What is a “bushwhacker?”
Doug Riley
Phoenix, Arizona
“Bushwhacker” was a Civil War term that designated the lowest and meanest type of guerrilla fighter, particularly the Confederates, who often hid in inaccessible places and ambushed lone or small groups of Union troops. The name lived on in the Old West to describe an assassin who killed from a hiding spot.
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Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian. His latest book is Wyatt Earp: Showdown at Tombstone. If you h

October 2014
In This Issue:
More In This Issue
- The First Westerns Star
- A New-Old Straight Shooter
- History Unmasked
- A Dangerous and Bloody Citizen
- Masters of Western Art
- The Hat Rules
- A Skirmish with the Bottle Instead of the Braves
- Historical Photos of Charlie Russell
- Rowdy River Town
- The Auteur Who Walked the West
- Westerns Directed by Gordon Douglas
- L.Q. Jones
- October Events 2014
- What is a “bushwhacker?
- What famous Old West characters lived long enough to be filmed?
- Why are so few Western novels based in Nevada?
- What are cowboy bib-front shirts?
- How does Bat Masterson’s story compare with Wyatt Earp’s?
- Keeping the Faith
- Lights, Cameras, Charge!
- Nevada’s Buckaroos, Bonanzas and Boomtowns
- Ambrose Bierce
- The Sundance Kid Rides Again — in New York City!
- High Adventure in Big Sky Country
- Greed and Avarice on the California Frontier
- The Imaginary Doc Holliday Revealed
- The Last Days of Custer
- Rough Drafts 10/14
- Historian Jack L. August’s Reading List Reflects His Love Of The West