Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare during the American Civil War that was particularly prevalent in rural areas where there were sharp divisions between those favoring the Union and Confederacy in the conflict. Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 The perpetrators of the attacks were called bushwhackers.

Bushwhackers were not, generally, part of the military command and control of either side. Command and control can be defined as the exercise of Authority and Direction by a properly designated Commander over assigned and attached Forces While bushwhackers conducted a few well-organized raids in which they burned cities, most of the attacks involved ambushes of opponent individuals or families in rural areas. In areas affected by bushwhacking the actions were particularly insidious since it amounted to a fight of neighbor against neighbor and the attacks bordered on vigilantism. A vigilante is a person who ignores Due process of law and enacts their own form of Justice in response to a perception of insufficient response by the Since the attacks were non-uniformed, the government response was complicated by trying to decide whether they were legitimate military attacks or criminal actions. In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment

Union and Confederate bushwhackers

The term was widely used during the conflict, though it came to be particularly associated with the guerrillas of Missouri, where such warfare was most intense. Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee Guerrilla warfare also wracked Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and northern Virginia, among other locations. The Commonwealth of Kentucky ( is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. Arkansas ( is a state located in the southern region of the United States. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state One of the most vicious actions during the Civil War by the bushwhackers was the Lawrence Massacre. The Lawrence Massacre, also known as Quantrill's Raid, was a rebel guerrilla attack during the U

Pro-Union guerrilla fighters in Kansas were called "jayhawkers". Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " Jayhawkers is a term that originally applied to guerrilla fighters during the American Civil War in Kansas who often clashed with pro-slavery partisans They used tactics similar to the bushwhackers. A typical jayhawker action was a cross border raid into Missouri.

In some areas, particularly the Appalachian regions of Tennessee and North Carolina, the term bushwhackers was used for Union partisans who attacked Confederate forces. The Appalachian Mountains ( often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States During the Gettysburg Campaign, Pennsylvanian civilians at times bushwhacked stragglers from the Army of Northern Virginia. The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863 during the American Civil War. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.

Partisan rangers

In most areas, irregular warfare operated as an adjunct to conventional military operations. The most famous such "partisan ranger" (to use the title adopted by the Confederate government in formally authorizing such insurgents) was Col. John Singleton Mosby, who carried out raids on Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley and northern Virginia. John Singleton Mosby ( December 6 1833 &ndash May 30 1916) also known as the "Gray Ghost" was a Confederate Partisan The Shenandoah Valley region of western Virginia and West Virginia is bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Partisan rangers were also authorized in Arkansas.

In Missouri, however, secessionist bushwhackers operated outside of the Confederate chain of command. On occasion, a prominent bushwhacker chieftain might receive formal Confederate rank (notably William Clarke Quantrill), or receive written orders from a Confederate general (as "Bloody Bill" Anderson did in October 1864 during a large-scale Confederate incursion into Missouri, or as when Joseph C. Porter was authorized by Gen. William Clarke Quantrill ( July 31 1837 &ndash June 6 1865) was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American William T Anderson aka " Bloody Bill " (1839&ndashOctober 26 1864 was a pro- Confederate guerrilla leader in the American Civil War The War Department was established by the Confederate Congress in an act on February 21, 1861. Joseph Chrisman Porter ( September 12, 1819 &ndash February 18, 1863) was a Confederate officer in the American Civil War Sterling Price to recruit in northeast Missouri). Sterling Price ( September 20, 1809 September 29, 1867) was a lawyer politician and Militia General from the Missouri guerrillas frequently assisted Confederate recruiters in Union held territory. For the most part, however, Missouri's bushwhacker squads were self-organized groups of young men, predominantly from the slave holding counties along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, who took it upon themselves to attack Federal forces and their Unionist neighbors, both in Kansas and Missouri, the latter in response to what they considered a Federal invasion of their home state. Slavery in the United States began soon after English colonists first settled Virginia in 1607 and lasted until the passage of the Thirteenth The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to

Jesse James

The guerrilla conflict in Missouri was, in many respects, a civil war within the Civil War. A civil war is a War between a State and domestic political actors that are in control of some part of the territory claimed by the state One of the most famous men who fought as a bushwhacker was Jesse James, who began to fight in 1864. Jesse Woodson James (September 5 1847—April 3 1882 was an American Outlaw in the border state of Missouri and the most famous member of the During months of often intense combat, he only battled fellow Missourians, ranging from Missouri regiments of U. S. Volunteer troops to state militia to unarmed Unionist civilians. The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary Citizens to provide defense emergency law enforcement or Paramilitary service The single confirmed instance of him exchanging fire with Federal troops from another state occurred a month after the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, during a near-fatal encounter with Wisconsin cavalrymen. Robert Edward Lee (January 19 1807 &ndash October 12 1870 was a career United States Army officer, an Engineer, and among the most celebrated Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States In the course of the war, his mother and sister were arrested, his stepfather tortured, and his family banished temporarily from Missouri by state militiamen—all Unionist Missourians.

Atrocities

As is often the case in insurgencies, the conflict with Confederate bushwhackers everywhere rapidly escalated into a succession of atrocities committed by both sides. Union troops often executed or tortured suspects without trial and burned the homes of suspected guerrillas and those suspected of aiding or harboring them. Where credentials were suspect, the accused bushwhacker was often executed, as in the case of Lt. Col. Frisby McCullough after the Battle of Kirksville. Frisby McCullough ( March 8, 1828 &ndash August 8, 1862) was a Confederate States Army soldier in the American Civil War The Battle of Kirksville was a battle in the American Civil War, fought near the town of Kirksville Missouri, on August 6, 1862. Bushwhackers frequently went house to house, executing Unionist farmers.

