Following the formation of a regular army in 1784, a popular distrust of military power and the generally unsettled nature of national administration kept the army in a continual state of fluctuation, both in terms of organization and size. Few officers were making a long-term commitment to military service. But by 1860, a professional army career was becoming a way of life. In that year, 41.5 percent of officers had served 30 years, compared to only 2.6 percent in 1797. Historians, while recognizing the emergence of a pre-Civil War professional army, have generally placed the solid...
Following the formation of a regular army in 1784, a popular distrust of military power and the generally unsettled nature of national administration ...
