The Military and United States Indian Policy, 1865-1903

An Army Marches on Its Stomach: Comparing Military Provisioning across North American Sixteenth- to Nineteenth-Century Forts

“…Ever-changing frontier conditions inhibited the formation of a consistent federal policy on settlement and Indigenous diplomacy (Wooster 1988). Until the 1860s, federal policy favored the displacement of Native American tribes to the west of a permanent frontier demarcated by forts garrisoned by the US military; however, westward expansion of white settlers and the differing opinions of those in government prevented the formulation of a consistent US policy (Wooster 1988). Furthermore, although the fortifications that comprised the western frontier were intended to protect white settlers, they also frequently served as centers of trade, diplomacy, military actions, and resettlement programs with and against various Indigenous peoples (Wooster 1988).…”

“…As American interests increasingly turned to the west, so did the role of military fortifications. Ever-changing frontier conditions inhibited the formation of a consistent federal policy on settlement and Indigenous diplomacy (Wooster 1988). Until the 1860s, federal policy favored the displacement of Native American tribes to the west of a permanent frontier demarcated by forts garrisoned by the US military; however, westward expansion of white settlers and the differing opinions of those in government prevented the formulation of a consistent US policy (Wooster 1988).…”