Blazer's Scouts was a special force in the Union Army that existed from September 1863 through 1864 during the American Civil War. Members of this force operated in West Virginia and Virginia, and were expert woodsmen with excellent marksmanship skills. They specialized in anti-guerrilla warfare, counterinsurgency, and reconnaissance (a.k.a. scouting). The tactics of elite forces and intelligence gathering were refined by Richard R. Blazer, and had influence on future American special forces.
Blazer's Scouts was originally one company formed in response to harassment by pro-Confederate sympathizers that used guerrilla warfare hit–and–run tactics. The entire force consisted of 80 to 120 soldiers and officers, although operations were often conducted using smaller groups. The company was officially known as the Independent Scouts, but became known as Blazer's Scouts to soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Although Lieutenant Richard Blazer was not the original leader of the company, he often commanded it in the field. Eventually he was promoted to captain when the unit was expanded and moved to Virginia.
The company originally consisted of chosen soldiers from three infantry regiments. In the spring of 1864 it was expanded, mounted, and efforts were made to arm it with better weapons. During late summer 1864, the unit was assigned scouting duties for Major General Philip Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah, but its highest priority was neutralizing John S. Mosby's partisan rangers. All members of Blazer's Scouts were armed with 7–shot Spencer repeating rifles and revolvers. After some initial success against Mosby, the unit was defeated by Mosby's Rangers on November 18, 1864. Blazer was captured, his second–in–command killed, and over half of his company killed, wounded, or captured.
Background Fighting in the American Civil War began on April 12, 1861. The state (or commonwealth) of Virginia seceded from the United States on April 17, 1861, and joined seven southern states (three additional states seceded later) in the Confederate States of America. In the northern and western portions of Virginia, many people preferred to remain loyal to the United States (a.k.a. the Union). Virginians loyal to the United States approved pursuing their own statehood on October 24, 1861, and the western portion of Virginia officially became the state of West Virginia on June 20, 1863. While the northern portion of the new state along the Ohio River was mostly pro-Union, that was not the case further south.
The Union victory in the 1861 Battle of Philippi helped secure northwestern Virginia for the Union, but the Confederacy contested the territory further southwest. One region further southwest is the Kanawha River Valley, which had resources such as salt and food. Many of the Kanawha Valley residents were already skilled users of horses and weapons, so Union and Confederate leaders viewed the region as a good place to recruit soldiers. This portion of West Virginia, and the region further east, had many people loyal to the Confederacy. For example: In 1860, Greenbrier County (along the future border with Virginia) had 2,474 white male residents between the ages of 18 and 55; and about 2,000 of them eventually served in the Confederate Army. The Union Army had to contest the Confederate Army in this region (such as in the Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862), and it faced the additional challenge of irregular tactics used by guerrilla warriors and partisan rangers. The guerrilla tactics of hit–and–run proved successful, and Union soldiers referred to these irregular fighters as bushwhackers. Among notorious guerrilla fighter groups in West Virginia were the Moccasin Rangers and Thurmond's Partisan Rangers.
Blazer's Scouts were a Union response to bushwhackers in West Virginia. There were three iterations of Blazer's Scouts. The first version was a company organized in September 1863 as the "Independent Scouts". It was officially disbanded in mid-November 1863, but participated in an additional excursion in December of the same year. In February 1864, Brigadier General George Crook expanded the focus, and size, of what he called "Division Scouts". The third version existed when Major General Philip Sheridan moved his army into the Shenandoah Valley later in 1864, and this version had the objective of eliminating the infamous Confederate partisan cavalry battalion known as Mosby's Rangers. All three of these versions of Union scouts were led mostly by Lieutenant (and later Captain) Richard Blazer. They became known "familiarly in the army" as "Blazer's Scouts".
Organization Organization of the first version
Colonel Carr B. White commanded a Union brigade that operated in West Virginia. The brigade was part of a division commanded by Brigadier General E. Parker Scammon, and it operated at Charleston, Coals Mouth, Fayetteville, Gauley Bridge, Camp Piatt, and Camp White. On September 5, 1863, White signed order number 49 to create what he called Independent Scouts. This company was to have 100 soldiers plus three officers and 16 non–commissioned officers. The new volunteer company would scout for White's brigade, and it would not participate in camp duties. Its own camp would be located in the woods, and the company would only accept experienced woodsmen and good shooters.
Even though White's order called for three lieutenants, the company started with a captain and two lieutenants. The first commander of the Independent Scouts was Captain John Spencer, and his two lieutenants were Richard Blazer and Harrison Gray Otis. Spencer was from the 9th West Virginia Infantry Regiment, while Blazer and Otis were from the 91st Ohio and 12th Ohio Infantry regiments, respectively. Those three regiments, plus an artillery battery, comprised White's brigade. The enlisted men were selected from the same three infantry regiments. Some of the men in the new company had been Jessie Scouts, a group of scouts that often wore Confederate uniforms and had been organized by Major General John C. Frémont. White's new company became known at the time as "Spencer's Scouts" or the "Brigade Scouts". Spencer served for only a short time, leaving Blazer and Otis to command the scouts in the field.
