Archive for category History

Industry Talk: Comparing Today’s State-Owned Firms To The East India Company

Dec 26

Posted by Matt in History, India, Industry Talk | 40121 Comment2011-12-27+05%3A19%3A18Matt

The parallels between the East India Company and today’s state-owned firms are not exact, to be sure. The East India Company controlled a standing army of some 200,000 men, more than most European states. None of today’s state-owned companies has yet gone this far, though the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has employed former People’s Liberation Army troops to protect oil wells in Sudan. The British government did not own shares in the Company (though prominent courtiers and politicians certainly did). Today’s state-capitalist governments hold huge blocks of shares in their favorite companies.

I really liked this article because of it’s comparisons to today’s state-owned companies. Especially Chinese state-owned companies and their use of armed security. Now the big question is, will we see a day in which a modern state-owned company would have a standing army as large as the East India Company army? Who knows, but that is something I do like to track on this blog.

The Russians have also expanded the lethality of one of it’s state-owned companies. Back in 2007, Russia signed into law allowing Gazprom and Transneft to arm their security force for the protection of pipelines and facilities. Gazprom is a huge company and they are the largest natural gas extractor in the world, and the largest company in Russia.

Now what I always pondered with this stuff is the clash between state-owned companies and private-owned companies. Or state -owned companies and their private security or private military, clashing with other military forces or PMC’s. Especially on the high seas.

There was a recent threat warning where the Iranian navy might target merchant vessels in the Straits of Hormuz. In this situation, if there was an armed private force on a merchant vessel that was contracted by a ‘state-owned’ company, then that could be a situation where private force would combat a government force to protect company assets and personnel. The potential is there.

I guess my point is that back in the day, the East India Company had to protect it’s vessels from attacks by states and non-state actors all the time. They also raised an army on land to protect company assets as well, and this article identified the trend of these state owned companies and their private military or security as only getting bigger and more lethal in order to deal with expansion and control. A 200,000 man standing army, all under the control of a company is pretty impressive if you ask me.

The other thing I was interested in with this article was the mention of the bond as a means of dealing with the principal agent problem. Here is the quote:

The Company’s success in preserving its animal spirits owed more to necessity than to cunning. In a world in which letters could take two years to travel to and fro and in which the minions knew infinitely more about what was going on than did their masters, efforts at micromanagement were largely futile.
The Company improvised a version of what Tom Peters, a management guru, has dubbed “tight-loose management”. It forced its employees to post a large bond in case they went off the rails, and bombarded them with detailed instructions about things like the precise stiffness of packaging. But it also leavened control with freedom. Employees were allowed not only to choose how to fulfil their orders, but also to trade on their own account. This ensured that the Company was not one but two organisations: a hierarchy with its centre of gravity in London and a franchise of independent entrepreneurs with innumerable centres of gravity scattered across the east. Many Company men did extremely well out of this “tight-loose” arrangement, turning themselves into nabobs, as the new rich of the era were called, and scattering McMansions across rural England.

In modern times, we have the luxury of phones, cameras, the internet, jet aircraft, cars, overnight shipping, you name it. We have all of these tools at our disposal for the war effort, and yet we continue to have problems where a subcontractor on continent A, screws up something, and the head shed on continent B hasn’t a clue on what is going on. Or head quarters believes that things are getting taken care of, just because of emails and video conferencing–but they aren’t.

One of the solutions the East India Company came up with in their world that lacked the technologies of connectedness that we take for granted today, is the simple bond. That, and this ‘tight loose management’ concept that gave their company men ‘rules and guidelines’, but also the freedom necessary to make things happen throughout the world. And a man’s word was backed up by a bond, in which if they violated, they would literally pay for their mistake or violations.

It is such a simple little thing, and yet I am still perplexed as to why it is not used more in today’s contingency contracting? The East India Company depended on it, Renaissance period mercenaries and the towns that hired them in Italy depended upon it, and our Continental Congress and early Privateers all used the bond as a means of keeping everyone honest and on task. Perhaps problems with today’s contracting could have been minimized if we implemented a license and bonded concept for those contracts?

