The Enemy in Our Hands: America's Treatment of Prisoners of War from the Revolution to the War on Terror

490 Pages·2010·8.735 MB·English

by  Robert C. Doyle, Arnold P. Krammer

(ContinueD fRom fRont flap) HistoRy Doyle The enemy in
Doyle offers a nuanced interpretation of American Our hands
military history, suggesting that the treatment of
EPWs in each conflict was a unique reflection of
“Doyle’s comprehensive and balanced analysis of the ways America has treated enemy prisoners America’s Treatment of Prisoners of War from
the prevailing political attitudes of the day. The
the Revolution to the War on Terror
of war should be required reading for anyone addressing that controversial subject. Thoroughly
military’s incarceration practices with prisoners,
researched and clearly written, incorporating civilian as well as military prisoners, covering a RobeRt C. Doyle
particularly its methods used for interrogation,
spectrum from Loyalists to American Indians to Germans and Japanese, The Enemy in Our
have evolved dramatically since the prisoner
Hands offers a unique perspective on who and what Americans are.”
W
exchanges of the American Revolution. Using
inston Churchill once remarked, “A
—Dennis sHoWalteR, O
graphic details of the experiences of captured
prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill
author of Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century
enemy combatants and civilians, The Enemy in
you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.”
T
Our Hands explores each war’s adherence to inter-
u
national standards of conduct, including the 1929 Discovery and exposure of the U.S. military’s
h
Geneva Convention. “Given the worldwide controversy over America’s handling of captured personnel during its The enemy in inhumane treatment of detainees at Baghdad’s
recent military incursions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Robert C. Doyle’s The Enemy in Our Hands Abu Ghraib prison and the Guantánamo Bay
The Enemy in Our Hands is a complete cultural re
provides a much-needed, scholarly perspective on this country’s historical treatment of prison- detention camp generated a media frenzy that
analysis of a complicated issue the nation has Our hands
ers of war, or “enemy combatants,” as President George W. Bush referred to them. Because so many argue irrevocably damaged America’s
e
struggled with since its inception. As the context much of this material has not previously appeared in print, The Enemy in Our Hands reinforces reputation as a world leader. Worldwide scrutiny
of modern warfare continues to be shaped by Doyle’s reputation as America’s foremost scholar on POWs, past and present.” hn of the photos and descriptions of the abuse of
current events, it is incumbent upon America —leWis H. CaRlson, enemy prisoners of war, or EPWs, from the war
to consider its treatment of EPWs and how that e
author of Remembered Prisoners of a Forgotten War: An Oral History of Korean War POWs and America’s Treatment of Prisoners of War from on terror incited allegations of human rights
treatment defines national character. a
We Were Each Other’s Prisoners: An Oral History of World War II American m violations and possible war crimes and left many
the Revolution to the War on Terror
and German Prisoners of War wondering whether the mistreatment of these
ny prisoners was an isolated set of circumstances or,
conversely, one example among many of atrocities
“Incredibly informative and insightful, Doyle reveals fascinating truths about the treatment rooted in our nation’s history.
i
of enemy POWs. I now realize just how lucky I am to have survived almost six years in the d
n Drawing from diverse primary sources, military
hands of my brutal North Vietnamese captors. No nation, during any war, has extended such
historian Robert C. Doyle illuminates America’s
humane treatment to POWs as the United States.”
prisoner of war policies from the founding era
RobeRt C. Doyle, professor of history s
—RetiReD navy Captain mike mcgRatH, to the present. A work of history with direct
at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, is
author of Prisoner of War: Six Years in Hanoi and former president of NAM-POWS, Inc. relevance to contemporary events, The Enemy
the author of A Prisoner’s Duty: Great Escapes in
in Our Hands: America’s Treatment of Prisoners
U.S. Military History and Voices from Captivity:
of War from the Revolution to the War on Terror
Interpreting the American POW Narrative. He has
tHe univeRsity pRess examines every major war and conflict, from the
been a historical consultant on multiple films and
of kentuCky American Revolution through the Civil War, both
documentaries, including Hart’s War (2002).
world wars, Vietnam, and Afghanistan, to pro-
vide a comprehensive understanding of American
CoveR images: top, © bettmann/CoRbis; treatment of EPWs.
bottom, © pool/ReuteRs/CoRbis.
JaCket Design by Jen HuppeRt Design. kentuCky (ContinueD on baCk flap)
RobeRt C. Doyle
The Enemy in Our Hands
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The Enemy in
Our Hands
America’s Treatment of
Enemy Prisoners of War
from the Revolution
to the War on Terror
Robert C. Doyle
The University Press of Kentucky
Copyright © 2010 by The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,
serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre
College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University,
