Partisans were small units of conventional forces, controlled and organized by a military force for operations behind enemy lines. Partisan warfare, in contrast, more closely resembled commando operations of the 20th century. Dozens of other small, localized bands terrorized the countryside throughout the border region during the war, bringing total war to the area that lasted until the end of the Civil War and, in some areas, beyond. Another notorious unit, with debatable ties to the Confederate military, was led by Champ Ferguson along the Kentucky-Tennessee border, who became one of the few figures of the Confederate cause to be executed after the war. Quantrill's Raiders, who terrorized pro-Union civilians and fought Federal troops in large areas of Missouri and Kansas, was one such unit. From the semiorganized guerrillas, several groups formed and were given some measure of legitimacy by their governments. They preyed on civilians and isolated military forces of both sides with little regard for politics. One such example was the opposing irregular forces operating in Missouri and northern Arkansas from 1862 to 1865, most of which were pro- Confederate or pro- Union in name only. In many cases, civilians fought against civilians or civilians fought against opposing enemy troops. Few participants wore uniforms or were formally mustered into the actual armies. Bushwhacking, murder, assault, and terrorism were characteristics of this kind of fighting. It was frequent for residents of one part of a single county to take up arms against their counterparts in the rest of the vicinity.

It was marked by a vicious quality of neighbors fighting each other as other grudges got settled. In general during the American Civil War, this type of irregular warfare was conducted in the hinterland of the border states ( Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and northwestern Virginia / West Virginia). The concept of a 'people's war,' first described by Clausewitz in his classic treatise On War, was the closest example of a mass guerrilla movement in the 19th century. Each had distinct characteristics that were common practice during the war. Structurally, they can be divided into three different types of operations: the so-called 'people's war', 'partisan warfare', and 'raiding warfare'. Guerrilla warfare in the American Civil War followed the same general patterns of irregular warfare conducted in 19th century Europe.

Guerrilla warfare definition apush