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A Scientific Way of War: Antebellum Military Science, West Point, and the Origins of American Military Thought
While faith in the Enlightenment was waning elsewhere by 1850, at the United States Military Academy at West Point and in the minds of academy graduates serving throughout the country, Enlightenment thinking persisted, asserting that war was governable by a grand theory accessible through the study of military science. Officers of the regular army and instructors at the military academy and their political superiors all believed strongly in the possibility of acquiring a perfect knowledge of war through the proper curriculum.
A Scientific Way of War analyzes how the doctrine of military science evolved from teaching specific Napoleonic applications to embracing subjects that were useful for war in North America. Drawing from a wide array of materials, Ian C. Hope refutes earlier charges of a lack of professionalization in the antebellum American army and an overreliance on the teachings of Swiss military theorist Antoine de Jomini. Instead, Hope shows that inculcation in West Point’s American military curriculum eventually came to provide the army with an officer corps that shared a common doctrine and common skill in military problem solving. The proliferation of military science ensured that on the eve of the Civil War there existed a distinctly American, and scientific, way of war.
Purchase the audio edition.
A Scientific Way of War analyzes how the doctrine of military science evolved from teaching specific Napoleonic applications to embracing subjects that were useful for war in North America. Drawing from a wide array of materials, Ian C. Hope refutes earlier charges of a lack of professionalization in the antebellum American army and an overreliance on the teachings of Swiss military theorist Antoine de Jomini. Instead, Hope shows that inculcation in West Point’s American military curriculum eventually came to provide the army with an officer corps that shared a common doctrine and common skill in military problem solving. The proliferation of military science ensured that on the eve of the Civil War there existed a distinctly American, and scientific, way of war.
Purchase the audio edition.
- GenresNonfiction
350 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2015
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January 16, 2022
“A Scientific Way of War” is an in-depth history of how general “enlightenment” ideas, specifically the application of mathematics, impacted the education and deployment of “strategic” and “tactical” thought / doctrine within the Antebellum US (i.e. after the War of 1812 and before the US Civil War of 1862). The book puts central focus on the development of the West Point academy curriculum and it’s role in this development, as well as West Point’s place within the broader set of US institutions of higher education, specifically engineering/”scientific” education.
An interesting fact made known here is that West Point was the first major institution to provide engineering instruction in the United States during this era. Colleges like Harvard would not do so until many decades later, institutions like MIT wouldn’t be founded until right before the Civil War, and CalTech and Georgia Tech would not be founded until several decades in the last decade, or so, of the 19th century. Though there were other institutions that had civil and other engineering schools, including two mentioned in the text Norwich College (now University) and RPI. Though I'm not sure if RPI started as military-affiliated and became a civilian institution or not (and I don’t think that’s clearly spelt out in the text).
At heart of this new “scientification” of warfare was the field of Geometry. From the common layman it is obvious why Geometry would capture the imagination of war thinkers influenced by the enlightened as much of Napeolonic era warfare could be visualized within 2-dimensions, with key landscapes topography being measured/analyzed using both the analytic geometry of that era and the kinematics/mechanics of the “neo-Newtonians”, which were contemporary to this era (with Lagrange having passed on within the 2nd decade of the 1800s).
The book demonstrates how what became known as the linear-line style of warfare was contextualized with this geometry, with two important applications most emphasized, the placement of artillery positions within the landscape/battle area, and the placement/design of fortifications (and systems of fortifications). A close second for applications would also be the formulation of supply lines, and internal lines of movement vis-a-vis the front, and vis-a-vis the ‘base of operations’ or rallying/mustering area. It is in this era that the importance of the supply lines becomes more apparent as having a much more important factor to victory (if not decisive in many cases).
The book surveys contemporary thinkers like Jomini and Alfred Mahan, who despite being well-known for his naval treatise, dedicated some thought to land warfare, and shows how these thinkers fell within the more technical purview of warfare. It also discusses at length the rationale of building a professional military cadre, and how the US thought of it’s war making efficacy vis-a-vis the European powers.
Overall, this is a great book, and pairs well with Donald Stoker’s “The Grand Design”. Men like U.S. Grant, George MccLellen, and P.G.T Beauregard make an appearance in the book (A plurality of Union generals were educated at West Point, and close to 2/5ths of the CSA military leadership also attended USMA), so this book can be thought of as a helpful background text to almost any serious study of the Civil War. It also works as a general history of US military thought, and it could also be of interest to history of philosophy students who wish to trace the impact of enlightenment and the natural philosophy’s movement on broader society. Highly recommended.
An interesting fact made known here is that West Point was the first major institution to provide engineering instruction in the United States during this era. Colleges like Harvard would not do so until many decades later, institutions like MIT wouldn’t be founded until right before the Civil War, and CalTech and Georgia Tech would not be founded until several decades in the last decade, or so, of the 19th century. Though there were other institutions that had civil and other engineering schools, including two mentioned in the text Norwich College (now University) and RPI. Though I'm not sure if RPI started as military-affiliated and became a civilian institution or not (and I don’t think that’s clearly spelt out in the text).
At heart of this new “scientification” of warfare was the field of Geometry. From the common layman it is obvious why Geometry would capture the imagination of war thinkers influenced by the enlightened as much of Napeolonic era warfare could be visualized within 2-dimensions, with key landscapes topography being measured/analyzed using both the analytic geometry of that era and the kinematics/mechanics of the “neo-Newtonians”, which were contemporary to this era (with Lagrange having passed on within the 2nd decade of the 1800s).
The book demonstrates how what became known as the linear-line style of warfare was contextualized with this geometry, with two important applications most emphasized, the placement of artillery positions within the landscape/battle area, and the placement/design of fortifications (and systems of fortifications). A close second for applications would also be the formulation of supply lines, and internal lines of movement vis-a-vis the front, and vis-a-vis the ‘base of operations’ or rallying/mustering area. It is in this era that the importance of the supply lines becomes more apparent as having a much more important factor to victory (if not decisive in many cases).
The book surveys contemporary thinkers like Jomini and Alfred Mahan, who despite being well-known for his naval treatise, dedicated some thought to land warfare, and shows how these thinkers fell within the more technical purview of warfare. It also discusses at length the rationale of building a professional military cadre, and how the US thought of it’s war making efficacy vis-a-vis the European powers.
Overall, this is a great book, and pairs well with Donald Stoker’s “The Grand Design”. Men like U.S. Grant, George MccLellen, and P.G.T Beauregard make an appearance in the book (A plurality of Union generals were educated at West Point, and close to 2/5ths of the CSA military leadership also attended USMA), so this book can be thought of as a helpful background text to almost any serious study of the Civil War. It also works as a general history of US military thought, and it could also be of interest to history of philosophy students who wish to trace the impact of enlightenment and the natural philosophy’s movement on broader society. Highly recommended.
October 26, 2025
I read this book for my military history class. It was well argued an a really strong book I just had trouble reading it. It covered military science history from early America to the Civil War.
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