Pvt. (CSA), Isaac Hite Bird

Civil War Veteran

Affiliation: Confederacy

Rank: Pvt.

Co.: C

Regt.: 7th Virginia

Branch: Calvary

Captured: Jan. 11, 1865 at Woodstock, Va.

Note: Orders to not release due to guerrilla activity, from Major General Sherman, are in sources.

Isaac Hite was a private in Company C, 7th Virginia Cavalry (Laurel Brigade). It cannot be determined when he enlisted. He was captured on January 11, 1865, at Woodstock, Virginia. He was considered a "guerrilla" and by order of Maj. Gen. Phillip Sheridan he was not to be exchanged during the war. He was confined at Ft. McHenry, Maryland until the war was over. He took the oath of allegiance on May 1, 1865, then returned home.

Link: http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/m/a/d/Holly-M-Maddox/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-...

Guerrilla warfare in the American Civil War From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Guerrilla warfare in the American Civil War followed the same general patterns of irregular warfare conducted in 19th century Europe. Structurally, they can be divided into three different types of operations—the so-called 'People's War', 'partisan warfare', and 'raiding warfare'. Each has distinct characteristics that were common practice during the Civil War years (1861–1865

Union countermeasures against the Confederate guerrillas

Federal counter-guerrilla operations were successful in reducing the impact of Confederate guerrilla warfare. In Arkansas, Federal forces used a wide variety of strategies to defeat irregulars. These included the use of Arkansas Unionist forces as anti-guerrilla troops, the use of riverine forces such as gunboats to control the waterways, and the provost marshal's military law enforcement system to spy on suspected guerrillas and to imprison those captured. Against Confederate raiders, the Federal army developed an effective cavalry themselves and reinforced that system by numerous blockhouses and fortification to defend strategic targets.

However, Federal attempts to defeat Mosby's Partisan Rangers fell short of success because of Mosby's use of very small units (10–15 men) operating in areas considered friendly to the Rebel cause. Another regiment known as the "Thomas Legion", consisting of white and anti-Union Cherokee Indians, morphed into a guerrilla force and continued fighting in the remote mountain back-country of western North Carolina for a month after Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. That unit was never completely suppressed by Union forces, but voluntarily ceased hostilities after capturing the town of Waynesville, North Carolina, on May 10, 1865.

Prolonging the war through guerrilla action

In the late 20th century, several historians focused on the Confederate government's decision to not use guerrilla warfare to prolong the war. Near the end of the war, there were those in the administration who advocated continuing the southern fight as a guerrilla conflict. These efforts were opposed by Confederate generals such as Lee who ultimately believed that surrender and reconciliation were the best options for the war-ravaged South.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfare_in_the_American_Civ...