INDIAN MILITARY
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The Indian Armed Forces (Devanāgarī: भारतीय सशस्त्र सेनाएं, Bhāratīya Saśastra Sēnāēn) are the military forces of the Republic of India. They consist of the Army, Navy and Air Force supported by Paramilitary forces (Indian Coast Guard, Assam Rifles and Special Frontier Force) and various inter-service institutions such as the Strategic Forces Command. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. The Indian Armed Forces are under the management of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which is led by the Union Cabinet Minister of Defense. With a combined strength of over 4.7 million personnel, it is world's 4th largest military force.
The Indian armed forces have been engaged in a number of major military operations, including the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971, the Portuguese-Indian War, the Sino-Indian War, the 1987 Sino-Indian skirmish, the Kargil War, and the Siachen conflict among others. India honours its armed forces and military personnel annually on Armed Forces Flag Day, 7 December. Since 1962, the IAF has maintained close military relations with Russia, including cooperative development on programs such as the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) and the Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA). The Indian armed forces are steadily undergoing modernization, with investments in such areas as a missile defense system and a nuclear triad.
The Department of Defence Production of the Ministry of Defence is responsible for the indigenous production of equipment used by the Indian Armed Forces. It comprises the 41 Indian Ordnance Factories under control of the Ordnance Factories Board and 8 Defence PSUs namely, HAL, BEL, BEML, BDL, MDL, GSL, GRSE and Midhani.[4] The Indian Armed Forces are currently the world's largest arms importer, with Russia, Israel, and to some extent, France and United States being the primary foreign suppliers of military equipment.
Ancient to medieval era
Indian maritime history dates back 5,000 years. The first tidal dock is believed to have been built at Lothal around 2300 BC during the Indus Valley Civilization, near the present day Mangrol harbour on the Gujarat coast. The Rig Veda written around 1500 BC, credits Varuna with knowledge of the ocean routes and describes naval expeditions. There is reference to the side wings of a vessel called Plava, which give stability to the ship under storm conditions. A compass, Matsya yantra was used for navigation in the fourth and fifth century AD. The earliest known reference to an organization devoted to ships in ancient India is to the Mauryan Empire from the 4th century BC. Emperor Chandragupta Maurya's Prime Minister Kautilya's Arthashastra devotes a full chapter on the state department of waterways under navadhyaksha (Sanskrit for Superintendent of ships) . The term, nava dvipantaragamanam (Sanskrit for sailing to other lands by ships, i.e. Exploration) appears in this book in addition to appearing in the Buddhist text, Baudhayana Dharmasastra as the interpretation of the term, Samudrasamyanam.
Sea lanes between India and neighboring lands were the usual form of trade for many centuries, and are responsible for the widespread influence of Indian Culture on other societies. Powerful navies included those of the Maurya, Satavahana, Chola, Vijayanagara, Kalinga, Mughal and Maratha empires. The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Maratha and Kerala fleets were expanded, and became the most powerful Naval Forces in the subcontinent, defeating European Navies at various times (See the Battle of Colachel). The fleet review of the Maratha navy took place at the Ratnagiri fort in which the ships Pal and Qalbat participated. The Maratha Kanhoji Angre and Kunjali Marakkar, the Naval chief of Saamoothiri were two notable naval chiefs of the period.
Republic of India
There are quite a few military operations for India after her independence from the British Raj. Operation Polo, the code name of the Hyderabad Police Action was a military operation in September 1948 in which the Indian Armed Forces invaded the State of Hyderabad and overthrew its Nizam, annexing the state into the Indian Union.
In 1961 tension rose between India and Portugal over the Portuguese-occupied territory of Goa, which India claimed for itself. After Portuguese police cracked down violently on a peaceful, unarmed demonstration for union with India, the Indian government decided to invade and Operation Vijay was initiated. A lopsided air, sea, and ground campaign resulted in the speedy surrender of Portuguese forces. Within 36 hours, 451 years of Portuguese colonial rule was ended, and Goa was annexed by India.
India fought four major wars with its neighbor Pakistan in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999, and with China in 1962. Indian victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, helped create the free country of Bangladesh. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Pakistan began organizing tourist expeditions the Siachen Glacier, disputed territory with India. Irked by this development, in April 1984 India mounted Operation Meghdoot, capturing the top of the Glacier. It still maintains a military base there, which is world's highest altitude military base. Pakistan tried in 1987 and in 1989 to re-take the glacier but was unsuccessful.
In June 1984, then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered an attack on Sikh separatists belonging to the Khalistan movement who had holed up in the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The operation resulted in 500-1,500 civilian deaths and heavy damage to the Akal Takht.
The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) carried out a mission in northern and eastern Sri Lanka in 1987–1990 to disarm the Tamil Tigers per the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. It was a difficult battle for the Indian Army, which was not trained for an unconventional war. After losing approximately 1,200 in personnel and several T-72 tanks, India ultimately abandoned the mission in consultation with Sri Lankan government. In what was labeled as Operation Pawan, the Indian Air Force flew about 70,000 sorties to and within Sri Lanka.
