ABSTRACT
A doctrine that was anathema in 1860 emerged from the Civil War as the weapon of choice on the frontier, and by 1880 total war theory dominated the mainstream of American military thought. To early Civil War leaders, these destructive tactics seemed revolutionary, for they contradicted codes of behavior developed during the Enlightenment; codes which attempted to spare civilians the travesties of war. The American reluctance to involve noncombatants was clearly outlined by Henry Wager Halleck, who went on to become Chief of Staff during the Civil War. A Mahan disciple, Halleck published a number of works during the 1840s which rehashed Jomini and emphasized fortifications. In the years following the Civil War, US Grant became president, and Sherman rose to command the entire American army. To a much greater degree than the Confederate Army, Native-American raiding parties depended on tenuous sources of supplies.
