Kevin Dougherty
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781628461534
- eISBN:
- 9781626740822
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628461534.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
The United States did not have a plan to deal with the post-combat situation it inherited after its victory at Port Royal. Ultimately Edward Pierce developed a system that combined superintendents to ...
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The United States did not have a plan to deal with the post-combat situation it inherited after its victory at Port Royal. Ultimately Edward Pierce developed a system that combined superintendents to be appointed for the plantations to control the labor force and bring in the valuable cotton crop and missionary-teachers to address the population’s educational and humanitarian needs. These Gideonites filled a dangerous void, but the lack of prior planning resulted in an ad hoc and largely uncoordinated effort. Similar failures to plan subsequent phases to military operations, act quickly, and ensure unity of effort among participants continued to plague recent US efforts in Iraq, Kosovo, and Somalia, and the Port Royal Experiment serves as a cautionary tale for those planning such transitions from combat operations to nation-building activities.Less
The United States did not have a plan to deal with the post-combat situation it inherited after its victory at Port Royal. Ultimately Edward Pierce developed a system that combined superintendents to be appointed for the plantations to control the labor force and bring in the valuable cotton crop and missionary-teachers to address the population’s educational and humanitarian needs. These Gideonites filled a dangerous void, but the lack of prior planning resulted in an ad hoc and largely uncoordinated effort. Similar failures to plan subsequent phases to military operations, act quickly, and ensure unity of effort among participants continued to plague recent US efforts in Iraq, Kosovo, and Somalia, and the Port Royal Experiment serves as a cautionary tale for those planning such transitions from combat operations to nation-building activities.