The beginning of the 21st century saw reorientation for India in the global stage from a regional role in the subcontinent to a major role in the Indian ocean region stretching from Gulf of Aden to the Malacca Strait. India’s sphere of influence needs to encompass not just the South Asian Sub-continent, but also the northern Indian Ocean area, from the eastern seaboard of Africa in the west, to the Malacca Straits in the east, and must include Iran, Afghanistan, the Central Asian Republics (CARs), China and Myanmar. India’s credibility, as a regional power will be contingent upon institutional stability, economic development and military strength, including nuclear deterrence. The long stretches of disputed borders with China and Pakistan and sizable areas under their occupation continue to be major irritants, notwithstanding the peace processes currently underway with both countries.
Recruitment and training
Officer recruitment is through many military-related academies. These include the National Defence Academy, Pune, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Air Force Academy, Hyderabad, Officers Training Academy, Chennai and Officers Training Academy, Gaya. Other notable institutions are Army War College, at Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS), at Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir, Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJW), in Vairengte, Mizoram, College of Military Engineering (CME), in Pune. After being commissioned, these officers are posted and deputed. They are at the helm of affairs not only inside the nation but also at abroad. The officers are appointed and removed only by the President of India.
Recent and Future Developments and Acquisitions
The Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition, also known as the MRCA tender, was a competition to supply 126 multi-role combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The Defence Ministry has allocated ~ US$13 billion for the purchase of these aircraft, making it India's single largest defense deal. The MRCA tender was floated with the idea of filling the gap between its future Light Combat Aircraft and its in-service Sukhoi Su-30MKI air superiority fighter. On 31 January 2012, it was announced that Dassault Rafale won the competition due to its lower life-cycle cost. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is also in the final stages of acquiring 22 Apache Longbow gunships, armed with Hellfire and Stinger missiles in a $1.2 billion contract and 15 heavy-lift Boeing CH Chinook helicopters.The IAF has initiated the process for acquisition of additional Mi-17 IV helicopters, heavy lift helicopters, Advanced Light Helicopter and Light Combat Helicopters. Among trainer aircraft, the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer has been inducted and the Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) would be acquired in the near future.
In recent times, India has also manufactured its own aircraft such as the HAL Tejas, a 4th generation fighter, and the HAL Dhruv, a multi-role helicopter, which has been exported to several countries, including Israel, Burma, Nepal and Ecuador. An weaponized version of Dhruv is called HAL Rudra, which is armed with high-velocity M621 20 mm cannon, long-range 70 mm rockets (8 km), air-to-air missiles (Mistral-II). and MAWS (missile approach warning system).Combat in Kargil highlighted the requirement of an attack helicopter specially made for such high altitude operations. The HAL Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is a multirole combat helicopter being developed in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for use by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army. The LCH is being designed to fit into an anti-infantry and anti-armour role and will be able to operate at high altitudes. LCH will be fitted with indigenous anti-tank missile Helina.
India also maintains UAV squadrons (primarily Searcher-II and Heron from Israel) which can be used to carry out ground and aerial surveillance. India is also testing its own long range BVR air to air missile named Astra.and also building a Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) called Rustom.
India is also in an ambitious collaboration program with Russia to build fifth-generation fighter aircraft, called HAL/Tejas FGFA which will be based on Russian PAK-FA fighter. Earlier in 2013, the two sides completed the preliminary design of the FGFA and are now negotiating a detailed design contract. Although there is no reliable information about the PAK FA and FGFA specifications yet, it is known from interviews with people in the Russian Air Force that it will be stealthy, have the ability to supercruise, be outfitted with the next generation of air-to-air, air-to-surface, and air-to-ship missiles, and incorporate an AESA radar.
Co-development and co-production of Multi-role Transport Aircraft (MTA), jointly by Russian partners and HAL, is being launched to meet the requirement of Russian and Indian Air Forces. The aircraft will be designed for the roles of a 15-20 ton Cargo / Troop transport, Para trooping / Airdrop of supplies including Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES) capability. It will be configured such that all types of cargo can be transported and the aircraft would be capable of operating from semi prepared runways. The MTA is expected to replace the Indian Air Force's aging fleet of Antonov An-32 transport aircraft. The aircraft is expected to conduct its first flight by 2017, and to enter service by 2018.
To protect IAF assets on the ground, there has been search for short-range surface-to-air missile and in that regard, Maitri missile project is a next-generation quick-reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) with a lethal hundred per cent kill probability under development. It is a short-range (15 km, 9.3 mi) surface-to-air point defense missile system. The $6 billion worth of SR-SAM project is a co-development joint venture between India and France and would be developed by MBDA of France and DRDO from the Indian side. It is believed to be a blend of the French MICA and DRDO Trishul.
