This study investigates the role of the Army in combating moonshiners in the mountainous South during Reconstruction. The military committed numerous detachments across the South to aid U.S. marshals and revenue agents in eliminating stills. This assistance, although significant quantitatively, failed to end moonshining. Rather, with the withdrawal of soldiers from southern occupation duty, the Internal Revenue Bureau sufficiently increased its efforts to fill the void created by the absence of troops. The thesis provides insight into the Reconstruction Army. After reviewing structures, morale, and soldier quality, it analyzes the moonshine problem in society. Arrayed against each other were illicit distillers and federal authorities. Focusing on the motivations of both sides, the study introduces military detachments into this complex historical equation. Although covering the general officer level, the emphasis is on company-grade officers and enlisted soldiers. The study concludes with a comparison of the moonshine war to the current drug war in order to evaluate what lessons learned have applicability in the modern Operations Other Than War context.

ADA 284658 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)