>It was usually a mixture. Take the 7th Cavalry at Little Big Horn for example. Of the unit, in 1876 there were 43 officers and 793 enlisted men. Of that number 473 were native born and 320 foreign born.
>
>There's an interesting article here:
>http://www.historynet.com/the-7th-us-cavalry-regiment-fought-in-the-battle-of-the-little-bighorn.htm

Really interesting stuff. I'd never been to the history channel site before. I've certainly added it to my favourites. Thank you.

>
>
>>Well, the official U.S. army did some pretty good damage to the natives in the west in the 1800s.
>>
>>>Besides, it was primarily European colonists who killed and suppressed native americans. It's not like the U.S. government had existed for hundreds or thousands of years and Americans killed or suppressed them. In essence, native americans were not their own in the sense of the discussion.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>>>I wasn't thinking of the U.S. but other western countries throughout history...
>>>>>
>>>>>what about the suppression of native indians?
>>>>
>>>>Not a fair comparison. I started this by talking about soldiers being willing on an order to kill their own. I doubt they ever thought of the natives as 'their own'. Killing an alien species has always been relatively easy for soldiers, but I just can't imagine how they can turn on their own as they do in places like Myanmar or Zimbabwe or China.
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>SNIP
>>>>>>>>>It seems most of the countries that haven't tried to kill their own, have been western civilizations.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Uh oh, not gonna touch that with a 10 foot pole... :O)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Hmmm, I must have missed the reports about Bush ordering the extermination of hundreds of thousands of people here in the US? I don't even remember Bill "The Evil One" Clinton doing anything comparable to Saddam's exterminations, or Pol Pot, or Hitler, or . . . .