Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1971

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

History

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to determine if Special Warfare had a significant effect on military operations conducted in Middle Tennessee and surrounding areas in 1861 and 1862. In order to present this subject the chapters of the thesis will be organized as follows: Chapter I, an examination of the historical) geographic) political, and ethnic background of Tennessee; Chapter II, Ranger Operations and Guerrilla Warfare in 1861; Chapter IIIJ Ranger Operations in 1862; Chapter TV, Guerrilla Operations in 1862; Chapter V, Clandestine Operations in 1862; and Chapter VI, a limited discussion and conclusions drawn from the study. In order to understand the title, “Special Warfare in Middle Tennessee and Surrounding Areas, 1861-62”, certain terms must be defined. In this study 11Special Warfa:re 11 is meant to include~ Ranger or behind-the-lines operations by conventionalJ but specially employed units; Guerrilla Operations; and Clandestine Operations. A clandestine organization is composed of: an underground which normally operates in urban areas; a guerrilla band which is the “strike” arm of the organization and operates from a “holdfast” or “secure” area remote in the mountains or countryside; and the auxiliary which connects the underground with the guerrilla or Ranger units lurking in the vicinity. Ordinarily a study of Special Warfare would not necessarily include a study of Ranger Operations, but in this case it is required because such leaders as Forrest, Morgan, Johnson, and Woodward remained in an area for so long that they took the place of the guerrilla band in the clandestine organization. Clandestine operations are not limited to, but may include the following: operation of escape and evasion nets; sabotage; espionage; encouraging deserters from the enemy's army, recruiting and operation of a logistical system to meet the needs of Ranger or guerrilla units, i.e., smuggling. In order to achieve the defeat of the enemy the clandestine organization may use force alone or in conjunction with other terroristic weapons such as execution, extortion, kidnapping, beatings, bombing, and arson of private or public properties. These tactics or the threat of them may be suggested blatantly • I! d II t or subtly as propaganda in underground newspapers or by word of mou h. The term "Middle Tennessee and Surrounding Areas" is intended to center the study on the base operations of the Federal Army of the Cumberland, Nashville, Tennessee. The area of operations includes the operational areas of the Army of the Cumberland and of the opposing Confederate Army of Tennessee. Therefore, the area under study includes all of Middle Tennessee, and those portions of West Tennessee, East Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama,and northeastern Mississippi where operations were conducted which had an effect on the actions of the Army of the Cumberland. The scope limited the study to the years 1861 and 1862 because of the necessity to restrict the size of the thesis, and because the termination point, the battle of Stone's River marked the end of large-scale operations in Middle 'Tennessee until the battles of Franklin and Nashville. The thesis is organized so that the problem is stated, then facts are presented in the narrative Chapters I through V, and conclusions are drawn in Chapter VI. Facts in the form of narrative descriptions are presented in the first five chapters and the Appendix. These facts lead to the conclusion drawn in the final chapter that Special Warfare did have a significant effect on military operations conducted in Middle Tennessee and surrounding areas in 1861-62. Although limited statements of sub-conclusion are drawn at the end of each chapter, discussion generally is confined to explanatory comment in the narrative. Only minor suppositions are made in the thesis and are so labeled in the work. No major assumptions are made in this study. This is not a venture in interpretive history per se; rather, it is intended to be a factual study, in which the facts presented point to a logical conclusion.

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