What are Guerrillas?
Guerrillas are not big, hairy creatures from Africa. The term guerrilla originated in Spain about 1809 to mean “little war”. It was defined as a band of skirmishers or skirmishers warfare. It is also defined as a “fighter in an irregular, independent armed force.”[1]
Guerrillas are basically defined by the type of tactics used to fight. Guerrilla tactics usually involve quick ambushes striking opponents while on the road or making surprise raids on military targets.[2] Most are done by groups of small numbers, sometimes against larger forces.
During the Civil War, guerrilla tactics were used successfully by Confederate forces led by cavalry Generals Nathan Bedford Forrest and John Hunt Morgan against Union supply lines and railroad lines. Forrest many times used trickery to make Union units think they were far outnumbered leading them to surrender. As quick as the Confederates made their attacks, they disappeared into the brush or using the local roads that were very familiar.
Although the Confederates used guerrilla tactics, actual guerrillas were rarely members of the Confederate (or even the Union) Army. Most guerrillas were found in the border states of Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia. Many were young men that were drawn to the idea that they could better protect their local community by ganging together into guerrilla groups rather than joining the army and being deployed anywhere in the theater of war.[3] These local groups didn’t have to deal with military discipline and training. They could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Union soldiers usually called these guerrillas “bushwhackers” since they would attack from roadside bushes or woods.
Many of these guerrillas were not just anti-Union (or anti-Confederate). They were like modern day gang members. They showed no allegiance to any army, attacking whatever army forces they encountered to steal arms and supplies. They also stole from the local citizens and terrorized the countryside. Some stayed in their own homes during the day and wreaked havoc at night.
Some guerrillas were “partisan rangers” which were sanctioned by the 1862 Partisan Ranger Act enacted by the Confederate Congress. This act allowed men to enlist for service in a partisan corps rather than the regular army. Partisans were groups of men who, like the bushwhackers, operated independently and with irregular tactics, yet they wore Confederate uniforms, had leaders who held Confederate commissions, and were responsible for reporting to a superior in the Confederate army.
These partisan units could join up with other guerrilla groups in the area. They would hide out in nearby swamps or dense wooded hollows that only the locals knew how to navigate. These larger groups were the scourge of the Union Army. The Union devoted time and resources trying to locate these insurgents with little success. Often times, the Union sought retribution by taking severe action against wives, family members and the local community.
-by Thomas Zei
[1] https://www.etymonline.com/word/guerrilla
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfare_in_the_American_Civil_War
[3] https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/guerrilla-warfare
Guerrillas are not big, hairy creatures from Africa. The term guerrilla originated in Spain about 1809 to mean “little war”. It was defined as a band of skirmishers or skirmishers warfare. It is also defined as a “fighter in an irregular, independent armed force.”[1]
Guerrillas are basically defined by the type of tactics used to fight. Guerrilla tactics usually involve quick ambushes striking opponents while on the road or making surprise raids on military targets.[2] Most are done by groups of small numbers, sometimes against larger forces.
During the Civil War, guerrilla tactics were used successfully by Confederate forces led by cavalry Generals Nathan Bedford Forrest and John Hunt Morgan against Union supply lines and railroad lines. Forrest many times used trickery to make Union units think they were far outnumbered leading them to surrender. As quick as the Confederates made their attacks, they disappeared into the brush or using the local roads that were very familiar.
Although the Confederates used guerrilla tactics, actual guerrillas were rarely members of the Confederate (or even the Union) Army. Most guerrillas were found in the border states of Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia. Many were young men that were drawn to the idea that they could better protect their local community by ganging together into guerrilla groups rather than joining the army and being deployed anywhere in the theater of war.[3] These local groups didn’t have to deal with military discipline and training. They could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Union soldiers usually called these guerrillas “bushwhackers” since they would attack from roadside bushes or woods.
Many of these guerrillas were not just anti-Union (or anti-Confederate). They were like modern day gang members. They showed no allegiance to any army, attacking whatever army forces they encountered to steal arms and supplies. They also stole from the local citizens and terrorized the countryside. Some stayed in their own homes during the day and wreaked havoc at night.
Some guerrillas were “partisan rangers” which were sanctioned by the 1862 Partisan Ranger Act enacted by the Confederate Congress. This act allowed men to enlist for service in a partisan corps rather than the regular army. Partisans were groups of men who, like the bushwhackers, operated independently and with irregular tactics, yet they wore Confederate uniforms, had leaders who held Confederate commissions, and were responsible for reporting to a superior in the Confederate army.
These partisan units could join up with other guerrilla groups in the area. They would hide out in nearby swamps or dense wooded hollows that only the locals knew how to navigate. These larger groups were the scourge of the Union Army. The Union devoted time and resources trying to locate these insurgents with little success. Often times, the Union sought retribution by taking severe action against wives, family members and the local community.
-by Thomas Zei
[1] https://www.etymonline.com/word/guerrilla
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfare_in_the_American_Civil_War
[3] https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/guerrilla-warfare