Cool article and check it out. -Matt

EastIndiamanIndustry Talk: Comparing Todays State Owned Firms To The East India Company

An armed East Indiaman vessel.

The East India Company
The Company that ruled the waves
As state-backed firms once again become forces in global business, we ask what they can learn from the greatest of them all
Dec 17th 2011
A POPULAR parlour game among historians is debating when the modern world began. Was it when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, in 1440? Or when Christopher Columbus discovered America, in 1492? Or when Martin Luther published his 95 theses, in 1517? All popular choices. But there is a strong case to be made for a less conventional answer: the modern world began on a freezing New Year’s Eve, in 1600, when Elizabeth I granted a company of 218 merchants a monopoly of trade to the east of the Cape of Good Hope.
The East India Company foreshadowed the modern world in all sorts of striking ways. It was one of the first companies to offer limited liability to its shareholders. It laid the foundations of the British empire. It spawned Company Man. And—particularly relevant at the moment—it was the first state-backed company to make its mark on the world.

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Tags: China, East India Company, Gazprom, private security, Russia, standing army, state run companies

Film: Coriolanus

Nov 28

Posted by Matt in Film, History | 39144 CommentsFilm%3A+Coriolanus2011-11-28+23%3A49%3A02Matt

Now this looks interesting. This is the film adaptation of Shakespeare’s play called Coriolanus, which was based on the Roman general Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. Beethoven even wrote a piece called the Coriolan Overture. Although with this film, the setting is in modern times. (they also filmed it in Serbia, and used Serbian soldiers as extras)

Now the key here is can a modern film version of this play, resonate with today’s audience? Who knows, but it will be interesting to check out. -Matt

Tags: coriolanus, Film, shakespeare

History: Myles Standish, The Tallest Man In Plymouth

Nov 24

Posted by Matt in History | 3889No Comments2011-11-24+23%3A42%3A41Matt

I thought this was appropriate for Thanksgiving. I have talked about this famous contract soldier in past Thanksgiving posts, and I figured I would add to that history by providing this deal. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving. -Matt

Tags: History, Myles Standish, Thanksgiving

Books: Samuel Smedley, Connecticut Privateer, By Jackson Kuhl

Nov 15

Posted by Matt in Books, History, Letter Of Marque | 3799No Comments2011-11-15+19%3A15%3A24Matt

Thanks to Kyle over at the Feral Jundi Facebook Page for sending me this link. This interview brings up some very interesting aspects of privateering back then, and I was very interested in the offense industry elements.

In the interview below, the author really delves into the prize courts, the shares that crews and owners would get from prizes, and the competition between Connecticut, Continental Congress, and the other states and how that would impact privateers like Samuel Smedley. Meaning all of these states and the Continental Congress were creating laws and regulations that would impact their specific offense industries in the war. That the group that offered the best business environment for privateers, would get the most and best privateers in the country. Pretty cool.

I have not read this book, but I did find a copy of it in Amazon and put it in the Jundi Gear store if anyone is interested. Check it out. -Matt

Samuel Smedley, Connecticut Privateer
By Jackson Kuhl
Book Description
Publication Date: June 7, 2011
From the shores of Long Island Sound to the high seas of the West Indies, against British warships and letters of marque, Samuel Smedley left a stream of smoke and blood as he took prisoners and prizes alike. At twenty-three years old, Smedley, a Fairfield, Connecticut native, enlisted as a lieutenant of marines on the Connecticut ship Defence during the American Revolution. Less than a year later he was her captain, scouring the seas for British prey. Author Jackson Kuhl delves into the life and times of this Patriot, sea captain and privateer.

Tags: Books, History, Jackson Kuhl, privateers, Samuel Smedley

Books: Pinkerton’s War, By Jay Bonansinga

Nov 9

Posted by Matt in Books, History | 3768No Comments2011-11-09+19%3A30%3A38Matt

I just read this book the other day, and it was a fantastic read. The author is a gifted writer, and presented this history about Allan Pinkerton more like a movie script than a plain jane biography. The cool thing about this book though is that it is all true, and it is heavily sourced from of all the books written by Allan Pinkerton and from all the other biographers that have written about this man.

