American Civil War Guerrilla Tactics

by McLachlan, Sean; Embleton, Gerry; Embleton, Samuel

• ISBN13: 9781846034947
• ISBN10: 1846034949
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-29
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

While the giant armies of the Union and the Confederacy were fighting over cities and strategic strongholds, a large number of warriors from both sides were fighting, smaller, more personal battles. Beginning with the violent struggle known as "Bleeding Kansas," armed bands of irregular fighters began to wage war in every corner of the United States. Many of the names of their commanders have become legendary, including William Quantrill, "Bloody Bill" Anderson, and John S. Mosby, "The Grey Ghost." To their own people they were heroes; to others they were the first of a new generation of wild west outlaw. Their tactics including robbing banks and trains, kidnapping soldiers and civilians, rustling cattle, and cutting telegraph lines. In fact, it is during the violence of the war that many of America's future outlaw legends would be born, most notably Cole Younger and Frank and Jesse James. In this book, new Osprey author Sean McLachlan explores the varied and often daring tactics employed by these famous warriors.

Author Biography

Sean McLachlan is an experienced Canadian author who used to study and work in the USA and is a member of a number of US historical societies. His writing is detailed with rare documentary and picture archive materials. The author lives in Madrid, Spain.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 4
Definition of terms: guerrillas, partisan rangers and cavalry raiders
The training ground: "Bleeding Kansas"
The Irregulars' War	p. 8
Early guerrillas: Maryland
Virginia
Tennessee
Missouri
The Partisan Ranger Act
Arkansas
The spiral of reprisals: Lawrence, Kansas, and the Missouri evictions
1862: Cavalry raiders
Morgan and Forrest
Consequences of the Conscription Act
1863-64: Union precautions, Confederate raids
Morgan
Mosby
1865: the final months
The Leaders	p. 26
Guerrillas
Partisan rangers
Organization & Tactics	p. 28
Leadership
Clothing and weapons: guerrillas
Partisan rangers
Tactics: guerrillas and antiguerrillas
Centralia and Rawlings Lane
Partisan rangers and cavalry raiders
The Impact of Irregular Warfare	p. 47
Guerrillas and the civilian populations
Guerrillas and the regular armies The effectiveness of irregular warfare
Aftermath	p. 59
Select Bibliography	p. 62
Index	p. 64
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.