A. Stofft

1986 · University Press of Kansas

This volume, a collection of eleven original essays by many of the foremost U.S. military historians, focuses on the transition of the Army from parade ground to battleground in each of nine wars the United States has fought. Through careful analysis of organization, training, and tactical doctrine, each essay seeks to explain the strengths and weaknesses evidenced by the outcome of the first significant engagement or campaign of the war. The concluding essay sets out to synthesize the findings and to discover whether or not American first battles manifest a characteristic "rhythm." America's First Battles provides a novel and intellectually challenging view of how America has prepared for war and how operations and tactics have changed over time. The thrust of the book--the emphasis on operational history--is at the forefront of scholarly activity in military history.

A History Of The Organizational Development Of The Continental Artillery During The American Revolution

by Major William C. Pruett US Army

2015 · Golden Springs Publishing

The thesis of this study is that the Continental artillery in the American Revolution, despite its ad hoc beginning and wartime challenges, gradually developed into a professional organization by the end of the war. Rather than operational history of the organization, its focus is on the growth of the organization over time, in terms of its cultural beginnings, its doctrinal development, and the leadership and career paths of some of its middle ranking leaders. The first chapter lays out the structural framework and statutory authorizations for the organization. The second chapter describes its early cultural shift from its pre-war legacy of provincialism to a trajectory toward professionalism. This chapter uses a cultural analysis to argue that Washington's decision to replace the aged Richard Gridley with Henry Knox as the commander of the Continental artillery ushered in a cultural shift away from an older provincial organizational culture to one that sought professionalism. The third chapter portrays the development of a battlefield tactical doctrine described in books that gradually took hold in informal ways. It takes a comparative theory and practice approach to argue that the kernel of an emerging doctrine existed in available European books and from those kernels, a consistent and effective doctrine developed over time. The fourth chapter uses a collective biographical approach to show organizational development in the careers of its middle ranking leaders. The concluding chapter summarizes findings and ties the professionalization of the corps of artillery to the military establishments of the new republic.