The History Channel's 'The American Soldier' Documents the Evolution of the US Army

The Founding Fathers of the United States were known for their distrust and disdain for standing armies. It’s a historical irony that the country they founded would not only have one, but would also become the world’s premier fighting force. How the U.S. Army evolved from a group of citizen militias to the more than 950,000 volunteers serving as American soldiers is a story more than 250 years in the making.

From the earliest settlers and the Revolutionary War, American soldiers have been a transformative force shaping U.S. (and world) history. From executive producer Peyton Manning, The History Channel brings us “The American Soldier,” a documentary that explains the evolution of the Army from its ragtag beginnings to the men and women who serve today.

“The American Soldier” begins its history of the Army with the earliest colonists of North America, who brought military-minded leaders with them. These leaders formed armed bands to defend their settlements from the native tribes when the governments of Europe would not send troops. In the decades that followed, those militias formed the core of America’s defenses and adapted their fighting style to their new enemy.

The New World innovation began when the colonies decided to shake off the yoke of the English crown. Militias turned to minutemen, self-trained and self-equipped soldiers who could be fully supplied and ready to move at a moment’s notice. Around the same time that Gen. George Washington and the Prussian Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben trained the fledgling Continental Army in the European way of war, officers like Daniel Morgan trained rangers, riflemen and snipers.

From its earliest days, U.S. Army adapted its strategies and tactics to fit the war it was fighting, be it the native tribes or the British (again) during the War of 1812. By the time of the Mexican-American War in 1846, the Army and its soldiers had once again evolved. This time, its leadership was led by a specially-trained officer corps, who studied arts and sciences of warfare at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

After the conflict with Mexico began to draw America further westward, American soldiers became the pivotal force behind two dramatic shifts in their country. Both the Civil War and World War II would change the United States and its role in the global community. They would both also cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of those soldiers. The Civil War would end slavery in the United States while reinforcing the idea that the Union is indivisible. World War II would turn the country into the world’s “Arsenal of Democracy,” with U.S. troops at its heart. The Cold War that occupied much of the rest of the 20th century would put their resolve to the test.

“The American Soldier” looks at how the U.S. Army grew from bands of men, armed for the common defense, to become the professional, all-volunteer force it is today with visually nifty graphics and historical recreations. The show gets expert commentary from Gen. (ret.) Stan McCrystal and Col. (ret.) Doug Douds, along with historians Edward T. O’Donnell, Dr. H.W. Brands, Dr. Yohuru Williams and Pulitzer Prize-winning historians Dr. Marcia Chatelain and Annette Gordon-Reed.

History’s “The American Soldier” is a two-hour event that premieres on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2024, at 8 p.m. Eastern. It will be available on demand the next day.

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