Petition for Release from Camp Chase

[TnFed]

When we talk about partisan warfare. Things can drift into a gray area. Mosby's men were uniformed, legitimate combatans. We know guerrillas were out of uniform..attacked and blended back into the general population.

However "partisan warfare" can be tricky. Even though in uniform, their tactics can be highly irregular. Operating away from the chain of command, using Guerrilla tactics and maybe enriching themselves with property. My. gg grandfather Aaron Morrow and his three brothers George, James and William were in a TN Mounted Infantry Regiment USA.If you read the ORs, the unit never did anything but have a couple of skirmishes . If you read the pension files of these men, they were all involved in a gunfight with others. William Trotter has stated there were more gunfights on the NC and TN border during the war than in the " period of the wild west".

In this unit two captains and a Lt.had deserted from a Wiscosin Calvary unit as privates and recieved a commission . Another had deserted from of a TN Calvary unit and received a Captains commission. All of these men also being quick to shoot. They and the rebs they fought were not much into live and let live.

 

[lupaglupa]

Most more than drift into gray areas - they fully dwell there. I think most of the irregular troops had a mix of legitimate and illegitimate actions. They might be ripping up railroad tracks to frustrate the enemy one day and be getting revenge on a hated neighbor the next. A lot of them seemed to have a very broad definition of what were legal requisitions.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

However "partisan warfare" can be tricky. Even though in uniform, their tactics can be highly irregular. Operating away from the chain of command, using Guerrilla tactics and maybe enriching themselves with property.

Thought that raises an interesting question. Were guerrilla combatants (on both sides) primarily defined by their worn attire, their fighting tactics employed, the type of damage/injury they inflicted, by their disconnect to formal military organization structures or by a combination of these considerations?

As pointed out by lupaglupa above, there could be lots of gray areas involved when evaluating participant actions in many select CW incidents.

 

[TnFed]

Thought that raises an interesting question. Were guerrilla combatants (on both sides) primarily defined by their worn attire, their fighting tactics employed, the type of damage/injury they inflicted, by their disconnect to formal military organization structures or by a combination of these considerations?

As stated by lupaglupa above, there could be lots of gray areas involved when evaluating participant actions in many select CW incidents.

I think you are right about it being a combination of all of the above. But let me throw this into the mix...you live in KY or East TN, your reb or tory relatives, neighbors and ex friends are burning your property, shooting at you and endangering your family. Would you want to put on a uniform and fight some Yankee from Vermont or some farmer from Mississippi or stay home and protect your wife and little kids? I read in Letcher County KY that tory and reb partisans/guerrillas would dig up the dead bodies of their foes and dump them on the ground. Things in parts of Appalachia just descended into one big Hartfield and McCoy feud on steroids.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

I think you are right about it being a combination of all of the above. But let me throw this into the mix...

Yes, agree. Apart from a combination of all these visible physical considerations, might also throw into the mix (for many of them), their unseen internal motivational mindsets (like the fanatical and intense desire for vengeance).

 

[TnFed]

You're absolutely right. My dad's folks were mostly rebs and mom's tories in East TN. The elders had a wealth of stories about partisan warfare in the surrounding counties. Guess what ...black slavery, the constitutional right to secede and tariffs were never mentioned!! It was so and so's people killed Uncle Bill or whoever.

 

[lupaglupa]

I'll never forget, early in my research on conditions in Mississippi, coming across a quote from a local woman who said that she couldn't tell the difference between Union and Confederate troops when it came to preying on the local population. Each side was as bad as the other. Definitely many men chose to join these local irregular units to protect their family's interests. Most of them probably crossed the line into illegal activities at some point and likely all of them would tell you "The other guy broke the rules first."

 

[Nathan Stuart]

The killing of civilian kinfolk or destruction of their property created deep-seated hatreds and desires for vengeance that was both intragenerational and intergenerational in some parts. This only served to perpetuate hostilities.

