We're really talking about two different groups of people. Partisan Rangers as described in the original post organized just like other military commands, and operated with other mounted units as directed by superior officers appointed by the War Department. Union authorities recognized them as legitmate commands and treated captured members as prisoners of war. On the other hand, guerrilla bands weren't organized, never operated with other mounted units, and weren't under any other authority other than their own. They often claimed to be operating under legitimate authority, but the War Department never recognized them. Union authorities knew them to be illegitmate and treated captured members as criminals. There were any number of bands like Quantrell's operating in Missouri and other points throughout the South. They are nearly impossible to document because they created no standard military records and filed no reports. Many of these guerrilla bands would have looked for safety in other parts of the continent when Union troops occupied the Southern states. Sometimes soldiers deserted legimitate units and joined these guerrilla bands, but they were treated as outlaws if apprehended by Confederate authorities. With regard to Alabama in the Civil War, guerrillas and partisan rangers are not interchangable terms. -----Original Message----- From: The CARLSONS [mailto:davecarl@bellsouth.net] Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 2:20 PM To: AL-CIVIL-WAR-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [AL-Civil War] Partisan Rangers Dena, I did run across an article in the book "That's Not In My American History Book" by Thomas Ayres. I, too, had an ancestor in the Partisan Rangers and wondered about the negative impression they received. He writes: "The Civil War that gave birth to the cattle industry and the American cowboy also spawned the outlaw gangs of the wild wild west. For a generation of young men, the war was their only education. This was especially so in those states west of the Mississippi River where guerrilla warfare prevailed. Loose-knit Confederate military units, known as partisan rangers early in the war, evolved into nothing more than outlaw bands in its latter stages. The James brothers of Missouri spent their teen years raiding and killing with William Quantrill's guerrilla band. At the end of the war, their entry into outlawry was a natural progression. In fact, their early robberies were carried out like military operations. Although the Jesse James gang was the most notorious of the post-Civil War outlaws, the pattern of armed criminal activity was repeated throughout the South and Southwest." I thought it was an interesting take on something about which I knew nothing. Barbara ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dena Horton" <dreaming_yet_awake@hotmail.com> To: <AL-CIVIL-WAR-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 2:51 PM Subject: [AL-Civil War] Partisan Rangers > Hello gang. I am looking for info about the Phillips clan in particular, > Thomas Jefferson Phillips from Walker County. > > On his tombstone it says 13th Ala. Part Rangers. Yet I have yet to find in > my limited resources. Does anyone have a list of these men? > > Here is what I know about the Rangers. > > 13th Alabama Battalion Partisan Rangers > (merged with 15th Battalion to form > 56th Alabama Regiment, Partisan Rangers > (Cavalry). > > > I also found some info that was a bit scary. It seems not many liked these > groups. Can someone explain just what they would have done? > > Thanks, > Dena > List Mom for AL-Civil War > List Mom for Threadgill > Come join us on Rootsweb! > > _________________________________________________________________ > MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: > http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237