The other reason why I like this book is because it highlights the achievements of private industry during war time. Pinkerton and his private detective agency was the best and most innovative private detective agency in the country at the time, and his services became crucial to not only other companies, but to government and military leaders. This company was also crucial to the expansion out west, and so the Pinkerton Detective Agency is a very important part of US history.

How important? Let me put it too you this way. If it wasn’t for Allan Pinkerton and his crew of agents finding and stopping the assassins that wanted to kill Lincoln during his inaugural post election train ride to Washington DC, then the Civil War probably would have turned out a lot different. Or maybe it would have never have happened at all? That is how important these guys were, and they accomplished this as a private company and not as a branch of government.

So some of the details in this book that intrigued me was how much of an innovator Pinkerton was. He was the first to use women agents for solving cases. His women agents did some serious kick ass work during the war, and certainly were the unsung heroes during the war.

He also used pictures for detective work, which you might think sounds inconsequential right now. But back then, identifying folks across the country was a difficult task. If a detective had a photo of the person they were looking for, it made it easier to ask around about them, and easier to pick out if that individual was close by. More accurate files could be created using photos as well.

Pinkerton was also a big fan of Lincoln, and had actually met Lincoln before he was president. He was also an abolitionist back then, and a pretty compassionate man according to the author.

As for a trivia deal, I learned in the book that Pinkerton’s son William was the first aerial balloon observer in the history of warfare. The kid was in his teens at the time and was working as a scout and messenger in the war. They put him in a balloon because he was light and small. I thought that was cool, and quite the innovation back in the day.

Finally, the one part that I really liked about the book, was the author’s defense of Pinkerton over the whole debate about McClellan getting fired by Lincoln. Historians and General McClellan fans have bashed Pinkerton in the past over supplying McClellan faulty intelligence during the Battle of Antietam. They claim that because of this bad intel, that McClellan was not able to destroy Lee and his army during that battle. (Lee did a tactical withdrawal) The author said that McClellan had plenty of intelligence that he drew from during the war, and Pinkerton’s was not the only source. That McClellan failed to completely defeat Lee, not because of a lack of good intel, but because he was not aggressive enough to seal the deal. Lincoln wanted the war over, and he wanted Lee’s head on a pike, and McClellan just wasn’t producing the results Lincoln wanted.

But of course I am not going to get into that debate because there are folks out there that are big fans of McClellan, and there are others that think otherwise. My intent with this book review is to discuss Allan Pinkerton’s place in that history, and I certainly recommend this book for doing just that. Perhaps with the author’s film background, this will be made into a movie?

Also, the book will be in the Jundi Gear locker if anyone wants to find it again in the future. Check it out. -Matt

51pvH2l9KRLBooks: Pinkertons War, By Jay Bonansinga

Pinkerton’s War: The Civil War’s Greatest Spy and the Birth of the U.S. Secret Service
By Jay Bonansinga

A thrilling historical account of Allan Pinkerton’s pivotal role in the Civil War and the birth of the Secret Service

Scottish immigrant Allan Pinkerton is best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which gained renown for solving train robberies in the 1850s and battling the labor movement in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. But the central drama of his career, and the focus of this book, was his work as protector of President Abraham Lincoln and head of a network of Union spies (including himself!) who posed as Confederate soldiers and sympathizers in a deadly cat-and-mouse game.
As here told in riveting prose by author Jay Bonansinga, Pinkerton’s politics and abolitionist sympathies drew the attention of supporters of presidential incumbent Abraham Lincoln—and Pinkerton was hired to act as his bodyguard. Pinkerton was asked to organize the U.S. government’s first “Secret Service,” and during the Civil War he managed a network of spies who worked behind confederate lines and tackled espionage at the highest levels in Washington. By war’s end, the agency’s reputation was so well established that it was often hired by the government to perform many of the same duties today assigned to the Secret Service, the FBI, the CIA, and, most recently, the Department of Homeland Security.

