America at War Marc Blackburn

We have finished western expansion and the Army's campaigns 'out west'. With this episode we move into reform and revitalization of the Army and Navy until the end of the nineteenth century. In the aftermath of the Civil War, the United States remained insular. Without any external threats, the Army and Navy began to professionalize and think about the future. We will be focusing on a number of topics in this new series: the rise the National Guard, the expansion of officer education and professionalization, the modernization of the country's coastal defense infrastructure, and the rebirth of the navy. This was an exciting time. The growth of American military power at the beginning of the twentieth century cannot be understood without taking a look at this era.
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We are moving to the center of the country with this episode. Before the beginning of the Civil War through the decade of the 1870s, the Army was busy in the center of the country. This episode will serve as bridge between the end of the Civil War and the Sioux and Lakota Wars of the 1870s. As settlement stretched west, there were clashes between native peoples and the Army. In a familiar story, dissatisfaction with treaties and the ongoing conquest of native lands, forced the hand of many Tribes, leading to war. The Fetterman fight, and Washita are bellwethers for the future of native peoples being able to coexist with Euro-American settlers. Take a listen!
Have a question, comment, concern, or compliment? Contact us at americawarpodcast@gmail.com. You can also leave comments and your questions on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/americaatwarpodcast/. Thanks for listening!

The death of George Armstrong Custer and the destruction of the Seventh Cavalry is a touchstone for the Indian Wars. It is the one event that in many people's mind, is the touchstone for the post-Civil War conflicts with Native Armericans. We will focus on that in this episode of the podcast. The campaign to hem in the Sioux to their reservations was to be facilitated by a multi-prong advance. Rather than seeing success, the Army was blunted on the Little Big Horn and the Rosebud. The defeat had a lasting effect on the Army and did not step the colonization of the west, but it was the greatest victory experienced by any tribe in the decades long conflict. You can decide for yourself if Custer was either brave of foolhardy in his attack on the Little Big Horn. 
Have a question, comment, concern, or compliment? Contact us at americawarpodcast@gmail.com. You can also leave comments and your questions on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/americaatwarpodcast/. Thanks for listening!

I wanted to ask you all a question and wish you a happy and safe holiday season. If you would like to respond to the query, you can either respond through the podcast's facebook page or drop me a line through the podcasts email at americawarpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for listening to this podcast for all of these years. I really appreciate the support. Please be safe and enjoy the time with your families!

In the episode we move from the Lakota and Sioux to the border region. Long before the United States controlled what we know today as the Southwest, Spanish and then Mexican authorities had to contend with Navajo and Apache raids. Once the Americans established themselves, the pressures of colonization would trigger Army intervention, and basically very little in the way of accommodation, triggering further raids and army reprisals. The episode will focus first on the Navajo and their attempts to preserve sovereignty in light of dissatisfaction with American Indian policy. The Apache resisted American efforts to stop their raids, which resulted in a series of campaigns in the 1860s and 1870s. Take a listen!
Have a question, comment, concern, or compliment? Contact us at americawarpodcast@gmail.com. You can also leave comments and your questions on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/americaatwarpodcast/. Thanks for listening!

As we draw down the arc of episodes related to post-Civil War Indian Wars, in this episode we will concentrate on subduing Geronimo. Geronimo bedeviled the US Army as he left the reservation three separate times. For the last two campaigns, General George Crook successfully cornered the proud warrior and compelled him to return to the reservation. Unfortunately, Crook was not happy the second time Geronimo went on the campaign trail and he was sent into exile in Florida. The native peoples who have inhabited this continent are still here today. Despite the trauma of this period, they are contributing to their local communities and carrying their ancestors legacy into the future. Let's celebrate that.
Have a question, comment, concern, or compliment? Contact us at americawarpodcast@gmail.com. You can also leave comments and your questions on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/americaatwarpodcast/. Thanks for listening!