A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War (Civil War America) - Hardcover

Sutherland largely eschews the salacious rendering of individual acts of violence, choosing rather to bring sense and order to a tumultuous chapter of Civil War historiography.--North Carolina Historical Review A book no serious student of the Civil War can do without.--Arkansas Historical Quarterly Provides comparative analysis of the forces that motivated guerrilla operations, along with analysis of their effectiveness, in a chronological timeframe that is inclusive of virtually all regions of the nation. . . . Simply a banquet for Civil War buffs eager to learn more. . . . Written in engaging prose abundantly sprinkled with exciting anecdotes, this book will be useful to the scholar just as it will entertain the general reader. Skillfully constructed to educate, rather than pontificate, Sutherland's study raises the bar of Civil War scholarship.--H-Net Reviews Sutherland places the 'Gray Ghost, ' John Singleton Mosby; John Hunt Morgan; 'Bloody Bill' Anderson; bushwhackers; Red Legs; and jayhawkers, among many others, in the larger context of the 'irrepressible conflict' in this wide-ranging account.--Choice The most comprehensive investigation of the topic to date. . . . Sutherland's impeccably researched study is long overdue and certain to become essential reading for anyone attempting to understand the effect of guerrillas on the Civil War and especially on Confederate defeat.--Virginia Magazine A comprehensive survey, well written and very readable. . . . A needed view of the war that is seldom seen.--TOCWOC: A Civil War Blog Perhaps the most comprehensive analysis of guerrilla warfare during the Civil War to date. . . . Well written and exhaustively researched. . . . Specialists and enthusiasts of the Civil War will enjoy this book as it is an excellent addition to any Civil War library.--On Point [A] very strong analysis of guerrilla warfare that is pertinent to counterinsurgency operations today. . . . Provide[s] excellent analysis.--Journal of Military History An impressive new study of the impact of guerrilla warfare on the course of the American Civil War.--Indiana Magazine of History The author's narrative style is neither pedantic nor theatrical, and probably about right for a scholarly work accessible to the public. . . . An excellent foundational work valuable to the Civil War or Irregular War historian, and a high mark for other scholars to match.--Military History of the West The most comprehensive analysis of Civil War guerrilla warfare to date. . . . Intriguing. . . . Will surely captivate general readers and seasoned academics alike, as well as undergraduate and graduate students.--West Virginia History Sutherland's solid scholarship dispels the resilient image of guerrillas as colorful ancillaries of the 'real war' and integrates them into the broader narrative of the period. . . . An extremely valuable book.--Journal of American History Sutherland offers a near encyclopedic survey of Confederate use of guerilla tactics and of Union efforts to combat them. . . . [His book] powerfully underscore[s] the ugliness and moral complexity of the uncivil war that divided Americans between 1861 and 1865.--American Historical Review A remarkable book based on stunningly exhaustive archival research . . . . Both lay readers and scholars will find this work indispensable in understanding the true nature and complexity of America's Civil War.--The Historian A welcome addition to the literature on guerilla warfare in America.--Intelligence Service Europe Newsletter Will surely invigorate discussion of guerilla conflict in the Civil War. . . . Sutherland has set the stage for further considerations on the place of guerilla warfare within American society.--Virginia Quarterly Review A Savage Conflict is necessary reading for anyone who truly wants to understand the Civil War.--Journal of America's Military Past What [Sutherland] has proceeded to do . . . is give us a way of thinking about the guerrilla war as a comprehensive, far-reaching, deep-reaching, whole. The evidence is literally in the narrative.--The Alabama Review No one has ever undertaken a survey this complete, this solidly based in an almost incredible array of primary sources, and this well rooted in the historiography. . . . Sutherland's achievement in compiling all this material and elucidating it with a convincing thesis is formidable.--Journal of Southern History With this masterful work, Daniel E. Sutherland has presented historians of the American Civil War with the most important single volume on the role of guerrilla warfare to appear in twenty years. Scholars of the conflict have long awaited the publication of Sutherland's definitive work and the book does not disappoint.--Common-place A richly detailed narrative laced with cogent analysis. . . . [Sutherland] has acquired a mastery of the subject that shows on every page of this well-researched and elegantly written book. . . . Deserves a place of honor among the period's most outstanding literature.--Civil War History

This title covers the boon and bane of irregular warfare.The American Civil War is famous for epic battles involving massive armies outfitted in blue and gray uniforms, details that characterize conventional warfare. ""A Savage Conflict"" is the first work to treat guerrilla warfare as critical to understanding the course and outcome of the Civil War. Daniel Sutherland argues that irregular warfare took a large toll on the Confederate war effort by weakening support for state and national governments and diminishing the trust citizens had in their officials to protect them.Sutherland points out that early in the war Confederate military and political leaders embraced guerrilla tactics. They knew that 'partizan' fighters had helped to win the American Revolution. As the war dragged on and defense of the remote spaces of the Confederate territory became more tenuous, guerrilla activity spiraled out of state control. It was adopted by parties who had interests other than Confederate victory, including southern Unionists, violent bands of deserters and draft dodgers, and criminals who saw the war as an opportunity for plunder. Sutherland considers not only the implications such activity had for military strategy but also its effects on people and their attitudes toward the war. Once vital to southern hopes for victory, the guerrilla combatants proved a significant factor in the Confederacy's final collapse.