Batson of the Philippine Scouts
Abstract
Colonial troops-the term evokes images of exotically uniformed Bengal Lancers, Sikhs, Gurkhas, or Spahis. In the 19th century, Britain, France, and other nations in the race for territory formed native units to help win and hold their empires. For Americans, at the turn of the century, also found it necessary to recruit a colonial army, and the Army officer who founded that unit is now virtually forgotten. The Spanish-American War had brought the Philippines under the Stars and Stripes at slight cost, but within months a nationalist movement posed strong opposition to continued American rule. By the end of 1899, there were nearly 60,000 American troops in the Philippines. A year later almost 70,000 were attempting to put down the nationalist forces. And the Americans found it necessary to rely increasingly on Filipino auxiliaries in this struggle. In June 1899, at the peak of the fighting, Matthew A. Batson, a lieutenant with the 4th US Cavalry, pondered the difficulty of the conflict. If the United States intended to carry on the war to victory, he saw only two options. The first, which he considered unlikely, was that it must send an army of 100,000 to win and hold indefinitely every town on Luzon, the largest island in the archipelago. The more plausible possibility was to recruit Filipinos and shift much of the burden of the war to them. This was the genesis of the Philippine Scouts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA593859
Entities
People
- Edward M. Coffman
Organizations
- United States Army War College