In November 1863, White issued an order that said "The company of detached men acting as scouts under command of Lieutenants Blazer and Otis having accomplished the ends for which it was formed is hereby disbanded and the men will be returned to their various Regiments and Companies for duty...." White was complimentary of the Scouts, and also praised them in discussions with his superiors. Despite being officially disbanded, special orders in early December sent Blazer with some of his scouts to the front of a Union expedition to Lewisburg. Otis did not participate in this expedition as a Scout, but instead commanded his own company in one of the Ohio infantries serving in the raid.
Organization of the second version
During February 1864, Brigadier General George Crook became commander of the Army of West Virginia, including the regiments from which the first version of Blazer's Scouts originated. Headquarters were in Charleston, West Virginia. Crook had fought native Americans in the Oregon Territory before the American Civil War, and therefore had experience against a cunning enemy who did not fight using traditional European methods. During February, he issued General Order No. 2 that reformed the Scouts as a mounted company under the command of Lieutenant Blazer. Blazer chose Lieutenant James Ewing, of the 9th West Virginia Infantry, as his second–in–command.
Crook called the new company his Division Scouts. The company had selected individuals from the 5th, 9th, and 13th West Virginia infantries; the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry; and the 12th, 23rd, 34th and 91st Ohio infantries. The company's size was about 80 soldiers. Crook tried to get this company repeating rifles such as the Henry or Spencer, but could not immediately acquire them. Some of the new Division Scouts, such as those from the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry, already had Spencer repeating rifles. Crook expected his Division Scouts to have satisfactory skills handling horses. In the case of those from the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry and 34th Ohio (Mounted) Infantry, those skills had already been attained.
Organization of the third version
During August 1864, Major General Philip Sheridan took command of the Union Army of the Shenandoah, which included Crook's Army of West Virginia. Sheridan's force was often harassed by Confederate partisan rangers, especially a group known as Mosby's Rangers that was led by John S. Mosby. At sunrise on August 13 near Berryville, Virginia, Mosby attacked a Union wagon train. He captured over 200 Union soldiers; 700 horses, mules, and cattle; and roughly 100 wagons in what became known as the Berryville Wagon Train Raid.
Furious after the Berryville Wagon Train Raid, Sheridan decided that he needed to organize his own scouts. In addition to scouting for Sheridan's entire army, the scouts would have a mission of destroying Mosby's Rangers. He conferred with Crook, who recommended Blazer. Sheridan upgraded Blazer's Scouts to 100 soldiers, and ordered 100 Spencer repeating rifles for them. Blazer was promoted to captain. Among Blazer's subordinate officers was Lieutenant Thomas K. Coles.
Early action
Blazer's Scouts began their work almost immediately after their September 1863 organization by Colonel White. The company began operating in the region near the Gauley and New rivers, which combine to form the Kanawha River. The area had some of the roughest terrain in the eastern United States. In addition to fighting guerrillas, much of the Scout's work involved questioning civilians and following tracks in the mountains.
On the first mission led by Lieutenant Blazer, 13 Confederate partisans from Thurmond's Rangers were captured while Blazer's force of about half the company had no casualties. A different mission, led by Lieutenant Otis, got the attention of Confederate leadership when two buildings near Blue Sulphur Springs were burned—including a Baptist Church. The "church" had no pews or seats, and had been used as a quarters by Thurmond's Rangers and a regular Confederate army unit. For the next few months, the Scouts pioneered tactics to counter Confederate guerrillas in the region. They also served as the advance guard when White's brigade patrolled.
November Lewisburg Dublin Raid
On October 26, 1863, Union Brigadier General Benjamin Franklin Kelley ordered a raid with the purpose of driving the Confederate Army out of Lewisburg and disabling the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad near its Dublin Station. While a force led by Brigadier General William W. Averell moved south from Beverly to Lewisburg, a second force approached Lewisburg by moving southeast from Charleston. The Charleston force was commanded by Brigadier General Alfred N. Duffié, and had Blazer's Scouts (with Blazer and Otis) leading the way.
On November 6, Averell's force was intercepted north of Lewisburg in what became known as the Battle of Droop Mountain. After fighting for several hours, Confederate leadership received information that Duffié's command was approaching Lewisburg from the west. Not wanting to be totally surrounded on Droop Mountain, and already attacked near its left flank, the Confederate Army fled south and then east to Virginia before Duffié could prevent its escape. The Scouts did some fighting with Thurmond's Rangers. The mission was ended before any damage could be inflicted to the railroad.
December Salem Raid