Special Forces
The Special Forces of India are Indian military units with specialized training in the field of special operations such as Direct action, Hostage rescue, Counter-terrorism, Unconventional warfare, Special reconnaissance, Foreign Internal Defense, Personnel recovery, Asymmetric warfare, Counter-proliferation. The various branches include,
Para Commandos: Formed in 1966, the Para Commandos are the largest and most important part of the Special Forces of India. They are a part of the highly trained Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army. They are the crack force and help the main army to get in the enemy lines without much damage. The main aim of having a Parachute Regiment is for quick deployment of soldiers behind the enemy lines to attack the enemy from behind and destroy their first line of defense. Para Commandos conduct series of joint exercises with US army special forces Called VJRA PRAHAR.
Ghatak Force: Ghatak Platoon, or Ghatak Commandos, is a special operations capable infantry platoon. There is one platoon in every infantry battalion in the Indian Army. Ghatak is a Hindi word meaning "killer" or "lethal". They act as shock troops and spearhead assaults ahead of the battalion. Their operational role is similar to Scout Sniper Platoon, STA platoon of the USMC and the Patrols platoon of the British Army. A Ghatak Platoon is usually 20-men strong, consisting of a commanding Captain, 2 non-commissioned officers and some special teams like marksman and spotter pairs, light machine gunners, medic, and radio operator. The remaining soldiers act as assault troopers. Most undergo training at the Commando Training Course in Belgaum, Karnataka. Often, other specialized training like heliborne assault, rock climbing, mountain warfare, demolitions, advanced weapons training, close quarter battle and infantry tactics are also given. Members of the platoon are also sent to the High Altitude Warfare School and Counterinsurgency and Jungle Warfare School.
Marine Commandos (MARCOS): It is an elite special operations unit of the Indian Navy.It is specially organized, trained and equipped for the conduct of special operations in a maritime environment. The force has gradually acquired experience and a reputation for professionalism over the two decades it has been in existence. Now it is one of the finest Special Forces units in the world and among the few units qualified to jump in the water with a full combat load. The MARCOS are capable of undertaking operations in all types of terrain, but are specialized in maritime operations in Jammu and Kashmir through the Jhelum River and Wular Lake.To strengthen its capabilities to carry out special operations, the Navy is planning to procure advanced Integrated Combat System (ICS) for the MARCOS. The Navy wants the ICS for effective command, control and information sharing to maximize capabilities of individuals and groups of the MARCOS while engaging enemies. The individual equipment required by the Navy in the ICS includes light weight helmets, head-mounted displays, tactical and soft ballistic vests along with communication equipment. The group-level gear requirements include command and control and surveillance systems along with high speed communication equipment.
Garud Commando Force: The Garud Commando Force is the Special Forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in September 2004 and has a strength of approximately 2000 personnel. The unit derives its name from Garuda, a divine bird-like creature of Hindu Mythology. Garud is tasked with the protection of critical Air Force bases and installations; search and rescue during peace and hostilities and disaster relief during calamities.Presently, Garud's are deployed in Congo as part of the UN peace keeping operations.
Commando Battalion for Resolute Action: CoBRA is a specialised unit of the CRPF created to counter the Naxalite problem in India. This specialised CRPF unit is one of the few units of the Central Armed Police Forces in the country who are specifically trained in guerilla warfare. This elite fighting unit has been trained to track, hunt and eliminate small Naxalite groups. There are currently 10 COBRA units.
SALUTE YOU
Indian Military Nursing
The Indian Military Nursing Service is a corps or regiment of the Indian Army, first formed when under British rule in 1881.
History
First World War
The Military Nursing Service Indian Army has its origin from the Army Nursing Service formed in 1881 part of the British Army. The force went through many changes in its 126 years of glorious existence. In 1893, it was designated as Indian Army Nursing Service. The force went through further changes in 1902, when the Indian Nursing Service and the Army Nursing Service were combined and on 27 March 1902, it was redesignated to Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service . At the outbreak of world war in 1914 there were just fewer than 300 nurses in the QAIMNS, by the end of the war this had raised to 10,404. The Army nurses served in Flanders, the Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Middle East and onboard hospital ships. Of the 200 plus army nurses died on active service, many were Indians. After, the war on 1st October1926, the Nursing Services was granted permanent status in Indian Army. This date is formally recognised as the formation day of Military Nursing Service, though in actual its origins occurred 45 five years before (many Corps of the Army, including Army Medical Corps traces its origin to more than hundreds of years back in the similar way, though they were actually formed after independence).
Second World War
With the outbreak of second world war, nurses once again found themselves serving all over the world, including Singapore, Burma, Italy, Mesopotamia, Ceylon, Egypt and Western Africa. The changing working conditions and wartime shortages led to changes in uniform. Khaki slacks and battledress blouses replaced the grey and scarlet ward dress and rank insignia was adopted to signify the officer status of the nurses. In the Far East, the fall of Hong Kong and Singapore led to many army nurses (including Indian) being captured by the Japanese and endured terrible hardships and deprivations of the Far East prisoner-of-war camps. During the middle of the war in 1943, the Indian arm of the Nursing Services was separated through Indian Military Nursing Service Ordinance, 1943 and redesignated it, thereby constituting the Military Nursing Service (MNS) in its present form.