The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College,
Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University,
Morehead State University, Murray State University,
Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University,
University of Kentucky, University of Louisville,
and Western Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
14 13 12 11 10 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Doyle, Robert C.
The enemy in our hands : America’s treatment of enemy prisoners of war
from the Revolution to the War on Terror / Robert C. Doyle.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8131-2589-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Prisoners of war—United States—History. 2. Prisoners of war—
Government policy—United States—History. 3. United States—
History, Military. I. Title.
UB803.D689 2010
355.1’2960973—dc22
2009046402
This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting
the requirements of the American National Standard
for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Member of the Association of
American University Presses
To Stanley and Rodelle Weintraub,
distinguished authors, scholars, friends,
mentors, and always an inspiration.
this page intentionally left blank
Contents
Foreword by Arnold Krammer ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xix
Introduction: The Enemy: Imposing the Condition of
Captivity 1
1. Prisoners of Independence: British and Hessian Enemy
Prisoners of War 11
2. Habeas Corpus: War against Loyalists and Quakers 32
3. The Second American Revolution: Cartel and Enemy
Prisoners of the War of 1812 49
4. Manifest Destiny versus Nativism: Mexico, 1846–1848 69
5. Prisoners of Politics: A Very Uncivil War 89
6. Indians as POWs in America: From Discovery to 1914 113
7. Spaniards and Insurrectos: Spanish-American War (1898)
and War in the Philippines (1899–1905) 136
8. Over There and Over Here: Enemy Prisoners of War and
Prisoners of State in the Great War 159
9. Pensionierte Wehrmacht: German and Italian POWs and
Internees in the United States 179
10. The Reborn: Japanese Soldiers as Enemy Prisoners of War
and American Nisei Internees 202
11. After the Victory: Optimism, Justice, or Vengeance? 223
12. Prisoners at War: Forced Repatriation and the Prison
Revolts in Korea 247
13. Vietnam Quagmire: Enemy Prisoners of War, Phoenix,
and the Vietcong Infrastructure 269
14. To Desert Storm and Beyond: Enemy Prisoners of War and
the Conflict of Rules 292
Contents
15. Iraqi Freedom, Abu Ghraib, and Guantánamo: The
Problem of the Moral High Ground 310
16. The Evolution of New Paradigms: Reflections on the
Past, Present, and Future 334
Appendixes
1. Loyalist Units Organized in the American Revolution 351
2. Cartel for the Exchange of POWs in the War of 1812 351
3. Confederate and Union POW Camps 359
4. General Order 207: Instructions for the Government of
Armies of the United States 361
5. Andersonville Deaths, 1864–1865 362
6. Hague Convention Ratified by the United States,
3 December 1909 363
7. German Prisoners Captured by U.S. Divisions, 1917–1918 366
8. Executive Order 9066 366
 9. World War II Trials of U.S. Personnel 368
10. Nuremberg Principles, 1946 368
11. Geneva Convention, 1949 369
12. U.S. Code of Conduct, 1954 360
Notes 371
Bibliography 415
Index 439
viii
Foreword
Winston Churchill said it best: “A prisoner of war is a man who tries to
kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.”* That is the precise
situation prisoners have faced in every war: how can one survive capture
when killing is the goal?
Since biblical times the fate of prisoners of war has been precarious.
Ernst Jünger, a former German officer who was wounded and decorated
countless times in front-line action during World War I, describes the
dangers involved in the moment of capture: “The defending force, after
driving their bullets into the attacking one at five paces’ distance, must
take the consequences. A man cannot change his feelings again during
the last rush with a veil of blood before his eyes. He does not want
to take prisoners but to kill. He has no scruples left; only the spell of
primeval instinct remains. It is not till blood has flowed that the mist
gives way to his soul.Ӡ
The first moments after capture are breathtakingly dangerous. The
prisoner’s life depends on a host of variables. Captives who fall into the
hands of religious zealots or are the victims of ethnic cleansing have
little chance of survival; indeed, the safety of a captive might hinge on
such minor factors as whether the soldier who captures him recently
lost buddies in the war or is short-tempered due to fighting in the rain
or cold. Sometimes prisoners have been killed simply because they were
too cumbersome to take along. Every conflict in recorded time has wit-
nessed the mistreatment of prisoners of war.
Perhaps the most important determinant of the treatment of pris-
oners is the attitude or personality of the enemy. In short, how do the
captors feel about their prisoners? Some armies, such as the Japanese,
Soviets, and Germans in World War II, found them subhuman and
treated them harshly; others, such as the German and British airmen
* Quoted in the Observer, 1952.
† Ernst Jünger, The Storm of Steel: From the Diary of a German Storm-Troop
Officer on the Western Front (New York: Howard Fertig, 1975), 262–63.
ix