Same But Different: Irregular Warfare in Kentucky and Missouri, 1861-1865

This paper examines the political, cultural, and military conditions in Kentucky and Missouri during the American Civil War in relation to the irregular conflicts involving guerrillas, partisans, and raiders and operations to counter them. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the irregular conflicts in Kentucky and Missouri. The conflicts in each state had many similarities but the conflict in Missouri reached a level of violence not found elsewhere during the war.

In an effort to explain this phenomenon in comparison to a similar conflict, the paper argues that Missouri's less settled and more frontier society, its status as a cultural crossroads where many of America's peoples coexisted, and the experience of Bleeding Kansas provided an environment for excessive violence and civil strife during the American Civil War.