When the Civil War erupted, three distinct types of militias sprang up—partisan rangers, guerrillas, and bushwhackers. Partisan rangers were officially sanctioned groups, guerrillas defended local families and communities, and bushwhackers were often extremists who treated violence as sport or a path to profit. By war’s end, most militias had devolved into bushwhackers, even those that began with noble intentions. The following 10 militias waged guerrilla warfare with remarkable organization and impact.
10 Militias Waged in Guerrilla Warfare
10. Nancy Harts
Any woman in LaGrange, Georgia, could join the Nancy Harts, a militia named after the Revolutionary War heroine. These women served as nurses in military hospitals, and because LaGrange sat midway between Atlanta and Montgomery—the Confederacy’s first capital—it was a likely Union target. The Nancy Harts trained weekly throughout the war, practicing marches and target shooting with whatever weapons they could muster, ready to defend their homes and community at a moment’s notice.
When the Union army moved into western Georgia in mid‑April 1865, Brigadier General R.C. Tyler and 300 Confederate troops held off 3,000 Union soldiers for over eight hours. The Confederate general and many of his men were killed, and the remaining troops fled. All 40 members of the Nancy Harts refused to hide in their houses as the soldiers begged them to do; instead, they took up positions to defend the town.
On April 17, the militia marched to LaGrange’s edge to meet the enemy. Though General Lee had surrendered to Grant on April 9, a truce was eventually negotiated, and the militia peacefully surrendered the town. The Union army destroyed facilities that aided the Confederate war effort but spared homes and property. Before departing, Union soldiers enjoyed a meal prepared by the Nancy Harts, then marched to Macon, where they learned the war was officially over.
9. McNeill Rangers
John McNeill was commissioned by pro‑Confederate Missouri Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson to form a militia. He left home with his three sons and led the group in several battles. After losing one son in combat and escaping from prison, McNeill returned to Virginia and created a cavalry unit called the “McNeill Rangers.” An act passed by the Confederate Congress gave him authority to organize a band of partisan rangers to cooperate with the Confederate Army. He assumed the rank of captain and appointed his son as lieutenant.
The McNeill Rangers sowed chaos among Union troops, disrupted railroad traffic and communications, and became the top supplier of beef cattle in the Shenandoah Valley. Their effectiveness earned repeated praise from General Lee. In a typical exploit, 23 Rangers ambushed a supply train guarded by 150 men, capturing 27 wagons, 72 prisoners, 106 horses, and all equipment after startling the guards with their distinctive rebel yell. Captain McNeill was mortally wounded in a 1864 raid, accidentally shot by one of his own men, and lingered for more than a month before dying.
8. Privateers
The Confederacy could not hope to overpower the Union Navy, which boasted superior supplies, officers, and industrial capacity. Knowing they could not control the Atlantic, they focused on defending key ports and rivers while attacking Union commerce at sea. In addition to official navy operations, the Confederacy commissioned privateers—civilian captains who seized enemy vessels, kept the ships and cargo, and shared profits with their crews and ship owners.
The Union blockade proved effective, making it difficult for privateers to return home to sell cargo or repair their ships. They also struggled with handling prisoners and finding foreign ports, as most nations refused to take sides. Nevertheless, by sailing worldwide, privateers raised international awareness of the American Civil War. Over time, privateering proved an unprofitable profession and faded in popularity.
7. Home Guard
Older men and boys too young for regular service comprised the home guard in both the North and South. At the war’s outset, they organized to defend their communities if the enemy struck first, often supplementing local police forces as many officers left to fight. Though unpaid, the home guard worked alongside the army.
As the conflict dragged on, they performed duties such as escorting civilians through rugged terrain, guarding mail routes and rail lines, and overseeing prisoners of war. They also tracked down deserters, draft dodgers, and criminals. By mid‑war, wounded soldiers joined their ranks. In the South, a critical role was guarding plantations while slave owners were away. Most Southern home guard units disbanded after the Union occupied much of the South.
6. Moccasin Rangers
West Virginia hosted numerous guerrilla units at the war’s start, but by 1862 many of their captains had fallen. One such leader was Captain Perry Connolly, who headed the Moccasin Rangers. Their members were not outlaws; many were affluent community figures with land, money, and political influence. Despite this, the Confederate bushwhacker unit was notorious for robbing seven families and murdering two individuals.
Union sympathizers in West Virginia formed a counter‑group called the “Snake Hunters,” a play on their rivals’ name. The Union Army, desperate to curb rebel activity, granted the Snake Hunters authority to arrest Moccasin Rangers members. The Confederacy, displeased with the Rangers’ tactics, attempted to legitimize them by enrolling them as Company A of the 19th Virginia Cavalry, a move that failed to curb their lawlessness. The Moccasin Rangers continued looting homes and farms until Union forces occupied the area in force.
