<P> Lastly, deep raids by conventional cavalry forces were often considered' irregular' in nature . The "Partisan Brigades" of Nathan Bedford Forrest and John Hunt Morgan operated as part of the cavalry forces of the Confederate Army of Tennessee in 1862 and 1863 . They were given specific missions to destroy logistical hubs, railroad bridges, and other strategic targets to support the greater mission of the Army of Tennessee . By mid-1863, with the destruction of Morgan's raiders during the Great Raid of 1863, the Confederacy conducted few deep cavalry raids in the latter years of the war, mostly because of the losses in experienced horsemen and the offensive operations of the Union army . Federal cavalry conducted several successful raids during the war but in general used their cavalry forces in a more conventional role . A good exception was the 1863 Grierson's Raid, which did much to set the stage for General Ulysses S. Grant's victory during the Vicksburg Campaign . </P> <P> Federal counter-guerrilla operations were very successful in preventing the success of Confederate guerrilla warfare . In Arkansas, Federal forces used a wide variety of strategies to defeat irregulars . These included the use of Arkansas Unionist forces as anti-guerrilla troops, the use of riverine forces such as gunboats to control the waterways, and the provost marshal military law enforcement system to spy on suspected guerrillas and to imprison those captured . Against Confederate raiders, the Federal army developed an effective cavalry themselves and reinforced that system by numerous blockhouses and fortification to defend strategic targets . </P> <P> However, Federal attempts to defeat Mosby's Partisan Rangers fell short of success because of Mosby's use of very small units (10--15 men) operating in areas considered friendly to the Rebel cause . Another regiment known as the "Thomas Legion", consisting of white and anti-Union Cherokee Indians, morphed into a guerrilla force and continued fighting in the remote mountain back - country of western North Carolina for a month after Lee's surrender at Appomattox . That unit was never completely suppressed by Union forces, but voluntarily ceased hostilities after capturing the town of Waynesville on May 10, 1865 . </P> <P> In the late 20th century several historians have focused on the non-use of guerrilla warfare to prolong the war . Near the end of the war, there were those in the Confederate government, notably Jefferson Davis who advocated continuing the southern fight as a guerrilla conflict . He was opposed by generals such as Robert E. Lee who ultimately believed that surrender and reconciliation were better than guerrilla warfare . </P>

What military campaign led up to the end of the revolutionary war