Seminole Negro Indians, Macabebes, and Civilian Irregulars: Models for the Future Employment of Indigenous Forces.
Abstract
This study investigates the history of employing indigenous people as military units in combat. It reviews the circumstances surrounding the employment of people as auxiliary and irregular units. It also examines the wisdom of employing indigenous people in future conflicts given the shift in the current security environment. Examples are drawn from three different U.S. conflicts: the Indian Wars of the Nineteenth Century, the Philippine Insurrection in 1898, and the Vietnam conflict. It begins with the U.S. Army precedent set by the enlisting the Seminole Negro Indians as scouts in 1866. The study then examines subsequent indigenous personnel employed by the U.S. military, to include the Macabebe Scouts in the Philippines and the Civilian Irregular Defense Group in Vietnam. This paper highlights key figures in each conflict to include John Horse a Seminole leader and Lieutenant John L. Bullis in the Indian Wars, General Henry Lawton and Lieutenant M. A. Batson in the Philippine Insurrection, and Colonel Edward G. Lansdale, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Simons and Colonel Gilbert Layton in Vietnam. All three groups of indigenous forces were cited for providing a great deal of additional intelligence and firepower to their respective U.S. commander, thereby lending credence to possibly continuing their use. jg p.2
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 02, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA299732
Entities
People
- Victor Holman
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College