Jay Bonansinga is the national bestselling author of The Sinking of the Eastland, a Chicago Reader Critics Choice Book, and eleven novels. His latest novel, Perfect Victim, was a Book of the Month Club Alternate. He is also an award-winning indie filmmaker.

Find the book here.(Jundi Gear)

Tags: Books, History, Industry Talk, Jay Bonansinga, Pinkerton's War

History: Lawton’s Use Of Civilian Scouts Part 2: Young’s Scouts

Sep 19

Posted by Matt in History, Philippines | 3530No Comments2011-09-20+00%3A46%3A44Matt

This is part two of my series on General Lawton’s use of civilian scouts during war time. Apache scouts and his civilian scout Tom Horn were the group that Lawton depended upon for relentless pursuit against Geronimo and his war party. It was that dogged pursuit that eventually forced Geronimo to give up, and that is certainly a significant accomplishment. They also accomplished this mission within the borders of another country. Lawton could not have done this without his scouts.

So fast forward to the Philippine-American War, and General Lawton’s involvement there. Just imagine this. Some civilian from the US comes over by boat to the Philippines to fight. This civilian was a scout from the Indian War years, and he wanted to offer his services to the war effort there. And after some convincing, General Lawton eventually hires this guy named William Young to lead a team of Army Soldiers as scouts. They were called Young’s Scouts.

I imagine that Lawton’s experience with scouts from his past wars, are what influenced him to take a risk with a civilian offering his services for such a thing in this war.

Not only that, but these scouts were actively engaged in combat and did very well. A civilian scout leading soldiers on offensive operations or ‘search and destroy’ missions…..Think about that for a second? And Young died from a wound he received in combat. Did I mention that eleven members of this unit were recipients of the Medal of Honor! Most of them received their award during a battle that Young led and was wounded in, and yet Young did not receive the MoH.

This unit was also quite the bunch. They were definitely ‘citizen soldiers’ if you know what I mean. Here is the quote that cracked me up:

“all were nonconformists with more than one court-martial on their record.”

These guys were certainly trouble makers, and in more ways than one. From what I was reading in other sources, officers of other units were jealous and miffed at these guys, because they definitely had attitude. But Young was able to take these guys and form them into an effective unit, and prove their worth. They were also chosen because of their shooting abilities. Here is a sample of what I am talking about.

As a small patrol consisting of Young, Birkhimer, Frank L. Anders (Fargo), James W. McIntyre (Fargo), Willis H. Downs (Jamestown), and two other scouts approached San Miguel, they discovered a trench with 300 insurgents guarding the bridge leading to the city.
When the scouts were spotted, they decided to rush the trench. Joined by six other scouts including Patrick Hussey and Frank Summerfield from Dickinson and Gotfred Jensen from Devils Lake, they “charged over a distance of 150 yards and completely routed the enemy.”
After Young was wounded, Anders rallied the scouts and led them into San Miguel where they fought the enemy for four hours until relief arrived. This city of 20,000 was taken by a small force of a dozen men.

Now that is cool, and this particular battle is what gained the unit so much attention. This unit also participated in numerous hit and run operations and definitely did a number on the enemy. It just goes to show what small units can accomplish, if they have the right leadership and skill sets.

Unfortunately there is not a lot of information about Young. I suspect that he was pretty seasoned during the Indian Wars, and was part of that massive contractor civilian scout force that the military called upon during that conflict. He reminds me of guys like Frederick Russell Burnham, who went on to apply his Indian Wars war fighting and tracking skills to the battlefields of places like Africa.

I did find one book about Young’s Scouts, but it didn’t have a lot about Young himself. But it is a cool little resource none the less.

If anyone has anything else to add to this history of William Young and the Young Scouts, I would love to hear it. At least his memory and deeds will be noted here on the blog. It will also be another example of how America used to define what was ‘inherently governmental’. Because in this little piece of history and war, civilians were a strategic asset used to defeat the enemy. -Matt

bridge page 15History: Lawtons Use Of Civilian Scouts Part 2: Youngs Scouts

The battle at the bridge outside of San Miguel.