The Officers of the Military Nursing Service are governed by Indian Military Nursing Service Ordinance 1943 and Military Nursing Service Rules, 1944. The Section 5 of the ordinance provides that, all members of the Indian Military Nursing Service shall be of commissioned rank and shall be appointed as officers of the Indian Military Nursing Service by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette. The Nursing Service Officers are also subject to Army Act 1950, Army Rules 1954, Defence Service Regulations and various Government Orders, Army Instructions, Army Orders, issued from time to time.
Post Independence
Now, the Military Nursing Service is an integral part of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS). The AFMS consists of Army Medical Corps (AMC), Army Dental Corps (ADC) and Military Nursing Service (MNS). The AFMS personnel serve in the medical establishments of Army, Navy and Air Force. The Military Nursing Service was treated as under dogs since the inception of AFMS in 1948 (the AMC and ADC are more or less equally positioned, though most of the cream appointments in AFMS are occupied by AMC). After the independence, the Officers of MNS have not only served in India but have also played a role in United Nations peace keeping missions abroad in UN missions to Lebanon, Cambodia, Somalia and scores of other Nations. Many of such missions are still active.
'The Military Nursing Service, post independence is denied equal status with the Regular Forces and discriminated by not awarding (a) Reforms as awarded to other regular officers by the implementation of Bagga Commission, which provided time bound promotion up to the rank of Colonel, (b) Pay is not at par with the similar placed ranks in the regular army, i.e., Grade Pay is placed lower, Military Service Pay is placed lower,(c)Flag Car status is not granted to rank of Brigadier & above, and(d)All major Army Officers Institutes, refuse membership. It will not be wrong to say that Military Nurses are facing a silent denial of equal status in the Regular Army.
Milestones
Recently, they had been a part of the Medical team, which was s
ent to Iran to give medical cover to the wounded in a devastating earthquake, which struck Bam in Iran. Apart from the professional activities, MNS Officers have also participated in sports and adventure activities at National and International levels. An MNS Major won a gold medal in shooting in the last Commonwealth Games.
Rank Structure
The various ranks of the Military Nursing Service are listed below in descending order:Commissioned Officers
Major-General
Brigadier
Colonel
Lieutenant-Colonel
Major
Captain
Lieutenant
Presently there are no personnel below officer rank (PBOR) in Military Nursing Service as the other nursing personnel such as Nursing Assistants, Ambulance assistant, Stretcher Bearer etc. are part of Army Medical Corps.
Relevant Provisions of Military Law
Indian Military Nursing Service Ordinance, 1943
The Military Nursing Service was formally established in the present form through the Indian Military Nursing Service Ordinance, 1943. The Section 5 of the ordinance ordained that, all members of the Indian Military Nursing Service shall be of commissioned rank and shall be appointed as officers of the Indian Military Nursing Service by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette. The Section 9 (1) provides that provisions of the Indian Army Act, 1911 (now Army Act 1950), shall, to such extent and subject to such adaptations and modifications as may be prescribed, apply to Officers of the Indian Military Nursing Service as they apply to Indian commissioned officers, unless they are clearly inapplicable to women. The modifications and adaptations of the Indian Army Act 1911, as applicable to Officers of Indian Military Nursing Service were published in the War Department notification no. 923 dated 13 Jun 1944. After the independence of our country, through a special gazette of India notification, the Army Act 1950 was subsequently made applicable to the Officers of Military Nursing Service with suitable modification and adaptation. These adaptations and modifications are contained in Army Order 197/59. These modifications and adaptations of Army Act, 1950 are only pertaining to Military Offences, otherwise, the rest of the Army Act in its entirety is applicable to MNS Officers. The Sections of Army Act dealing with offences (at that time) were modified for the Military Nursing Service, because it was constituted as an all women force. The Nursing Service Officers were the only women serving in the Indian armed forces during the Second World War.
Military Nursing Service (India) Rules, 1944
The Central Government, under the powers conferred by Section 10 of Indian Military Nursing Service Ordinance, 1943, framed the Military Nursing Service (India) Rules, 1944. The Rule 3(a) lays down that the provisions of the Indian Army Act, 1911, shall apply to officers of the Nursing Services mentioned in Sub Section 1 of Section 9 of the Ordinance, as if they were Indian Commissioned Officers, and Sub Rule (b) stipulates that, the provisions of the Army Act shall apply to officers of the Nursing Service mentioned in Sub Section (2) of the said Section, as if they were Officers of the Regular Forces. The Rules 5 and 6 gives the specific adaptations and modification as ordained in Section 9(1) of the Ordinance. As a whole, the Rules lay down the modalities for the implementation of the Ordinance.
