The author, a decorated US Army Ranger, has produced an outstanding review of Civil War Special Forces. The term Special Forces has come to encompass all highly trained special operations units from the British Commandos in 1940, but Special Forces go back through history to the ancient civilizations and were an important element during the American Civil War. – Very Highly Recommended
NAME: Yank and Rebel Rangers, Special Operations in the American Civil War FILE: R2860 AUTHOR: Robert W Black PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: hard back PAGES: 370 PRICE: £25.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Yanks, Rebs, Rebels, Union Army, Confederate Army, Confederacy, Special Forces, deep penetration raids, small forces, disguise, horsemen, raiders, interdiction
ISBN: 1-52674-444-9
IMAGE: B2860.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/yylgbrgd LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The author, a decorated US Army Ranger, has produced an outstanding review of Civil War Special Forces. The term Special Forces has come to encompass all highly trained special operations units from the British Commandos in 1940, but Special Forces go back through history to the ancient civilizations and were an important element during the American Civil War. – Very Highly Recommended The American Civil War, like most civil wars, set father against son and brother against brother. The officers at the start of the conflict were mostly from officer cadets trained together at West Point and serving in a common army before the civil war. That meant that they were using similar tactics learned together, speaking a common language and knowing the vast countryside over which the battles were fought. We know much about the major battles, not least because cameramen attended in numbers and much of their work survived, some of it reproduced in the photo-plate section of this book. What we know much less about are the numerous special forces that operated deep behind their opponents' lines, often dressed in enemy uniforms, or civilian clothing. That meant that any rangers who were caught were likely to be executed as spies. The author tells their story with feeling and paints a graphic picture of their war. The nature of these units and the confusion of war means that not every special unit is necessarily covered in this account, or their activity after the end of the war, but this is basically a comprehensive review. At the end of the war, many special forces units were far behind enemy lines particularly those raiders in Confederate service. Some found new employment in the new US Army waging war against the aboriginal tribes in the Indian Wars. Many simply went West into the lawless expanses and more than a few used their experience to raid trains and banks, creating many of the legends of the 'Wild West'. In the process, numbers of them converted to become law men and bounty hunters.