Young’s Scouts
(from Wikipedia)
Young’s Scouts was a select group of United States Army soldiers during the Philippine-American War organized under a Vermont civilian named William H. Young. Because of his previous experience as a soldier and soldier of fortune and his demonstrated coolness under fire, Young came to the notice of General Henry W. Lawton, who hired Young as his Chief Scout during Lawton’s Northern Campaign. Young’s Scouts acted as an advance guard and engaged in search and destroy missions. The exploits and valor of Young’s Scouts soon brought them to the attention of the American public.
Members of Young’s Scouts came from several units in Lawton’s command, including the 1st North Dakota Volunteers, the 2nd Oregon Volunteers, and the 4th U.S. Cavalry (dismounted). Although the original unit was composed of 25 men, Scouts came and went as casualties and sickness took their toll. In two different engagements a number of Scouts were recommended for the Medal of Honor, which at the time was the only Army award for valor. On May 14, 1899, William Young was wounded in the knee in an engagement at San Miguel de Mayumo with what was described as a minor wound. He was conveyed to the 1st Reserve Hospital in Manila with a request by Lawton that he receive the best of care. Ironically, although the initial assessment of Young’s wound was that he would probably end up with nothing more serious than a stiff knee, he died a few days later, presumably of tetanus.
Young’s Scouts continued to operate under several different officers for the remainder of Lawton’s Northern Campaign.
Link to wikipedia here.
—————————————————————
North Dakotans played role in ‘Young’s Scouts’
By CURT ERIKSMOEN
December 5, 2010
Of the 17 Medal of Honor recipients who enlisted or were recruited into the military in North Dakota, nine of them were recommended for the medal because of their action in a span of only four days.
All nine were part of a select group called “Young’s Scouts,” a small unit that terrorized the Filipino insurgents, during the Philippine Insurrection, following the Spanish-American War.
In late April 1899, Gen. Henry W. Lawton asked William H. Young to put together a detachment of “25 specially qualified enlisted men” to travel one-half day ahead of the main column to locate insurgent forces and destroy the insurgents’ food and supplies.
Young’s Scouts had been designated as sharpshooters, but they were not your typical soldiers — “all were nonconformists with more than one court-martial on their record.”

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Tags: Frederick Russell Burnham, General Lawton, Geronimo, History, insurection, Insurgency, Philippine-American War, scouts, tracking, war fighting, william young, Young's Scouts

Books: Gifts Of War–Once Upon A Rice Paddy, By Dan Roach

Sep 14

Posted by Matt in Books, History, Leadership, Veteran News, Vietnam | 3503No Comments2011-09-14+19%3A43%3A39Matt

This is cool. Every once in awhile I get a heads up from a reader about a book they wrote. This particular book is about the author’s experiences in Vietnam. What is cool though is that this book has appeal to all types of veterans, and the leadership lessons learned are priceless.

Those lessons and the blood, sweat, and tears of war, are the ‘gifts’ of memory that I believe the author is referring too. They are the memories and experiences that veterans will always cherish–the good and the bad. And lucky for us, Dan has taken the time to put those memories into a book and share that with the world. A gift indeed.

At this time, the book is being distributed through Author House, so follow the links below if you are interested in checking it out. If you are a Ranger or 101st Airborne from that era, you are really in for a treat with this book. Like Dan says, ‘you’ll laugh, you’ll cry but most of all you will be treated to a gift of understanding’. -Matt

GIFTS of WAR, Once Upon A Rice Paddy
By Dan Roach
Like many that have experienced the bitter taste of war; I understand the need for war and warriors. Yet, I am now a reluctant warrior. This book is an invitation for you to be embedded with a young lieutenant as he experiences an incredible journey as a combat platoon leader. You will experience the daily social, psychological, emotional, ethical and moral dilemmas presented by war. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry but most of all you will be treated to a gift of understanding. I believe you will be awe inspired at what our nation asked of these young warriors and how they responded. You will be pleasantly surprised at the gifts of war received by this warrior. Vietnam was the stage and we were the players in a life and death drama.
About the author.
After graduating from college with a B.S. Degree in Forestry, Dan Roach faced one of the biggest decisions of his life; enlist or be drafted during time of war. He chose enlistment hoping to have more control over his destiny. On May 10, 1966 he enlisted in the Army and was off to FT. Jackson, SC to attend Basic and AIT (Advanced Infantry Training). After AIT he reported to Infantry OCS (Officer Candidate School) at Ft. Benning, GA. On March 27, 1967 he graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant and went directly into RANGER School. After RANGER School he was assigned as an instructor in the Mountain Phase of RANGER Training at Dahlonega, GA. As a RANGER he was sent to Airborne School at FT. Benning, on 17 July 1967.

