Nov 30, 2015 at 10:11 PM -
R. Alex Raines: I thought it was interesting, but more in terms of the process of writing than in terms of the content.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:12 PM -
MaryDee: Iagree--I'd rather have had more about guerillas and less about writing the book!
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:12 PM -
bdtex: Agree
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:12 PM -
chellers: Yes, MaryDee
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:12 PM -
War Horse: I liked it very much. It shed light on a subject that is not covered by many historians unless you are looking for the subject.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:13 PM -
Pat Young: It is really only in the last ten years that a lot of historians have begun writing on the guerrilla war
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:13 PM -
JerseyBart: Headquarters in the Brush is a book about scout-type soldiers that I've had forever but haven't read yet.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:14 PM -
Pat Young: that is seen as a response to the difficulties of dealing with the insurgencies in Iraq.Afghanistan
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:14 PM -
bdtex: Other stuff of note. He said only 2 guerrilla units that were officially "sanctioned" by the Confederate government.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:14 PM -
War Horse: Were the provost guard considered Guerrilla's?
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:14 PM -
Pat Young: No
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:15 PM -
bdtex: He said home guards sometimes participated in guerrilla activities.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:15 PM -
Pat Young: Guerrillas were distinguished by not being part of the regular chain of command
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:15 PM -
War Horse: bdtex I found that odd also. Why disband all but two?.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:16 PM -
JerseyBart: Guerrilla made life difficult for the enemy and their own side's population.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:16 PM -
bdtex: Don't think they disbanded. Think they were always on their own.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:17 PM -
War Horse: Able men not fighting in the regular army. Seems they could have been used else where.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:17 PM -
bdtex: Got no help from the CSA government
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:17 PM -
MaryDee: The lecturer stated that the Confederate govnt couldn't control the "partisan rangers" which is why they repealed the partisan ranger act. Only Mosby and some guy named McNeil were under control. (I've read plenty about Mosby but not the other guy).
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:18 PM -
War Horse: That's what it was called Partisan Ranger Act. Thanks MaryDee
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:18 PM -
chellers: What's the difference between partisan rangers and guerillas?
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:18 PM -
bdtex: Yep. Made no notes about that because I was totally unfamiliar with it
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:19 PM -
Pat Young: Partisan rangers were recognized as lawful combatants, guerrillas were not
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:19 PM -
JerseyBart: The confederate govt., by action and attitude, created those rangers. That they could not control most of them is poetic justice.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:19 PM -
Pat Young: Many guerrillas claimed to be rangers
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:19 PM -
War Horse: Not sure really. I think the video gave enough information to wet our appetite.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:20 PM -
Pat Young: Union troops would demand documentation to prove that they were authorized
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:20 PM -
bdtex: Kinda hard to communicate with them due to their clandestine nature
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:21 PM -
War Horse: Once retaliation started you would think most guerrilla's would have been very selective in their actions. No one wants to see mom homeless.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:22 PM -
MaryDee: About Missouri==I've read about Quantrill, Bloody Bill, etc., but don't remember reading about General Order #11 and the depopulation of western Missouri.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:22 PM -
chellers: So partisan rangers were semi-officially recognized but allowed to do as they pleased?
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:22 PM -
Pat Young: The retaliation helped spark recruiting for the guerrillas because pro-southern whites saw that the Union troops were abusing civilians
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:22 PM -
JerseyBart: Guerillas seem to be fringe thinkers, wingers. They may not have cared what happened to,mom if they thought it supported the cause.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:23 PM -
MaryDee: I believe the hope was that the guerillas would act in concert with the confederate forces, but since they weren't under military discipline, that was a futile hope
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:23 PM -
bdtex: Sherman and Sheridan style retaliation became war-ending strategy. It couldn't be stopped.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:24 PM -
MaryDee: Presumably that's why the act was repealed?
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:26 PM -
MaryDee: Weren't there also Union bushwhackers in Missouri and Kansas?
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:26 PM -
War Horse: Agreed what good is a guerilla unit that could not be directed. More of a hindrance than anything else.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:27 PM -
Pat Young: Kansas Jayhawkers came down to Missouri fairly often.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:27 PM -
Pat Young: Even pro-Union men saw them as a problem
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:27 PM -
JerseyBart: Cannot be directed, found and put civilians in danger.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:28 PM -
War Horse: Agreed JB, an additional problem the CS goverment did not need.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:29 PM -
JerseyBart: This very much turns anything Sherman is accused of and/or did back around on a confederacy that could not, did not control their people.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:30 PM -
MaryDee: My reading is that what Sherman and Sheridan did was a deliberate tactic to bring the war home to the civilians who supported it rather than retaliation for guerilla raids. Perhaps a mizture of both?
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:31 PM -
War Horse: Sherman and Sheridan were no longer retaliating for guerilla activity. They took the war to the people of the south. It started off as retaliation but became a strategy not need action to be acted on.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:32 PM -
MaryDee: From what I've read of Lee's invasion in the Gettysburg campaign, the Pennsylvanians weren't doing much attacking but they did a lot of giving bad directions when asked!
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:32 PM -
War Horse: dido MaryDee
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:32 PM -
bdtex: The speaker pointed out the idea of conciliation actually started to erode in 1862-early 1863 and reprisal took it's place. Both sides escalated their conduct afterwards.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:33 PM -
MaryDee: The Pennsylvanians also did the best they could to hide their horses and livestock. So they were resisting even if not fighting.
Nov 30, 2015 at 10:33 PM -
bdtex: The speaker also acknowledged that there were other factors involved in Union scorched earth warfare.