Confederate Outlaw: A Review

The main thing that I would have to say that is the most important thing to take away from this work by Brian McKnight is that Champ Ferguson was not fighting a political battle, but a battle on a more personal level. To me Ferguson had the mentality that comes for the Old Testament, being “an eye for an eye” which some people can even say that this was a personal vendetta against anyone who wore the Union colors, or even those who happened to be on Ferguson’s hit list before the war started.

In the McKnight’s book, he uses key sources to shed light on Champ Ferguson, who was an infamous guerilla fighter that fought during the Civil War. With the sources that McKnight brings to the book, it gives a clear example of Ferguson not caring whether you were friend or foe, as in his mind if you were a Union sympathizer, you would ultimately pay for it. A prime example of this mentality came in late 1861, in which Ferguson commenced his personal vendetta against Union sympathizers by murdering his lifelong friends William Frogg and Reuben Wood. The interesting thing that I find fascinating about Ferguson is that even though he was a guerilla fight, he was also a regular soldier when it was convenient for him.

A lot of times with many history books I feel that they are rather dry, but I feel that McKnight’s work gives an interesting look at one of the most infamous figures during the Civil War and portrays him in a light, that not only shows his mindset and his reasoning behind what he did and why he did it, but it also keeps you on the edge of your seat and almost has you rooting for him, even though the Confederacy’s ideals weren’t the greatest in the world. As a final note I feel that it is also interesting that Champ Ferguson’s life was made into a Hollywood picture by the name The Outlaw Josey Wales.