William Quantrill led a raid in August 1863 on Lawrence, Kansas, burning the town and murdering some 200 men and boys in the Lawrence Massacre. William Clarke Quantrill ( July 31 1837 &ndash June 6 1865) was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the US State of Kansas and the County seat of Douglas County. The Lawrence Massacre, also known as Quantrill's Raid, was a rebel guerrilla attack during the U The raiders justified the raid in retaliation for the Sacking of Osceola,Missouri two years earlier (in which the town was set aflame and at least nine men killed) and for the deaths of five female relatives of bushwhackers killed in the collapse of a Kansas City, Missouri jail. The Sacking of Osceola was a Union Jayhawker initiative on September 23, 1861, to push out pro-Southern elements at Osceola Missouri. Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee Kansas City Missouri only Items for the metro area Kansas City Kansas or North Kansas City MO should go on their respective pages Following the Lawrence raid, the Union district commander, Thomas Ewing, Jr., ordered the total depopulation of all men, women, and children (both Unionists and Southern sympathizers) of three and a half Missouri counties along the Kansas border from Kansas City, Missouri south, under his infamous General Order No. 11. Thomas Ewing Jr ( August 7, 1829 &ndash January 21, 1896) was an attorney Union Army general during the American Civil War Kansas City Missouri only Items for the metro area Kansas City Kansas or North Kansas City MO should go on their respective pages Not to be confused with General Order No 11 (1862 General Order No (The Missouri-Kansas border conflict was in many ways a continuation of Bleeding Kansas violence. Bleeding Kansas, sometimes referred to in history as Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events involving Free-Staters ) In other areas, individual families (including that of Jesse and Frank James and the grandparents and mother of future President Harry Truman) were banished from Missouri. Alexander Franklin James ( January 10, 1843 &ndash February 18, 1915) was an American Outlaw and older brother of

Next to the attack on Lawrence, the most notorious atrocity by Confederate bushwhackers was the murder of 22 unarmed Union soldiers pulled from a train in the Centralia Massacre in retaliation for the earlier execution of a number of Anderson's own men. The Lawrence Massacre, also known as Quantrill's Raid, was a rebel guerrilla attack during the U The Centralia Massacre was an incident during the American Civil War in which twenty-four unarmed Union soldiers were captured and executed at Centralia In an ambush of pursuing Union forces shortly thereafter, the bushwhackers killed well over 100 Federal troops. In October 1864, "Bloody Bill" Anderson was tricked into an ambush and killed by state militiamen under the command of Col. William T Anderson aka " Bloody Bill " (1839&ndashOctober 26 1864 was a pro- Confederate guerrilla leader in the American Civil War Samuel P. Cox. Anderson's body was displayed and his head was severed.

Postwar banditry

After the end of the war, the survivors of Anderson's band (including the James brothers) remained together under the leadership of Archie Clement, one of Anderson's lieutenants, and began a series of armed robberies in February 1866. Archie Clement aka " Little Arch " (1845&ndash December 13, 1866) was a pro- Confederate guerrilla leader in the American This group became known as the James-Younger Gang, after the death or capture of the older outlaws (including Clement) and the addition of former bushwhacker Cole Younger and his brothers. The James-Younger Gang was a legendary 19th century Gang of American Outlaws that included Jesse James. Thomas Coleman Younger ( January 15 1844 &ndash March 21 1916) was a famous Confederate guerrilla and an Outlaw In December 1869, Jesse James became the most famous of this group when he emerged as the prime suspect in the robbery of the Daviess County Savings Association in Gallatin, Missouri, and the murder of the cashier, John W. Gallatin is a city in Daviess County, Missouri, United States. Sheets. During Jesse's flight from the scene, he declared that he had killed Samuel P. Cox and had taken revenge for Anderson's death. (Cox lived in Gallatin, and the killer apparently mistook Sheets for the former militia officer. ) Throughout Jesse James' criminal career, he often wrote to the newspapers with pride of his role as a bushwhacker, rallying the support of former Confederates and other Missourians who had been brutalized by Federal authorities during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

In 1867, near Nevada, Missouri, a band of bushwhackers shot and killed Sheriff Joseph Bailey, a former Union brigadier general, who was attempting to arrest them. Nevada (pronounced "nuh-VAY-duh" is a city in Vernon County, Missouri, United States. Joseph Bailey ( May 6, 1825 &ndash March 27, 1867) was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil

Popular culture

• The films The Outlaw Josey Wales and Ride with the Devil are both about bushwhackers. The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 revisionist Western movie set at the end of the American Civil War directed Ride with the Devil is a 1999 American Civil War drama directed by Ang Lee.

• The Bushwhackers were a professional wrestling tag team. The Bushwhackers are a former Professional wrestling Tag team that also competed as The Sheepherders during their long career Professional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is a non-competitive professional Sport, where all matches are scripted by the promotion's booking staff

See also

• Jayhawker
• Border Ruffian
• William Quantrill

References

• T.J. Stiles: Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, New York: Alfred A. Jayhawkers is a term that originally applied to guerrilla fighters during the American Civil War in Kansas who often clashed with pro-slavery partisans In the decade leading up to the American Civil War, pro- slavery activists infiltrated Kansas Territory from the neighboring Slave state of Missouri William Clarke Quantrill ( July 31 1837 &ndash June 6 1865) was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Knopf, 2002

External links

• Centralia Massacre and Battle Reenactment