The American flag was hoisted over the Hindu Kush as early as the 19th century.
Navisanda: Vartan Grigorian, American of Persian-Armenian descent, author of the book "The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan"
The first American to arrive in Afghanistan was Joshua Harlan, the Prince of Ghor (a province in Afghanistan). He was a native of New Lane, Pennsylvania and the first American to enter Afghanistan along with the Barikzai kings. He was an adventurer. He was first sent to the British Army as a surgeon of the Bengal Artillery Division. Later he joined Ranjit Singh and was placed in the ruler's service. In 1835, he joined the Amir Dost Mohammed. As an officer, he was first appointed as special assistant to the Amir Dost Mohammed until he was promoted to general. According to Harlan himself, the emir promoted him to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
Another of Dost Mohammed's advisers was Campbell, a British officer. He served as a special adviser on military affairs and an artillery instructor until he was appointed commander in Dost Mohammed's army. He later changed his name to Shir Mohammed Khan and was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces in Balkh. "This Campbell or Shir Mohammed Khan later became Abdulrahman's tutor when he was a teenager. Abdulrahman in his Tajut Tawarikh mentions him as an English earl (1).
Other European advisers of Dost Mohammed were Colonel Leslie or Retroy "Fida Mohammed Khan" and another was Arghou, a French adventurer. They served under Dost Mohammed in the ethnic Durrani army units, of course changing their names and converting to Islam.
Besides the Europeans, there were several Indians, the most famous of whom was Saleh Mohammad, who had a low rank in the Indian army but had served as a military instructor in Dost Mohammad's army and was later appointed commander. An Iranian fugitive named Abdusmad was in charge of the artillery as a general.
The late Ghubar in his book “Afghanistan on the Road of History” in the section on Amir Dost Mohammed’s invasion of northern Afghanistan writes that he appointed his son Mohammed Akram as the army commander. Harlan writes in his memoirs, Notes on India and Afghanistan, that Mohammed Akram was not yet eighteen years old.
Harlan presents the reality differently. He writes that the drive north to suppress Mirmurad Beg Kunduz ended with capturing the "Indian Caucasus" - the Hindu Kush Mountains. The American flag was raised 12,500 feet above Mount Kharzar, and soldiers fired 26 ceremonial shots.
It should be noted that the American Harlan was most likely a Jew.
