Who Are the Bushwhackers in ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’?

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Lawmen: Bass Reeves.

The Big Picture

• In the first episode of Lawmen: Bass Reeves, a group of Confederate sympathizers known as “bushwhackers” emerge and help Bass and his master in a battle against Union troops.
• The 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles, a bushwhacking group, fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, implementing guerrilla tactics and fighting as they pleased.
• Esau Pierce, the leader of the bushwhackers, appears later in the episode and may continue to be a prominent character if Bass seeks revenge for the murder of Curtis, who was like a son to him.

In the first episode of the new Lawmen: Bass Reeves, the audience is quickly introduced to a group of Southern sympathizers commonly known as “bushwhackers.” Bass (David Oyelowo) and his then-master Colonel George Reeves (Shea Whigham) are engaged in the middle of a bloody battle that breaks out between a Union platoon and a group of Confederate soldiers. When they flee together, they find themselves outgunned by the Union troops, and it looks like the odds are stacked against Bass.

But in a flash, a ragtag group of men on horseback emerge over a ridge from a hidden position and take up arms against the Union troops. The war-crazed Esau Pierce (Barry Pepper) leads his men to a quick victory in the small skirmish, with Pierce taking the scalp of one of the Union soldiers and howling like a wild man as he raises it to the sky. This unit, known as the 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles, emerged as a bushwhacking group of plain-clothed Confederate sympathizers that were common during the Civil War. These bushwhacking groups implemented guerrilla tactics and fought who and when they wanted.

Who Are the 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles in ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’?

When the Civil War broke out, there were five civilized Indian Tribes: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. They all had to decide which side they would support — if they decided to back anyone at all. The result was a split between the Native American tribes, and the majority of the Cherokee Nation picked up arms for the Confederacy.

When this group emerges over the ridge and kills the Union soldiers in the first battle depicted in Lawmen: Bass Reeves, they are shouting Native American war cries, and some are dressed in traditional Cherokee garb and carrying tomahawks. Their leader is a white man named Esau Pierce, who is a bushwhacker extraordinaire. While the tribes formed on both sides of the war, the 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles were very much on the side of the Confederacy. The Union equivalent of these groups were known as “Jayhawkers”, and fought for the North throughout the war. They were some of the first guerrilla units in recorded American War history.

The Bushwhackers Appear Later in Episode 1 of ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’

After Bass nearly beats Reeves to death over a card game for his own freedom that Reeves had cheated to win, he is forced to quickly flee the estate and his wife Jennie (Lauren E. Banks) and make his way alone. Eventually, as he lies dying from thirst and exposure, he is saved by a strong Black Seminole farmer named Sara Jumper (Margot Bingham) and her young son Curtis (Riley Looc), who nurse him back to health. Bass becomes a hand on Sara’s farm in exchange for room and board and spends the next several months forming a close bond with Curtis in particular.

When the two go to town to pick up some feed sacks and supplies for the farm, they encounter Esau Pierce again. This time, he has been captured by Union troops and is being held in the back of a covered wagon. The soldiers have stopped for supplies, and it gives Bass and Esau a chance to have an exchange. Esau, who recalls Bass from their first meeting back in Texas, tries to recruit Bass to a bushwhacking way of life, but before Bass can respond, Esau warns him to gather his things and get out of Dodge, warning him that “Hell is coming on wings of its own.” Suddenly, gunfire rings out in another ambush raid by the 1st Cherokee Rifle bushwhackers, and Esau ends up looking down the barrel of Curtis’ shotgun. Bass cries out for Curtis to drop his weapon, but he is drawn on by Esau and shot dead in front of Bass.

Will We See the Bushwhackers Again in ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’?

Barry Pepper is outstanding in the role of the bushwhacking outlaw, and we certainly want to see him turn up again in the future as Bass continues his journey to becoming one of the first Black U.S. Marshals. Pepper receives third billing in the opening credits, so it stands to reason that this wild card character could be brought back for Bass to settle a score over the murder of Curtis, who had almost become like a son to him. And with Pepper scheduled to appear in four episodes of Lawmen: Bass Reeves, it is safe to say that we will get our wish. By the time the two potentially meet again in the future, Bass will be a very different and confident man as he has become a farmer and reunited with his beloved wife — not to mention the two have a daughter of their own named Sally (Demi Singleton). So Esau better have his pistol handy.

Lawmen: Bass Reeves is streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S., with new episodes dropping every Sunday.

Watch on Paramount+

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