TheMilitary Information Division (MID) was the firstmilitary intelligence branch of theUnited States Army and theUnited States Department of War, operating from 1885 to 1903.[1]
The MID was established byBrigadier General Richard C. Drum, the thenAdjutant General of the United States Army in October 1885 under his office inWashington, DC. Thus becoming thede facto first standing military intelligence agency of the United States. While theUnion Army had aBureau of Military Information, it reported to the Commanding General for less than a year prior to being disbanded at the end of theCivil War in 1865.
The original duties of the MID consisted of collecting military data on foreign nations. Drum also asked senior Army commanders to have their officers to submit intelligence reports from their travels to foreign nations. "Initially, the division acted as a relatively passive repository for military related information."[2] In 1889, the MID saw the formation of, directed and controlled what became theDefense Attaché System, with United States Armed Forces officers being dispatched toLondon,Berlin,Paris,Vienna, andSt. Petersburg. TheSecretary of War,Redfield Proctor, required all information from the attachés to be analysed by the MID. "By 1898, the MID had 16 attaché posts in Europe, Mexico, and Japan. Until the early 1940s, the attaché system constituted the foundation of the Army’s strategic collection effort."[3]
With the beginning of theSpanish–American War in April 1898, the United States Army entered a conflict with existingmilitary intelligence preparation for the first time. Since 1882, the MID had been collectingterrain andorder of battle intelligence on the Spanish inCuba andthe Caribbean and had consequently produced detailed maps of likelytheaters of operation. Such intelligence was assisted by the reports of the United States Army attaché in Madrid, CaptainTasker H. Bliss who became theChief of Staff of the United States Army, on Spanish deployments in the region. In April 1898, the Chief of MID, MajorArthur L. Wagner ordered two experienced military observers of MID to be deployed to the region to collect specific information on Spanish defence capabilities before the deployment of American forces. First LieutenantAndrew S. Rowan was deployed to Cuba and First Lieutenant Henry H. Whitney was deployed toPuerto Rico. "As the war progressed, the MID published comprehensive handbooks for both Caribbean countries."[4] The Spanish–American War ended in August 1898 with an American victory.
After the American naval victory in theBattle of Manila Bay of May 1898, the American troops were deployed to thePhilippines in July 1898. With American victory in theSpanish–American War in August 1898, fighting broke out as the Filipinos sought independence. This led to thePhilippine–American War in June 1899. Consequently, theAmerican Military Governor of the Philippines formed the Bureau of Insurgent Records (BIR) to translate and collate captured documents and to provide information about the Filipino forces beyond tactical reconnaissance. In December 1900, the bureau became the Division of Military Information (DMI) under the United States Military Government of the Philippines and was responsible formilitary intelligence andcounterinsurgency capabilities. The Chief of DMI, CaptainRalph Van Deman who had served on the staff of the Chief of MID Major Arthur L. Wagner and was later called the "Father of American Military Intelligence", expanded the capabilities of the DMI to include a mapping section, improved liaison with other agencies, relayed intelligence to the field commanders, provided photographs and descriptions of known Filipino insurgents, and coordinated localised intelligence officers to gather information on the surrounding terrain, attitudes of local villagers, and the dispositions of Filipino insurgent groups. In 1902, the DMI became a branch the MID with the end of the Philippine–American War in July 1902.
In 1903,Secretary of WarElihu Root reorganised theUnited States Department of War and also established theUnited States Army General Staff to coordinate and perform administrative, planning and intelligence functions. TheSecond Division of theUnited States Army General Staff consequently acquired the MID from the Adjutant General's Office. The Second Division was given four major duties: collecting and disseminating information on foreign countries; directing the work of the attaché system; supervising mapping, and maintaining a reference collection. "For the moment, the intelligence function had achieved equal standing with other staff missions."[5]