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Tags: 101st Airborne, Books, Dan Roach, Gifts of War, Leadership, Once Upon A Rice Paddy, Rangers, Vietnam

History: The 1854 Tong War, California

Sep 12

Posted by Matt in California, China, History | 3478No Comments2011-09-12+22%3A24%3A46Matt

This is some fascinating US history that does not get much mention. I had heard about the Tong War in Weaverville when I was fighting forest fires there way back when. But I did not know about the details of this little known war.

Basically this was a classic Chinese battle between two mining companies/gangs in Northern California during the Gold Rush. And boy what a battle? Ironically, only four combatants died in the battle that had 2,500 participants! (the monument says 2000 participated and 26 were killed?)

The one bit of information that really perked me up after reading this article below was the the use of ‘white’ advisers. Here is the quote:

The Sam Yap Company, Hanley wrote, had purchased 150 muskets and bayonets and muskets in San Francisco. They had employed fifteen whites as drill instructors. The instructors were paid ten dollars daily along with all the food and whiskey they could handle.(What cost $10 in 1854 would cost $239.63 in 2010.)
Before the battle the fifteen white mercenaries painted themselves yellow, put on Chinese costumes, and hung a yard of horsehair tail down their backs in a mocking depiction of a Chinese queue.

I would be very interested to know who these fifteen advisers were? At that time period, security contractors were vital to supporting all of the mail and banking activities that came along with the gold rush. The west was a rough place to operate in back then, and hired guns were essential for protecting shipments of gold heading back east or between the various towns of the west. Wells Fargo, American Express, Pinkertons, Butterfield Overland Mail, all started up around this time period. I am sure the Sam Yap Company was able to draw from this pool of security contractors that serviced this industry, to train their forces for this battle.

China was also in the process of modernizing it’s own military and drawing from the military expertise of Europe. So it does not surprise me that these companies would outsource the training of their combatants to insure a win. Which this little tidbit is also pretty cool. Here was the cost of the battle for each side:

After a hundred shots had been fired, the woefully underarmed Yan Wo beat a hasty retreat. Thousands had watched and dueled, but the casualties were light. Sources indicate a death toll of four.
The cost figures were much higher. The Sam Yap Company had expended $40,000 in pursuit of victory, while the Yan Wo Company had spent $20,000 in defeat.

Either way, if you are ever in Northern California and looking for something interesting to do, go visit Weaverville and check out the Joss House. This place has a few of the original weapons that these combatants used. It would have been cool if more of the tactical details of this battle were available, but there really isn’t much out there about it.

I would speculate that if you were to draw from Chinese war fighting tactics of the early 1800′s, that we probably could have drawn some conclusions on how they might have went about fighting this war. But of course these guys were all miners/prospectors and if they had to resort to hiring advisers, and only 4 people died in the battle out of the 2500 that participated, then I have to imagine that it wasn’t that well planned or organized. So no Sun Tzu at this party. lol

Also, I am getting different dates for this war, and have decided to go with what the monument and the Joss House said about the date. So disregard the time period below. -Matt

Picture4 2History: The 1854 Tong War, California

CHINESE TONG WAR – Near Chinese Camp, October 1856
The historic Gold Country was a violent land — claim jumping, murder, theft, cheating at cards, and much more was quite common.
In October 1856, a different type of violence occurred near Chinese Camp. It was a Chinese Tong War.
A Tong is defined as a Chinese secret society or fraternal organization. While many Tongs were mostly social, some organizations engaged in gang warfare or ethnic revenge.
The Tongs were often rivals for control in the Chinese communities and public challenges toward one another were not unusual. Along the Mother Lode in late Gold Rush California two Tongs were rivals for hegemony. They were the Tuolomne County Sam Yap Company and the Calaveras County Yan Wo Company, headquartered near Chinese Camp.

