Introduction
This document describes in detail the problems experienced by American soldiers and its implication on the soldiers. It shows that the war began without a proper army that could defend the nation from terrorism and any sort of ambush from the outside. This is seen where by the American soldiers collided against the British in the spring of 1775 which consisted partly trained Militia. One of the greatest problems that Militia organization had was that there was no regular training but instead when training was organized; they were only called to arms for a specific period of time. Due to lack of enough training, the Militia were thought to be unfit to take on the British army (McCullough,21). It is analyzed that the Militia had some success during their war against the regular troops but they lacked sufficient discipline to undertake combat on a European-style of battlefield.
The revolution led to the need of training professional soldiers which prompted to the Continental Congress to authorize the formation of the Continental Army in America. Despite the widespread of American’s being bias against the standing army that dated from English Civil War, this influenced the division of the American forces between the militia of the colonies and the regular Continental Army. Moreover, shortages of men available for the Continentals led to the use of militia to support Continental operations and as drafts for continental Army. The American army consistently encountered problems in the issue of providing enough men and supplies during times of war hence this disadvantaged them from winning battles (McCullough, 58). This led the Continental army to compete with the colonial militia in order to assemble sufficient troops that were fit to participate in keeping the nation safe.
It is seen that many commanders had difficulties in clothing, supporting the men in their difficulties and even in friendly territories it was difficult to supply enough food for the soldiers. The issue of paying the soldiers was poor, this was because the paper money used to pay them reduced drastically in value during the course of the war hence this disadvantaged their morality of fighting their enemies. The American army faced severe shortages of supplies, men fit to fight in the war and thus were not motivated positively as a result of lack of enough defense force that supported them during the war (McCullough,86). The military had difficulties whereby they had inadequate administrative procedures, weak transportation system that could transport them from one place to another in order to effectively fight their enemies.
They did not have permanent structures that they could dwell in thus this led to some of them dying due to harsh conditions, furthermore, the soldiers lacked good medical doctors that could treat them when they were injured. Due to lack of sufficient medical prescription, some of them just died as there were not enough doctors to take care of them hence this decreased their ability of fighting back. They did not have good communication systems that they could use to know where each party is and thus this led to misinterpretation that contributed to loss of life among the soldiers. Some of the American soldiers became drug addicts thus this led to the issue of breaking discipline especially in the area of the camps. Thus, this indicated that they were mainly interested in living the war and not fighting their enemies (McCullough, 97). Thus, lack of coordination among the American soldiers led to formation of divisions among them hence this contributed to their poor fighting style.
In American national experience war itself has undergone considerable changes and oscillation from one mode to another on their soldiers during the revolution period. Moreover, it is seen that the American army as a social entity evolved to meet its primary mistake to fight in its American institutional context being treated as a social force of peace. The army has played its role in developing the nation by guarding the frontier, constructing roads and in controlling floods in the nation. In addition, it has served as a vehicle of social mobility for certain disadvantaged groups like European immigrants and Negroes thus bringing about unity. The issue of the army experiencing in war and peace during the revolution period has combined and molded them into a distinct institution in their American life (McCullough, 128). The evolution of war in the new era among the American soldiers coincided with the growth of the United States as a sovereign nation that is free from war.
During the 1776 war by the Americans, President Washington made major changes in order to assist his army win the war. The president proposed that the soldiers ought to be given enough food supply that could be used to keep their health well hence to be able to fight without any problems. He went to the extent of making sure that they received enough fire arms that assisted the soldiers to fight better since they were well equipped for the war. The soldiers were motivated positively by the president. They were taught on the importance of working as a team thus this influenced them to defeat the war during the revolution. Washington made sure that enough medical care was availed to the army and building of temporary camps that kept them away from cold weather (McCullough, 221). He went to the extent of making sure that each soldier had a blanket that could keep him warm thus this made them realize that they had to defend their nation. Horses were proposed as one of the main sources of transporting medical equipments and thus influenced the soldiers to fight on.
Thus, this shows that there were a lot of changes that were made during the 1776 period. These changes assisted the American soldiers to be in the position of them winning the war and thus being able to achieve their independence. The changes made the army realize what they had to do for their nation as it implicated on their future life and families. These changes led to removal of discrimination among the soldiers hence this type of team work contributed to better results that were witnessed by the war. Thus, this indicates that there was the creation of the African American units which led to strict training among the army. The issue of the soldiers being given enough time to train enhanced their skills hence the war was successful for the Americans (McCullough,243). Hence, there were changes that were made during the 1776 period which assisted them to win the war hence contributing to their independence.
Work Cited
McCullough, D, David McCullough Library E-book Box Set: 1776, .USA, Publisher Simon & Schuster, 2011.
