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 deserters. 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.
Read more about Confederate Home Guard: Background and Implementation, In Fiction
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