Army Act, 1950 and Rules 1954
The Army Act, 1950 is applicable to the Officers of Nursing Services, with some exceptions to certain sections, which are from Section 34 to 70 dealing with offences. Of the provisions of the Army Act dealing with offences, only Section 39 - Absence without leave and Section 63 - Violation of good order and discipline shall apply to offences committed by Officers of Nursing Services. The Army Rule, 1954, in its entirety is applicable to Officers of Nursing Services. The Rule 16A lays down the authority for release of Officers from Nursing Services. The Rule 16A: Retirement of officers. — (1) Officers shall be retired from service under the orders of the Central Government, or the authorities specified in sub-rule (2), with effect from the afternoon of the last date of the month in which they—(a) Attain the age limits specified in sub-rule (5);or (b) Complete the tenures of appointment specified in sub-rule 5 (f) (ii) and (g) (ii) and sub-rule (6), whichever is earlier.(2) The authorities referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be—(a) The Director-General, Armed Forces Medical Services in respect of officers of the Army Medical Corps, Army Dental Corps and Military Nursing Service.
Defence Service Regulations & Other Rules
The Officers of Nursing Services are governed by Defence Service Regulations - Regulations for the Army 1987, various Government Orders, Army Instructions and Army Orders. The Defence Service Regulations - Regulations for the Army (DSR), Para 733 (b) ordained that women officers serving in the Army Medical Corps and officers in the Military Nursing Service will rank equally with male officers of the same titular rank The Army Rank was granted to Nursing Officers by Army Instruction 4/59. They are entitled to salute and other compliments as laid down in Army Order 353/73. The Army Order 70/73 lays down that, persons subject to Army Act who are placed under the professional care of officers of the Military Nursing Service shall obey and comply with professional orders and direction of such Nursing Officers. They shall be liable to be punished for non-compliance of such orders, under Section 63 of Army Act, 1950 for violation of good order and discipline. The pay and allowances of Officers of Nursing Services are as per the government orders issued from time to time. The Army Order 11/82 lays down the order of precedence of Military Nursing Service in the hierarchy of the Arms and Services of the Army. The DSR, Vol – I Para 235, assigns ADGMNS (Additional Director General MNS – held by an Officer of Major General rank), the duty of technical advisor to DGAFMS, DGMS (Army), DGMS (Navy) and DGMS (Air Force). Further, the DSR, Vol – I, Para 242 (read with Para 243, 247, 250 and 251) lays down that, all Nursing Officers in charges of wards and departments are responsible only to the Principal Matron of the Military (including Navy and Air Force) Hospital (Medical Establishment).
WARS:
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe the multiple conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America from the time of earliest colonial settlement until approximately 1890. The wars resulted as the arrival of European colonists continuously led to population pressure as settlers expanded their territory, generally pushing indigenous people westward. Many conflicts were local, involving disputes over land use, and some entailed cycles of reprisal. Particularly in later years, conflicts were spurred by ideologies such as Manifest Destiny, which held that the United States was destined to expand from coast to coast on the American continent. A main driver of many of these conflicts was the policy of Indian removal, which was a planned, large scale removal of indigenous peoples from the areas where Europeans were settling, either by armed conflict or through sale or exchange of territory through treaties.
Effects on indigenous populations
On the 2010 census 0.9 percent of the U.S. population identified themselves as being Native American (or Alaskan Native). No conclusive evidence exists to determine how many native people lived in North America before the arrival of Columbus.
As the direct result of disease, wars between tribes, wars with Europeans, migration to Canada and Mexico, declining birth rates, and of assimilation, the numbers of Native Americans dropped to below one million in the 19th century. Scholars believe that the main causes were new infectious diseases carried by Europeans explorers and traders. Native Americans had no acquired immunity to such diseases, which had been chronic in Eurasian populations for over five centuries. For instance, some estimates indicate case fatality rates of 80–90% in Native American populations during smallpox epidemics.
According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census (1894), "The Indian wars under the government of the United States have been more than 40 in number. They have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, and the lives of about 30,000 Indians.
Colonial period
From 1600 or so the process of English settlement was contested by some tribes. The wars, which ranged from the 17th-century Jamestown Massacre of 1622, Pequot War of 1637, Anglo-Powhatan Wars (1610–14, 1622–32, 1644–46), King Philip's War, King William's War. During the 18th-century, there was Queen Anne's War, Tuscarora War, Yamasee War and Father Rale's War, King George's War, Father Le Loutre's War, French and Indian War, Pontiac's War and Lord Dunmore's War. In many of these wars, Native Americans fought both for and against the British. In the American Revolution and the War of 1812, Indians also fought for and against the United States, prompting retaliations such as the Cherokee Expedition. The contributions of those who fought for the United States, who were part of the founders of the nation, are often rendered invisible.
