History Of Guerrilla Warfare

Guerrilla warfare, a bloody, swift, exiting tactic not only used in more modern times, was used during the Civil War to fight in the rough and tough lands between the North and South. Albert C. Ellithorpe describes the bands of Guerrillas, including Thomas Livingston, as outlaws and killers; but the tactic wasn’t that simple. Instead of waiting for plains, the Guerrillas attacked the Union from where they were. For almost two years the bands were nearly untouched by the Union army; until they finally realized just how big a threat the groups were. Guerrilla warfare in the Civil War were a bloody affair that took place in the mountains and plains between the North and South; a battle that didn’t get much attention until it was almost too late.

The men, mostly “horse thieves, highway robbers, and evil-minded, lawless vagabonds” (Johansson, p.223), joined for the main reason that they wanted adventure. It got better as the Confederate army paid them and gave them food. The groups were lawless, and even “Confederate leaders found the partisan groups difficult to control” (Johansson, p.181), attacking supply lines and attacking farms and towns looking for food. The Guerrilla groups even clothed themselves in uniforms stole from fallen soldiers or murdered prisoners (Johansson, p.200). The attackers road horses, waiting in thick bushes for their victims, the springing out to attack them and then escape as quickly as they could. One such group, led by Thomas Livingston was known for murdering their prisoners of war, and were a menace to the Federal army for almost two years. (Johansson, p. 183). All in all, Guerrilla warfare was a brutal type of war, one which created some of the bloodiest fights in the Civil

Outlaws and men just looking for money would join the bands that would fight against the Union. They would hide in the hills or bushes around the plains. Makin quick attacks, the Guerillas would attack the Union army for nearly two years before anything was done to stop them. The Civil War proves to be the first war that Guerrilla warfare, the art of attacking fast from hidden spots, was used, and wasn’t stopped for many