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Tags: 1854, California, History, Joss House, sun tzu, Tong War

History: Lawton’s Use Of Civilian Scouts Part 1– The Geronimo Campaign

Sep 6

Posted by Matt in History, Mexico | 3414No Comments2011-09-06+23%3A25%3A51Matt

Lawton’s official report dated September 9, 1886 sums up the actions of his unit and gives credit to a number of his troopers for their efforts. Geronimo gave Gatewood credit for his decision to surrender as Gatewood was well known to Geronimo, spoke some Apache, and was familiar with and honored their traditions and values. He acknowledged Lawton’s tenacity for wearing the Apaches down with constant pursuit. Geronimo and his followers had little or no time to rest or stay in one place. Completely worn out, the little band of Apaches returned to the U.S. with Lawton and officially surrendered to General Miles on September 4, 1886 at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona.-From wikipedia here.

This is ‘part one’ of a very intriguing aspect of history that historians have really never focused on. The Geronimo Campaign was arguably the equivalent to our modern day Usama Bin Laden manhunt. Hell, SEAL Team 6 even identified Geronimo as the call sign for UBL during the raid. In this story, Major General Henry Ware Lawton was a Captain at the time of the Geronimo manhunt, and I wanted to point out his use of contractors in this pursuit.

Geronimo was an incredible Apache warrior that killed many Mexicans and Americans in his guerrilla war and fight for survival. Geronimo was not only a skilled warrior, but his survival and evasion techniques are the stuff of legends. He epitomized what it meant to be an Apache Warrior and he is definitely a combatant that I have respect for.

In this post I wanted to take out the Feral Jundi filter and magnifying glass, and take a look at the contribution of contractors in these historical events. The Geronimo Campaign is as significant to US history, as the UBL manhunt, so it is cool to try to put that hunt into perspective and find some of the clues. I would also like to highlight the similarities between relentless pursuit and Lawton’s constant pursuit, and what it really takes to make that happen.

So what I found out is that civilian contractors did have a significant role in this manhunt. Tom Horn was the chief of scouts for this particular mission, and Captain Lawton highly depended upon Tom Horn and his ability to lead and manage the Indian Scouts under his watch. These Indian Scouts were essential for reading the sign/spoor/tracks that Geronimo and his band left, and it was this scouting and tracking, along with relentless pursuit that tired out Geronimo and forced him and his group to give up.(Albert Sieber was another famous Chief of Scouts for General Cook who was in charge of Tom Horn. Al went with Cook into Mexico as well looking for Geronimo)

At sixteen, he (Tom Horn) headed to the American Southwest, where he was hired by the U.S. Cavalry as a civilian scout under Al Sieber and became involved in the Apache Wars and aided in the capture of warriors such as Geronimo. On January 11, 1886, Tom Horn was involved in an expedition into Mexican territory in the pursuit of Geronimo. During the operation, Horn’s camp was attacked by Mexican militia and he was wounded in the arm.Allegedly Horn killed his first man in a duel-a 2nd Lt in the Mexican Army. -From wikipedia.

If you read through this account below, you really get a feel for how dangerous and how tough this campaign was. These guys were also operating in Mexico, which had it’s own set of difficulties. It is also important to point out that food or logistics was crucial to keeping up the pace for this pursuit. And when food ran out, they had to hunt and subsist off of the land to keep up the hunt.

Of course Geronimo and his gang lived off the land, but they also did a lot of raiding of Mexican and American groups to get food, weapons, and anything else of value. Geronimo had some serious offense industry going on in order to survive and justify further war parties. But he was also heavily hunted by Mexico and the US and his Indian raiding parties took some hits.