East of the Mississippi (1775–1842)
In the period after the American Revolution, 1783-1812, British merchants and government agents supplied weapons to Indians living in the United States, in the hope that if a war broke out the Indians would fight with them. The British planned to set up an Indian nation in what is now the Ohio-Wisconsin area to block further American expansion. The U.S. protested and finally, in 1812, went to war . Most Indians, especially those under the leadership of Tecumseh, did ally with the British and were defeated by General William Henry Harrison. The Indians in the South who fought the U.S. were likewise defeated in the Creek War by General Andrew Jackson. Many refugees in the north went to Canada, or in the South to Florida (which was under Spanish control). National policy did not allow for the continued existence of Indian nations inside of yet independent of state government. The Indians had the choice of assimilation, forced relocation to a controlled Indian reservation, or movement west. Some resisted, most notably the Seminoles in a series of wars in Florida. Others were moved to reservations west of the Mississippi River, most famously the Cherokees whose movement is called the "Trail of Tears."
American Revolutionary War 1775–1783
For the Americans the American Revolutionary War was essentially two parallel wars: while the war in the east was a struggle against British rule, the war in the west was an "Indian War". The newly proclaimed United States competed with the British for control of the territory of Native American nations east of the Mississippi River. The colonial interest in westward colonization, as opposed to the British policy of maintaining peace by designating areas reserved to Native Americans west of the Appalachians following the end of the Seven Years' War, was one cause of the revolution.[citation needed] Most Native Americans who joined the struggle sided with the British, hoping to use the war to reduce settlement and expansion onto their land. The Revolutionary War was "the most extensive and destructive" Indian war in United States history.
Some native communities were divided over which side to support in the war. For the Iroquois Confederacy, based in New York and Pennsylvania, the American Revolution resulted in civil war; the Six Nations split, with the Oneidas and Tuscaroras siding with the rebels, and Mohawks, Senecas, Cayugas, and Onondagas, fighting for the British. While the Iroquois tried to avoid fighting directly against one another, the Revolution eventually forced intra-Iroquois combat. Both sides lost territory under the new political dispensation. The Crown aided the landless Iroquois by rewarding them with a reservation at Grand River in Ontario. In the Southeast, the Cherokee split into a neutral (or pro-rebel) faction and a pro-British faction, which the Americans referred to as the Chickamaugas, led by Dragging Canoe. Many other tribes were similarly divided.
Both immigrant and native noncombatants suffered greatly during the war, and villages and food supplies were frequently destroyed during military expeditions. The largest of these expeditions was the Sullivan Expedition of 1779, which razed more than 40 Iroquois villages.
When the British made peace with the Americans in the Treaty of Paris (1783), they ceded a vast amount of Native American territory (without the consent of the indigenous peoples) to the United States. The United States treated the Native Americans who had fought with the British as enemy allies, a conquered people who had lost their land. The federal government of the United States was eager to expand, and the national government did so by purchasing Native American land in treaties and through warfare.
Chickamauga Wars
These frontier conflicts were almost nonstop, beginning with Cherokee involvement in the American Revolutionary War and continuing through late 1794. The so-called "Chickamauga Cherokee", later called "Lower Cherokee," were those, at first from the Overhill Towns and later from the Lower Towns, Valley Towns, and Middle Towns, who followed the war leader Dragging Canoe southwest, first to the Chickamauga (Chattanooga, Tennessee) area, then to the Five Lower Towns. There they were joined by groups of Muskogee, white Tories, runaway slaves, and renegade Chickasaw, as well as by more than a hundred Shawnee, in exchange for whom a hundred Chickamauga-Cherokee warriors migrated north, along with another seventy a few years later. The primary objects of attack were the colonies along the Watauga, Holston, and Nolichucky rivers, and in Carter's Valley in upper East Tennessee, as well as the settlements along the Cumberland River beginning with Fort Nashborough in 1780, even into Kentucky, plus against the colonies, later states, of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The scope of attacks by the Chickamauga/Lower Cherokee and their allies ranged from quick raids by small war parties of a handful of warriors to large campaigns by four or five hundred, and once over a thousand,[citation needed] warriors. The Upper Muskogee under Dragging Canoe's close ally Alexander McGillivray frequently joined their campaigns as well as operated separately, and the settlements on the Cumberland came under attack from the Chickasaw, Shawnee from the north, and Delaware. Campaigns by Dragging Canoe and his successor, John Watts, were frequently conducted in conjunction with campaigns in the Northwest. The response by the colonists were usually attacks in which Cherokee towns in peaceful areas were completely destroyed, though usually without great loss of life on either side[citation needed]. The wars continued until the Treaty of Tellico Blockhouse in November 1794.
The Chickamauga Wars were in reality a continuation of what some historians call the Second Cherokee War, fought between the whole Cherokee nation and the colonies as allies of the British in the years 1776 and 1777, waged by those who did not wish to stop resisting frontier encroachments.
Northwest Indian War
In 1787, the Northwest Ordinance officially organized the Northwest Territory for white settlement. American settlers began pouring into the region. Violence erupted as indigenous tribes resisted this encroachment, and so the administration of President George Washington sent armed expeditions into the area to suppress native resistance. However, in the Northwest Indian War, a pan-tribal confederacy led by Blue Jacket (Shawnee), Little Turtle (Miami), Buckongahelas (Lenape), and Egushawa (Ottawa) crushed armies led by Generals Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair. General St. Clair's defeat was the most severe loss ever inflicted upon an American army by Native Americans. The Americans attempted to negotiate a settlement, but Blue Jacket and the Shawnee-led confederacy insisted on a boundary line that the Americans found unacceptable, and so a new expedition led by General Anthony Wayne was dispatched. Wayne's army defeated the Indian confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. The Indians had hoped for British assistance; when that was not forthcoming, the indigenous people were compelled to sign the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, which ceded modern-day Ohio and part of Indiana to the United States.
