MovieChat Forums > The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) Discussion > Red legs

Red legs

posted 12 years ago by imbluzclooby
6 replies | jump to latest

I tried to pull information on the Redleg (Unofficial Union soldiers) and came up with just a little information. Apparently there were never more than 100 Redlegs. Since they were not enlisted union soldiers it is difficult to find sufficient evidence to their cause and valor.
This movie portrays them as callous killers.

I find it curiously strange that this story references Redlegs. I guess in order to avoid criticism and historical scrutiny from experts, the writers used a very obscure group of rogues for this story.

[–] Timberwolf0530 12 years ago

They were a small group, but they were notorious for being cold blooded guerilla fighting killers. Whether you considered them good or bad was determined by the side you were on. The Redlegs were an unofficial Union group.

[–] nickm2 12 years ago

And their opposite numbers (the Missouri 'Bushwackers/Ruffians') were a pretty foul bunch, too...their leader 'Bloody' Bill Anderson supposedly like to scalp his 'vics'; so it was sort of indian tribal warfare, except between whites....

[–] Traianus 12 years ago

I guess in order to avoid criticism and historical scrutiny from experts, the writers used a very obscure group of rogues for this story.

They might be obscure today for most people outside the Kansas-Missouri area, but in their day they were well known and had plenty of notoriety, especially in that part of the country. I can assure you historians and experts are very well aware of the Red Legs.

Just some things to check out quickly:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Lane_(Senator)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Order_No._11_(1863)

(note the painting in the above link)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayhawker

From an 1863 newspaperman quote contained in the above article:

"Jayhawkers, Red Legs, and Bushwhackers are everyday terms in Kansas and Western Missouri. A Jayhawker is a Unionist who professes to rob, burn out and murder only rebels in arms against the government. A Red Leg is a Jayhawker originally distinguished by the uniform of red leggings. A Red Leg, however, is regarded as more purely an indiscriminate thief and murderer than the Jayhawker or Bushwhacker. A Bushwhacker is a rebel Jayhawker, or a rebel who bands with others for the purpose of preying upon the lives and property of Union citizens. They are all lawless and indiscriminate in their iniquities."

[–] nickm2 12 years ago

Well...sounds like they were 'malicious militiamen'.

[–] tugboatphil 8 years ago

Redleg is a US Army term for Artillerymen. It wasn't from all red leggings as shown in the movie, but a broad red stripe along the trouser leg of their uniform. Red is the color for Artillery, as Light Blue is for Infantry and Gold for Cavalry.

Redleg was still a term used when I was in an artillery unit at Ft Sill, Oklahoma in the mid 1970s.

[–] tennismenace 8 years ago

Why did they kill Josef's family?