January 18, 2021
American Indian Wars E52 Gone to Fight the Indians: Marines on the Early Frontier
In this episode, we're picking up right after the American Revolution, when the United States emerged as the dominant force in North America. While hundreds of Native tribes still existed, their military strength and organization couldn't match the newly formed U.S. government.
We'll look at how Marines, though rarely involved early on, began encountering Native forces in places like Reading, Pennsylvania, and Florida. We'll cover battles, ambushes, leadership decisions, and the broader consequences that shaped U.S. expansion and Native resistance.
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References
- Alexander, J. (1978). The Ambush of Captain John Williams, U.S.M.C.: Failure of the East Florida Invasion, 1812-1813. The Florida Historical Quarterly, 56(3), 280-296. Retrieved January 16, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/30147441
- Bowen, J. C., Stewart, E. M. (1934). History of Wages in the United States from Colonial Times to 1928. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
- Conover, G. S., Cook, F. (1887). Journals of the Military Expedition of Major General John Sullivan Against the Six Nations of Indians in 1779: With Records of Centennial Celebrations; Prepared Pursuant to Chapter 361, Laws of the State of New York, of 1885. United States: Knapp, Peck & Thomson, Printers.
- Drake, J. D. (1999). King Philip's War: Civil War in New England, 1675-1676. United States: University of Massachusetts Press.
- From George Washington to Major General John Sullivan, May 31 1779," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-20-02-0661. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 20, April 8 –31 May 1779, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010, pp. 716–719.]
- History of the Pequot War: The Contemporary Accounts of Mason, Underhill, Vincent and Gardener. (1897). United States: Helman-Taylor Company.
- Miller, W. M., & Johnstone, J. H. (1965). A Chronology of the United States Marine Corps, 1775-1934 (Vol. 1). Washington, DC: Historical Division Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps.
- Russell, F. (1962). The French and Indian Wars. United States: American Heritage Publishing Company; book trade distribution by Meredith Press.
- Vaughan, A. (1978). "Expulsion of the Salvages": English Policy and the Virginia Massacre of 1622. The William and Mary Quarterly, 35(1), 57-84. doi:10.2307/1922571
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