Confederate Home Guard The Confederate Home Guard ( 1861 – 1865 ) was a somewhat loosely organized militia that was under the direction and authority of the Confederate States of America , working in coordination with the Confederate Army , and was tasked with both the defense of the Confederate home front during the American Civil War , as well as to help track down and capture Confederate Army deserter s . The Home Guard was a type of militia for the Confederacy in that it did have a rank structure and did have certain regulations , whether those were enforced or not . Home Guard units were , essentially , to be a last defense against any invading Union forces . They also were used at times to gather information about invading Union forces troop movements , as well as to identify and control any local civilians who were considered sympathetic to the Union cause . They received no military training , and although they could be drafted into the Confederate service if need be , there are only a few cases in which that happened , due to the Home Guard actually being recognized as a type of service in itself to the Confederacy . Background and implementation . Despite home guard units receiving very little attention through history , the Home Guard units that were formed had a purpose , although most units consisted of volunteers and paid no salary . A bounty was offered by the Confederate government for the capture of deserters , although it was rarely paid due to the government ' s debt . While most able - bodied Southern men went away to war , many stayed behind , either by choice or due to something that prevented them from serving in the army . Although many states did not initially form Home Guard units , by 1863 all eleven Confederate states had done so . Initially tasked with being the defense force against any Union Army elements that might pass through the Confederate battle lines and enter into Southern territory , the Home Guard was later utilized to help capture Confederate army deserters returning to their homes . The Home Guard possessed a wide range of powers , whether those powers were legitimate and recognized by the Confederacy or not . Because during the war there were few Southern men at home , there were few to stand in the way of any Home Guard unit that wished to abuse its powers by taking advantage of or mistreating Southern civilians . In addition to this , due to the war demanding so much attention from the Confederate Congress , not to mention the other branches of the government and the military , little attention was paid to the Home Guard units . All were commanded locally , and rarely did they receive any specific direction . In essence , the Home Guard units could work as they pleased , and more often than not they made their own decisions and priorities . Depending on the area , Home Guard units would be at times nothing more than a group of men identified as being the " Home Guard " , working from home as they pleased . At other times , most usually in states located in what was known as the " Eastern theater " of the war , Home Guard units had base camps and headquarters , went on patrol , and scouted for possible deserters or Union stragglers . Most of the time , Home Guard units were poorly equipped , due to shortages of goods , ammunition , and weapons to supply the Confederate Army . They rarely dressed in anything that could be called a uniform , but did make efforts to wear the same color clothing as the Confederate soldiers . By the middle of the war , many Home Guard units were composed of wounded soldiers that had returned to heal from wounds received in battle . Deserters that were encountered by Home Guard patrols were dealt with in many different fashions . At times , the deserting soldiers would be returned to the Army via Confederate units that were stationed near to whatever area the deserters were captured . Sometimes deserters were executed by the Home Guard . By 1864 , the Union Army occupied much of the formerly Confederate - controlled areas . With Union forces now patrolling home - front areas , many Home Guard units disbanded to avoid being considered or mistaken for guerrilla s , and it became increasingly difficult for the Confederacy to enforce any action against deserters who returned home . Even in the Western theater states of Arkansas , Texas and Louisiana Union troops were regularly seen , and at times the troops had taken control of many towns or cities . Some Southern citizens who lived in those states and who did not support secession had now openly come out in their support of the Union , often forming Union Army regiments or units to serve in that army . These newly formed Union units , made up of local citizens , personally knew the members of the Home Guard , which greatly hampered if not completely disabled the Home Guard ' s ability to function . By the war ' s end , very few such units were still in existence . However some were still active in areas where Union soldiers were less common , although these were mostly bands of thieves preying on the less fortunate . One of the most notorious of these was the " Independent Rangers " led by early Old West outlaw Cullen Baker . In late 1864 , this band was responsible for what became known as the Massacre of Saline , when they murdered ten unarmed men from Perry County , Arkansas on the Saline River . In fiction . The Confederate Home Guard plays a major role in the novel Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and the film of the same name written and directed by Anthony Minghella . As both novel and film are presented from the sympathetic point of view of a Confederate deserter , the Home Guards hunting him are the villains . In Gone with the Wind , the Home Guard fights General Sherman ' s army when it invades Atlanta . The soldiers fight bravely but lose the battle and many are killed .