Tecumseh, the Creek War, and the War of 1812
The United States continued to gain title to Native American land after the Treaty of Greenville, at a rate that created alarm in Indian communities.[citation needed] In 1800, William Henry Harrison became governor of the Indiana Territory and, under the direction of President Thomas Jefferson, pursued an aggressive policy of obtaining titles to Indian lands. Two Shawnee brothers, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa, organized Tecumseh's War, another pan-tribal resistance to American expansion.
While Tecumseh was in the South attempting to recruit allies among the Creeks, Cherokees, and Choctaws, Harrison marched against the Indian confederacy, defeating Tenskwatawa and his followers at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. The Americans hoped that the victory would end the militant resistance, but Tecumseh instead chose to ally openly with the British, who were soon at war with the Americans in the War of 1812.
Like the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 was also a massive war on the western front. Encouraged by Tecumseh, the Creek War (1813–1814), which began as a civil war within the Creek (Muscogee) nation, became part of the larger struggle against American expansion. Although the war with the British was ultimately a stalemate, the United States was more successful on the western front. Tecumseh was killed by Harrison's army at the Battle of the Thames, ending the resistance in the Old Northwest. The Creeks who fought against the United States were defeated. The First Seminole War in 1818 was in some ways a continuation of the Creek War[citation needed] and resulted in the transfer of Florida to the United States in 1819 from Spain.
As in the Revolution and the Northwest Indian War, the British abandoned their Indian allies to the Americans after the War of 1812. This proved to be a major turning point in the Indian Wars, marking the last time that Native Americans would turn to a foreign power for assistance against the United States.
Removal era wars
Numerous Indian removal treaties were signed. Most American Indians reluctantly but peacefully complied with the terms of the removal treaties, often with bitter resignation.[citation needed] Some groups, however, went to war to resist the implementation of these treaties, e.g., two short wars (the Black Hawk War of 1832 and the Creek War of 1836), as well as the long and costly Second Seinole War (1835–1842).
Second Seminole War
American settlers began to push into Florida, which was now an American territory and had some of the most fertile lands in the nation.[citation needed] Some scholars have noted that covetousness, racism, and claims of "self-defense" against Indian raids (real or imagined) became the order of the day in the 1820s, and played a major part in the settlers' determination to "rid Florida of Indians once and for all". To compound the tension, runaway black slaves sometimes found refuge in Seminole camps. The inevitable result was clashes between white settlers and the Native Americans already residing there. Andrew Jackson sought to alleviate this problem by signing the Indian Removal Act, which stipulated forced relocation of Native Americans (if necessary) out of Florida. The Seminoles, led by such powerful leaders as Aripeka (Sam Jones), Micanopy, and Osceola, had little or no intention of leaving their ancestral homelands and quickly retaliated against settler theft, encroachment and attacks on their camps. This led to what is known as the Second Seminole War, the longest and most costly war ever waged against Indians.
The Seminoles' continued resistance to relocation led Florida to prepare for war. The St. Augustine Militia asked the U.S. War Department for the loan of 500 muskets. Five hundred volunteers were mobilized under Brig. Gen. Richard K. Call. Indian war parties raided farms and settlements, and families fled to forts, large towns, or out of the territory altogether. A war party led by Osceola captured a Florida militia supply train, killing eight of its guards and wounding six others. Most of the goods taken were recovered by the militia in another fight a few days later. Sugar plantations along the Atlantic coast south of St. Augustine were destroyed, with many of the slaves on the plantations joining the Seminoles.
Attack of the Seminoles on the blockhouse in December 1835
The U.S. Army had 11 companies (about 550 soldiers) stationed in Florida. Fort King (Ocala) had only one company of soldiers, and it was feared that they might be overrun by the Seminoles. Three companies were stationed at Fort Brooke (Tampa), with another two expected imminently, so the army decided to send two companies to Fort King. On December 23, 1835, the two companies, totaling 110 men, left Fort Brooke under the command of Major Francis L. Dade. Seminoles shadowed the marching soldiers for five days. On December 28, the Seminoles ambushed the soldiers, and wiped out the command. Only three men survived, and one, Edwin De Courcey, was hunted down and killed by a Seminole the next day. Two survivors, Ransome Clarke and Joseph Sprague, returned to Fort Brooke. Only Clarke, who died of his wounds later, left any account of the battle from the army's perspective. Joseph Sprague was unharmed and lived quite a while longer, but was not able to give an account of the battle because he had sought immediate refuge in a nearby pond. The Seminoles lost just three men, with five wounded. On the same day as the Dade Massacre, Osceola and his followers shot and killed from ambush Wiley Thompson and six others outside of Fort King.
