GEOLOGIC INFLUENCES ON GUERRILLA TACTICS IN THE PRAIRIES AND HILLS OF SOUTHERN MISSOURI DURING THE CIVIL WAR

During the Civil War, the citizens of Missouri experienced one of the most intense guerrilla conflicts in American history. Actions near the Kansas and Arkansas borders were particularly notable. Recent publications on guerilla activities in the state make it possible to integrate and analyze the record within a geographic and geologic context.

Kansas jayhawkers and redlegs were led by Jim Lane and Charles “Doc” Jennison; Lane looted and burned Osceola in 1861. Confederate irregulars included William Quantrill and William “Bloody Bill” Anderson. Quantrill led the infamous raid on Lawrence, Kansas in 1863. Anderson perpetrated the Centralia massacre in 1864. Both factions began hostilities during the Border War (1855-1861). Southern guerrillas, such as Alf Bolin, William O. Coleman, and Sam Hildebrand operated in the hill country of southern Missouri from bases in northern Arkansas. Despite the notorious atrocities committed on both sides, leaders claimed the legitimacy of military commissions.

Both prairie and hill-country guerrilla attacks included hit-and-run tactics. Large group actions were used mostly in western Missouri, where successes could be attributed to surprise, excellent marksmanship, and fast horses on the relatively flat, tall-grass prairies. Attackers would disperse into smaller groups to evade pursuit to meet at pre-designated rallying points. Prairies generally coincide with Pennsylvanian strata and a decreasing precipitation gradient from east to west. Major barriers to movement included large rivers, such as the Osage, Marais des Cynes, and Marmaton, and to a lesser extent steep cutbanks in alluvium, wetlands, and forests. Ambushes were common at chokepoints such as fords and at the margins of woodlands.

Large forces were impractical in the heavily patrolled, Union-held wooded highlands and swamps of southern and southeastern Missouri. Ambushes, assassinations, home invasions, captures, and executions were the most common tactics. Guerrillas wore Union uniforms as camouflage and for intelligence gathering. Dense thickets and steep hollows provided cover for evasive maneuvers. Circling back for secondary ambushes was common. Cave and hollows in the karstified lower Paleozoic strata and secluded Precambrian knobs were preferred campsites.