Considering a Cadre Augmented Army - RAND Corporation

-297- A Historical Analysis of Cadre
the regular army.” 90 Ambrose summarizes Upton’s argument: “the whole point of his study
of military policy of the United States was not, then, to attack the militia … He wanted a
militia, that is, some form of civilian reserve, but he wanted it under professional control.” 91
However, Upton’s work would be interpreted to mean that the militia could never be relied
upon.
Upton never finished writing his book; he committed suicide on March 15, 1881 92
having never seen any of his recommendations regarding American military policy
implemented. 93 However, his manuscript was widely circulated before it was eventually
published in 1904. 94
2.3.4—Upton’s Legacy
Although The Military Policy of the United States was not officially published until 1904,
many military officers and congressional representatives had known of its existence and read
drafts before that time. Many of these individuals were swayed by Upton’s argument and
lobbied for a cadre system. 95 The cadre-militia debate would go on informally throughout
the late nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century. Upton’s arguments heavily
influenced this debate. However, although the military elite may have supported a cadre
system, Congress supported a reliance on the militia. The experiences of the Spanish-
American War would lead many in Congress to rethink their assumptions about the
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90 Ambrose (1964), p. 113
91 Ambrose (1964), p. 135
92 Upton’s suicide was preceded by years of headaches that Ambrose attributes to a possible tumor. [Ambrose
(1964), p. 143]
93 His recommendations for improved tactics had already been widely accepted in the United States Army.
94 Brown (1953), p. 128
95 Speaking about the late 19 th and early 20 th century, Jacobs (1994) argues that “Upton’s ideas were widely
accepted throughout the Regular Army of that era.” [Jacobs (1994), p. 32]