by John Scott Reed
Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2020. Pp. xvi, 302.
Maps, appends, notes, biblio., index. $39.95. ISBN: 0700629726
Volunteers in an Imperial Adventure
With this work Prof. Reed (Utah), has rescued from obscurity the Volunteer Army of 1899, a force of some 35,000 troops organized into 25 regiments (including one of cavalry and two of African Americans), recruited for two year’s service to fight the nationalist insurgency in the newly acquired Philippines. The “nation’s primary ground combat force during their brief existence” (p. 194), with the Regular Army still recovering from wartime losses, these troops were recruited partly from discharged veterans and carefully selected state volunteers.
Reed opens with a chapter on the “Strategic Context” of the war, then follows with one on the creation and recruitment of the Volunteer Army, and another on the “moral terrain” in which it operated, under the terms of General Orders 100, pointing out the ambiguities of the “rules” of war. He follows with a chapter giving an overview of the pacification campaign, with many more ambiguities, such as insurgent leaders becoming loyal American-supporters almost literally overnight.
Then, concentrating on the experiences of the 26th. 29th, 40th, and 43rd Regiments, Reed devotes chapters to tactics, casualties, medical care, garrison life, troop discipline (“internal discipline”), and “external discipline”, the behavior of the troops toward civilians and insurgents. Although due to the nature of the regiments selected – all white – we do not get see the experiences of the African American troops (some of whom reportedly deserted to the insurgents), Reed concludes that the U.S. Volunteer troops seem to have behaved better than state volunteers or Regulars toward the “native” population. He notes, however, that the lack of anything like the famous Stouffer study of soldiers’ thoughts and attitudes makes figuring out the personal feelings of the troops difficult.
A volume in the Kansas series “Modern War Studies”, The US Volunteers in the Southern Philippines is a very valuable look at a largely forgotten chapter in American military history, and will prove very informative for those interested in the experience of men at war and the history of American counter insurgency operations.
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Note: The US Volunteers in the Southern Philippines is also available in several e-editions.
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