Feral Jundi

Monday, September 19, 2011

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

Filed under: History,Philippines — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 5:46 PM

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

 

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.
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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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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

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

Filed under: History,Mexico — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 4:25 PM

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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Sunday, November 1, 2009

Quotes: Marcus Luttrell on the Ability to Fight Alone

Filed under: Afghanistan,Quotes — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 11:31 AM

   Doug sent me this quote, and I thought it was awesome.  We have reinforced this idea within our troops and within our law enforcement, that they must work as a team to accomplish goals and missions.  And I agree, that is essential and a no brainer.  But what happens when you are alone, or your team was decimated? Situations like what Chris Turner was in, who had to think on their own in order to defend self and others at the UN guest house in Afghanistan.  Guys like Marcus Luttrell who had to survive on their own, and against the mountain men of Afghanistan after his team was wiped out. Most importantly, men or women who are all ‘heroes in waiting’, all silently standing by, waiting for fate to decide when they shall meet other super empowered individuals who wish to do harm.

   Let’s take it back even further in history.  Jeremiah Johnson, William Cody, Frederick Burnham and the rest of the rugged individuals who made up the West, operated on their own in non-permissive environments and kicked ass.  These are the same guys called upon by the US Army to hunt and kill indian combatants and influence the Scouting movement, both in the militaries of the world, and the Boy Scouting movement so popular throughout the world.

    The point is, super empowered individuals, armed with the intellect and mental toughness needed to prosecute their war, are shockingly effective.  In my view, the only way to defeat these types of warriors on the field of battle, is with another super empowered individual armed with the same mindset.

   So thanks to Doug and the rest of the readership who have helped to push along these ideas.  I need your help to build this snowmobile, and the end result is that the Feral Jundi readership will be armed with the ideas that will help them win the fight.  Think of FJ as a mental armory, and in this armory, we are trying to build some of the most lethal and radical ideas around. –Matt

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     “The last hour had tought me a few major lessons, the main one being I must gain the ability to fight alone, in direct contrast to everything I had ever been taught.   SEALs as you know fight in teams, only in teams, each man relying entirely on the others to do exactly the right thing.  Thats how we do it, fighting as one in a team of four or maybe ten or even twenty, but always as one unit. One mind, one strategy.  We are, instinctively, always backing up, always covering, always moving to plug the gap or pave the way.  Thats what makes us great.

     But up here being hunted down, all alone—this was entirely another game.  And first I had to learn to move like an Afghan mountain man, stealthily, staying out of sight, making no sound, causing no disturbance.  Of course, we had learned all that back in California, but not on the heightened scale which was required up here, against a native enemy even more stealthy, quiet and unseen than we were.”

     I resolved that when I next had to strike out against my enemy, it would be with our customary deadly force, always ensuring I held the element of surprise.  Those are the tactics that invariably win conflicts for the truely ruthless underdog like the mujahidden, al Qaeda and from now on, me.” –Lone Survivor, by Marcus Luttrell, p. 275.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Building Snowmobiles: The Scouting Movement

Filed under: Building Snowmobiles — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:11 AM

On my honor, I will do my best

To do my duty To God and my country

And to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. –Scout Oath

*****

Col. John Boyd On Grand Strategy

Evolve and exploit insight/initiative/adaptability/harmony together with a unifying vision, via a grand ideal or an overarching theme or a noble philosophy, as basis to:

         *Shape or influence events so that we not only amplify our spirit and strength but also influence the uncommitted or potential adversaries so that they are drawn toward our philosophy and are empathetic toward our success,

yet be able to

          *Operate inside adversary’s observation-orientation-decision-action loops or get inside his mind-time-space as basis to:

          *Penetrate adversary’s moral-mental-physical being in order to isolate him from his allies, pull him apart, and collapse his will to resist. 

*****

    I am always fascinated by the power of ideas.  Here at FJ, I am always trying to find those ideas, and study how they came about and what makes them so powerful.  One of those ideas I want to talk about today, is the Boy Scouts and the Scouting Movement that was behind the development of the Boy Scouts.

   First off, I am an Eagle Scout and I am very proud of my Scouting background.  If you talk with some guys in the industry and military, you will find that there are quite a few of us Boy Scouts floating around out there. It is interesting to me that the military/police/firefighters/medical/security contracting industries all attract Scouts.  It is equally interesting to find out how Scouting has impacted all these folks in their careers. From the camping and hiking, to the navigation, knots and fieldcraft skills, the Boy Scouts is pretty cool. Not to mention the social connections you make with others, the love and dedication of your country and the respect you garner as a productive member of a community.

   But it goes beyond just being ‘cool’, because during my time at the Scouts, I was also introduced to leadership skills.  Leadership, as you know, is something that I am totally concerned with in this industry, and that is what makes the Scouts relevant to this blog. Not to mention all the land navigation stuff or first aid stuff we did, and I look back on my time with the Boy Scouts as not just cool, but essential life skills for all of my career choices.

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