5. Native American Raiders
Both the Confederacy and the Union vied for the allegiance of Native American tribes. Tribal chiefs were divided, with some leaning toward the Confederacy, others remaining neutral, and a few aligning with the Union. In the war’s early years, the Union made little effort to win tribal support, allowing several tribes to sign treaties with the Confederacy. Confederates believed Native fighters would excel at guerrilla warfare, but their expectations fell short, especially in the western territories where tribes had few ties to either side.
Approximately 20,000 Native Americans served honorably on both sides, yet some seized the chaos to conduct raids for personal gain. These raiders operated much like white guerrilla units—sometimes aiming for destruction, other times staging surprise attacks to steal livestock and supplies. Their raids increased wealth and occasionally served as retaliation for grievances against white settlers.
4. Mosby’s Rangers
John Mosby, nicknamed “the Gray Ghost,” commanded the 43rd Battalion, 1st Virginia Cavalry, better known as Mosby’s Rangers. Mosby would disguise himself, scout a target, and then his unit would strike. Renowned for rapid raids and the ability to vanish among local farmers and townspeople, they earned fame after capturing Union Brigadier General Edwin Stoughton, several officers, and many horses during a raid on Fairfax Court House. President Lincoln reportedly lamented the loss of the horses more than the general, quipping, “I can make a much better brigadier in five minutes, but the horses cost $125 apiece.”
Mosby’s Rangers disrupted Union supply lines, seized couriers, and supplied intelligence to the Confederate Army. Operating with near‑impunity, they looted public and private property. After the war, Mosby switched allegiance, becoming a Republican, serving as a Representative for President Grant, and later acting as the American consul in Hong Kong and an official in the Department of the Interior.
3. Quantrill’s Raiders
William Quantrill briefly taught school before turning to gambling and horse theft, eventually fleeing Missouri after a murder charge. When the war began, his band numbered only 12 men. The unit executed numerous hit‑and‑run attacks against Union forces, operating from Missouri into Kansas and profiting from these raids.
In retaliation, Union troops imprisoned the female relatives of the raiders; a prison building collapsed, killing several women. Later, Quantrill’s Raiders, now 450 strong, assaulted the pro‑Union town of Lawrence in the infamous Lawrence Massacre, burning and looting the town and murdering at least 150 men, many of whom offered no resistance.
Quantrill was killed during a raid in Kentucky in 1865. Four members of his Raiders later became notorious outlaws, turning their wartime skills into a criminal career that produced infamous names such as Frank and Jesse James and the Younger brothers.
2. Jayhawkers
Before the war, pro‑Union Kansas Jayhawkers clashed with pro‑slavery “Border Ruffians” from Missouri. The Border War, or Bleeding Kansas, saw violent attacks along the Kansas‑Missouri border from 1854 to 1861. The Jayhawkers continued fighting throughout the Civil War, recognized by the Union as the 7th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry.
They opposed Quantrill’s Raiders, whose attacks spanned from Kansas into Missouri. After the Lawrence Massacre, the Union forced residents of four Missouri border counties onto the open prairie. The Jayhawkers burned and looted everything they left behind.
Colonel Charles Jennison led the Jayhawkers; Daniel Anthony, brother of Susan B. Anthony, served as lieutenant colonel. Their ranks included John Brown Jr. and Buffalo Bill Cody. They fought Confederate forces, plundered the countryside, and wreaked havoc on the Confederacy. The Jayhawkers sustained themselves by stealing from Missourians, even those loyal to the Union, earning a reputation for pillaging and burning entire towns.
1. Bloody Bill Anderson
After joining the Confederacy in retaliation for Union destruction of property in four Missouri counties—a response to the Lawrence Massacre—William Quantrill fled to Texas. Quantrill’s Raiders fractured into smaller units, one led by lieutenant Bill Anderson. His ruthless group of about 80 men spread terror throughout Missouri, targeting Union soldiers and pro‑Union civilians alike.
Bloody Bill Anderson, son of horse thieves, displayed sociopathic tendencies. He delighted in torturing and killing, cutting ears off prisoners, mutilating bodies, and even decapitating victims to swap heads. He wore a necklace of Yankee scalps into battle.
The 1864 Centralia Massacre marked the beginning of the end for Anderson. First, his men stripped and slaughtered 22 unarmed Union soldiers on furlough. Then they ambushed 150 Union troops sent to pursue them, murdering them in cold blood—crushing faces, disemboweling corpses, taking scalps, and cutting off noses. A month later, a Union ambush killed Anderson; his body was displayed at a local courthouse.
While some militias contributed positively to the war effort, others were driven by greed or vengeance. Both the Union and Confederacy often ignored the rules of warfare, leading to chaos and needless suffering that would echo for generations.