Historical Analysis of Ang Lee’s Ride With the Devil

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Recommended: Military tactics in the civil war

When the general public thinks about the Civil War they usually think about an army of Union soldiers fighting an army of Confederate soldiers, each side commanded by men up upper rank using military tactics to win the battle. What most people don’t think about is the guerrilla warfare that went on between rival citizens in the boarder states. Instead of formal militias, this fighting involved small groups of men hunting down enemies and getting in to savage skirmishes. Kansas Jayhawkers and Missouri Bushwhackers fought this informal, bloody, and guerrilla war. While being on either side was dangerous, being caught in the middle of it was even more so. Ride With the Devil, a 1999 film directed by Ang Lee follows this savage conflict from the perspective of some Bushwhackers played by Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, and Simon Baker-Denny. Through its realistic portrayal of the Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers, William Quantrill, and the style of fighting that went on in Missouri, Ride With the Devil is a historically accurate film that can be enjoyed for its history as well as its superb entertainment.

Ride With The Devil takes place in neutral Missouri in 1863 where Tobey Maguire stars as Jake Roedel, the son of a German immigrant and a pro-unionist. Roedel’s closest friend, Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich), is the son of a prosperous family in their hometown in Missouri. One day, mayhem is brought upon them when a group of murderous Kansas Union Jayhawkers conducts a raid on the citizens of their hometown, killing Jack Bull’s father and setting fire to his home. Taken by revenge, Roedel and Jack Bull join a band of Bushwhackers in order to seek vengeance against these Jayhawkers, who murder innocent citizens for sport, or any no...

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...il.htm>.

Berardinelli, James. "Review: Ride With the Devil." Reelviews Movie Reviews. 1999. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. .

"Bushwhackers, Bushwackers, Civil War Bushwhackers." Civil War, American Civil War, Reconstruction. 2007. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. .

Caggiano, Greg. "Movie Review: Ride with the Devil (1999) « From New York to San Francisco." From New York to San Francisco. 10 May 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. .

Rule, G.E. "Jayhawkers & Bushwhackers." Civil War St Louis. 25 Jan. 2011. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. .

"William Clarke Quantrill." Millers Paranormal Research. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. .

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