History 269 The Civil War and Reconstruction
Partisan Guerrillas

	On April 21, 1862, the Confederate Congress had enacted the Partisan Ranger Act.  Inspired by the guerilla warfare conducted by General John Hunt Morgan in Kentucky, the law authorized auxiliary units of the army to operate behind enemy lines and legally profit from the spoils of war.  Typically they harassed the enemy in hit-and-run attacks and then disappeared into the countryside, shielded by friendly civilians.  Mosby was a man of honor; a former student at the University of Virginia and practicing attorney before the war, he was as quick with a quote from classical literature as he was with a pistol; but some Confederate guerillas were little more than marauding bandits.  The most nefarious "bushwackers" were Captain William Clarke Quantrill, and sadistic "Bloody Bill" Anderson, who terrorized Union soldiers and civilians in Kansas and Missouri.  (After the war, three of Quantrill's raiders became famous outlaws: Cole Younger and brothers Frank and Jesse James.)  It is estimated that the Confederacy had as many as 10,000 partisan rangers.  Although General Robert E. Lee liked Mosby personally and applauded his exploits, in January 1864 the Confederate Congress repealed the law authorizing partisan units because guerilla operations often got out of hand, terrorizing civilians.  Most ranger units continued to operate, and in July 1864 the United States Congress authorized the practice of executing captured guerrillas.  This only fueled the cycle of violence, which lasted long after defeat of the Confederacy in 1865.   HIS 269 Research Index >
At approximately 2:30 a.m. on March 9, 1863, in the town of Fairfax Courthouse, Virginia, General Edwin Stoughton was rudely awakened from his sleep by a man standing over his bed.  "Is this General Stoughton?"  Looking up, the general saw three men with Colt revolvers pointed in his face.  "Yes, what do you want?"  The reply: "You are my prisoner."  While he dressed, a man stepped over to the fireplace, took a piece of coal, and wrote "Mosby" on the wall.  Confederate raiders led by John Singleton Mosby, the "Gray Ghost," had captured a brigadier general from his headquarters, 30 men, and 58 horses without firing a shot.  Mosby was a classic guerilla warrior.  (The term "guerrilla" comes from the Spanish insurgency against Napoleon's occupation in the early 1800s.)  Bored and frustrated by regular cavalry scouting, he thrived on the adventurous life of a partisan raider.  Operating behind enemy lines, striking quickly with a small band of comrades, Mosby was a master of secrecy, deception and intimidation.  His raids disrupted Union communication and supply lines, diverted troops, and distracted their commanders.

© 2005 David C. Hanson, HIS 269 - Civil War and Reconstruction, Virginia W. Community College