Check out the story below and definitely click on the links to the history of Tom Horn. He is certainly a controversial figure in American history, but none the less, he and his Indian Scouts were a crucial element of the Geronimo Campaign, and to the Indian Wars as a whole. In part 2 of Lawton’s Use Of Civilian Scouts, I will delve into his creation of the Young Scouts during the Philippine-American War. -Matt

Lawton's Pursuit of Geronimo, Frederic Remington

Captain Lawton’s Campaign
as recounted by Captain Leonard Wood
As illustrating the character of the raiding done by these Apaches, I may mention the case of the Peck family. Their ranch was surrounded by Indians, the entire family was captured, and several of the farmhands were killed. The husband was tied up and compelled to witness indescribable tortures inflicted upon his wife until she died. The terrible ordeal rendered him temporarily insane, and as the Apaches, like most Indians, stand in great awe of an insane person, they set him free as soon as they discovered his mental condition; but otherwise he would never have been allowed to live. He was afterward found by his friends wandering about the place.
His daughter, who was about thirteen years old, was captured by the Indians and carried by them three hundred miles, hotly pursued by Captain Lawton’s command, when they met a party of Mexicans consisting of sixty or seventy men. The Mexicans fired a volley on the Indians, killing a woman and wounding the men who carried the little girl, thus enabling her to escape. This Indian’s horse was killed at the same time, thus making it impossible for him to follow the remainder of the party as they retreated, so he took to the rocks, and stood off the entire sixty or seventy Mexicans, killing seven of them, each of whom was shot through the head.
Our command had followed the outfit that had the little girl, and on the same day that this skirmish occurred with the Mexicans we had been able to get near enough to fire at them, but it was too late in the day to accomplish anything, and the next morning at daybreak we were again on their trail following as fast as possible, when our scouts came rushing back, saying they had met a large body of Mexican troops. Captain Lawton, Lieutenant Finley, and myself went on foot as rapidly as we could to try to overtake them but they were in full retreat and we had to follow them about six miles before we could catch them. As we approached, the whole party covered us with their rifles and seemed very much excited. They proved to be the very party who had recaptured the little girl, and they now delivered her over to Captain Lawton, who sent her back to the United States where she was taken in charge by friends.

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Tags: Al Sieber, Captain Lawton, Captain Leonard Wood, chief of scouts, civilian scouts, contractors, Geronimo, indian scouts, scouts, Tom Horn

History: The Lynx–America’s Privateer!

Aug 12

Posted by Matt in Cool Stuff, History, Letter Of Marque, Video | 3215No Comments2011-08-13+05%3A51%3A01Matt

This is very cool. This vessel is a recreation of the original privateer schooner called the Lynx. The reason why I like this, is that this boat is a real representation of private industry during war time. This vessel is also a symbol of what an Offense Industry can create during times of war, and this boat is beautiful. This thing was designed for commerce raiding, and it is just neat to see it sail and exist.

The other deal I wanted to bring up is definitely go to the website and check out their schedule if you want to see where they are going next. They are sailing all over the world and their intent is to educate people about the history of privateering in America’s early wars. So they do tours on the vessel and this would be a fun way to spend a day. So definitely take the time to check this bit of contractor history if they happen to be in your area. -Matt

Lynx– America’s Privateer
HISTORY OF THE LYNX
Lynx is an interpretation of an actual privateer named Lynx built by Thomas Kemp in 1812 in Fell’s Point, Maryland. She was among the first ships to defend American freedom by evading the British naval fleet then blockading American ports and serving in the important privateering efforts.
At the outbreak of the War of 1812, the American Navy consisted of only 17 ships – eight frigates, two brigs, and seven assorted smaller vessels including a few schooners which saw service in the Barbary Wars. When a nation went to war, owners of private vessels were granted special permissions, called “letters of marque,” to prey upon the enemy’s shipping; thus, “privateers.” While rarely engaging enemy warships, their impact was felt by English merchants who insisted on warship escorts for their vessels. To perform this duty, warships were drawn away from engaging the scant American Navy and blockading our coast, and thus did the privateers, motivated by profit, assist in our national defense. Among the Baltimore privateers was the sharp-built tops’l schooner, LYNX.

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Tags: Cool Stuff, History, Letter Of Marque, Lynx, privateer, Video