The Partisan Ranger Act was passed on April 21, 1861 by the Confederate Congress. It was intended as a stimulus for recruitment of irregulars for service into the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. The Confederate leadership, like the Union leadership, later opposed the use of irregular warfare out of fear that the lack of discipline among rival guerrilla groups could spiral out of control. On February 17, 1864, the law was repealed after pressurefrom General Robert E. Lee and other Confederate regulars.