Major Ethan Allen Hitchcock was subsequently among those who found the remains of the Dade party in February. In his journal he accounted for the discovery, then vented his bitter discontent with the conflict: "The government is in the wrong, and this is the chief cause of the persevering opposition of the Indians, who have nobly defended their country against our attempt to enforce a fraudulent treaty. The natives used every means to avoid a war, but were forced into it by the tyranny of our government."
On December 29, General Clinch left Fort Drane (recently established on Clinch's plantation, about twenty miles (32 km) northwest of Fort King) with 750 soldiers, including 500 volunteers on an enlistment due to end January 1, 1836. The group was traveling to a Seminole stronghold called the Cove of the Withlacoochee, an area of many lakes on the southwest side of the Withlacoochee River. When they reached the river, the soldiers could not find the ford, so Clinch ferried his regular troops across the river in a single canoe they had found. Once they were across and had relaxed, the Seminoles attacked. The troops only saved themselves by fixing bayonets and charging the Seminoles, at the cost of four dead and 59 wounded. The militia provided cover as the army troops then withdrew across the river.
In another key skirmish known as the Battle of Lake Okeechobee, Colonel Zachary Taylor saw the first major action of the campaign. Leaving Fort Gardiner on the upper Kissimmee with 1,000 men on December 19, Taylor headed towards Lake Okeechobee. In the first two days ninety Seminoles surrendered. On the third day Taylor stopped to build Fort Basinger, where he left his sick and enough men to guard the Seminoles that had surrendered. Three days later, on Christmas Day, 1837, Taylor's column caught up with the main body of the Seminoles on the north shore of Lake Okeechobee.
The Seminoles, led by Alligator, Sam Jones, and the recently escaped Coacoochee, were well positioned in a hammock surrounded by sawgrass. The ground was thick mud, and sawgrass easily cuts and burns the skin. Taylor had about 800 men, while the Seminoles numbered fewer than 400. Taylor sent in the Missouri volunteers first, moving his troops squarely into the center of the swamp. His plan was to make a direct attack rather than encircle the Indians. All his men were on foot. Missouri volunteers formed the first line. As soon as they came within range, the Indians opened with heavy fire. The volunteers broke, and their commander, Colonel Gentry, fatally wounded, was unable to rally them. They fled back across the swamp. The fighting in the sawgrass was deadliest for five companies of the Sixth Infantry; every officer but one, and most of their non-commissioned officers, were either killed or wounded. When that part of the regiment retired a short distance to re-form, they found only four men of these companies unharmed. Only about a dozen Seminoles had been killed in the battle. Nevertheless, the Battle of Lake Okeechobee was hailed as a great victory for Taylor and the army. Twenty-six U.S. soldiers, including the majority of Taylor's officers and NCOs, were killed, with 112 wounded, compared to only 11 Seminoles killed and 14 wounded. No Seminoles were captured, although Taylor did capture 100 ponies and 600 head of cattle.
By 1842, the war was winding down, and most Seminoles, save a few hundred diehards, had left Florida for Oklahoma. Estimates of the true cost of the Seminole War range from $30 million to $40 million (about $ 1,5 billion to $ 2 billion in today's prices), though no analysis of the actual cost has been made. Congress appropriated funds for the "suppression of Indian hostilities", but the costs of the Creek War of 1836 are included in that. An inquiry into extravagance in naval operations found that the navy had spent about $511,000 on the war. The investigation did find questionable expenditures. Among other things, while the army had bought dugout canoes for $10 to $15 apiece, the navy spent an average of $226 per canoe. The number of army, navy and marine regulars who served in Florida is given as 10,169. About 30,000 militiamen and volunteers also served in the war.
Sources agree that the U.S. Army officially recorded 1,466 deaths in the Second Seminole War, mostly from disease. The number killed in action is less clear. Mahon reports 328 regular army killed in action, while Missall reports that Seminoles killed 269 officers and men. Almost half of those deaths occurred in the Dade Massacre, Battle of Lake Okeechobee and Harney Massacre. Similarly, Mahon reports 69 deaths for the navy, while Missal reports 41 for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, but adds others may have died after being sent out of Florida as incurable. Mahon and the Florida Board of State Institutions agree that 55 volunteer officers and men were killed by the Seminoles, while Missall says the number is unknown. There is no figure for how many militiamen and volunteers died of disease or accident, however. The number of white civilians and Seminoles killed is also uncertain. A northern newspaper carried a report that more than eighty civilians were killed by Indians in Florida in 1839. Nobody kept a cumulative account of the number of Indians killed, or who died of starvation or other privations caused by the war. The Indians who were shipped west did not fare well either. By the end of 1843, 3,824 Indians had been shipped from Florida to what became the Indian Territory, but in 1844 only 3,136 remained. As of 1962 there were only 2,343 Seminoles in Oklahoma and perhaps some 1,500 in Florida.
JAI HIND