 

[TnFed]

The horrible truth is that some enjoyed the violence. All of my four relatives mentioned in previous threads survived the war unscathed . My g g grandfather and one of his brothers would be dead one year after the war in a gunfight with former enemies. They decided to cross the border into Murphy NC. and just shoot it out. A large scale riot. The oldest brother..James would be shot in the back while working in a field. It is alleged that another former unionist who feared him did it.
The youngest brother William.saw the light. Joined the Primitive Methodist Church and became a Minister . All his brothers died in their twenties. He lived to be around 83, surrounded by grandkids. Got to be a Easter message in there somewhere.

.


R

 

[lupaglupa]

Got to be a Easter message in there somewhere

Ain't that the truth.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

You're absolutely right. My dad's folks were mostly rebs and mom's tories in East TN. The elders had a wealth of stories about partisan warfare in the surrounding counties. Guess what ...black slavery, the constitutional right to secede and tariffs were never mentioned!! It was so and so's people killed Uncle Bill or whoever.

The killing of civilian kinfolk or destruction of their property created deep-seated hatreds and desires for vengeance that was both intragenerational and intergenerational in some parts. This only served to perpetuate hostilities.

Just want to give an "Amen" to this. Obviously the formal end of the CW did nothing to end these deep seated hostilities and the belief that an eye for an eye was the way to settle differences.

After the war, activities that may have been loosely papered over as guerrilla or partisan "warfare" in 1861-1865 instantly became criminal activity.

 

[lupaglupa]

After the war, activities that may have been loosely papered over as guerrilla or partisan "warfare" in 1861-1865 instantly became criminal activity.

In some cases, it was the other way around. In Tennessee, when the war ended the Union Army issued a blanket pardon to everyone who had been on their list of guerillas to catch and punish. Since the war was over, their crimes were no longer the basis for an arrest.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

In some cases, it was the other way around. In Tennessee, when the war ended the Union Army issued a blanket pardon to everyone who had been on their list of guerillas to catch and punish. Since the war was over, their crimes were no longer the basis for an arrest.

I didn't know that - good info!

But what I was referring to was the statistical increase in crime after the war. One young man - I believe he had been put in a penitentiary in Kansas - stated that "Jayhawking is not a crime" as a defense for his actions long after the conclusion of the war. Carrying on habits they acquired as soldiers were not always beneficial to men in peacetime.

 

[TnFed]

I didn't know that - good info!

But what I was referring to was the statistical increase in crime after the war. One young man - I believe he had been put in a penitentiary in Kansas - stated that "Jayhawking is not a crime" as a defense for his actions long after the conclusion of the war. Carrying on habits they acquired as soldiers were not always beneficial to men in peacetime.

I wonder if that's my relatives and their enemies took their fight across the state line to NC. Wouldn't want to harm their spotless reputations..lol.

 

[WestCoastSB]

You're absolutely right. My dad's folks were mostly rebs and mom's tories in East TN. The elders had a wealth of stories about partisan warfare in the surrounding counties. Guess what ...black slavery, the constitutional right to secede and tariffs were never mentioned!! It was so and so's people killed Uncle Bill or whoever.

Yep; that's why I get extremely frustrated about generalizations. "The South did this", "The North believed that." These societies were filled with myriad individuals possessing diverse beliefs and experiences. In particular, I don't think Appalachian and backwoods folks gave two rat's tails about the opinions or thoughts of high society coastal folks. Of course, I could be generalizing, but I feel this is the case.

 

[TnFed]

Yep; that's why I get extremely frustrated about generalizations. "The South did this", "The North believed that." These societies were filled with myriad individuals possessing diverse beliefs and experiences. In particular, I don't think Appalachian and backwoods folks gave two rat's tails about the opinions or thoughts of high society coastal folks. Of course, I could be generalizing, but I feel this is the case.

My sentiments exactly.

 

[Story]

Now - was Hensley a bushwhacker? The status of irregular troops is almost impossible to determine so he could have been enlisted in a local unit and fighting to further the Confederate cause. Or, more likely, he could have been part of a local unit that worked to protect local interests during a time when the area was occupied by the Union or frequently changing sides. This seems more likely since the neighbors appeared to approve of him.

Shades of the Sherriff here

 

[WestCoastSB]

Was Aaron Hensley domiciled in Roane County or some other county at the time of his enlistment in Sep. '62?

Roane, though it could have also been Logan.