The Anti Horse Thief Association was a

vigilance committee A vigilance committee was a group formed of private citizens to administer law and order or exercise power through violence in places where they considered governmental structures or actions inadequate. A form of vigilantism and often a more stru ...

, organized at

Fort Scott, Kansas Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,552. It is named for Gen. Winfield Scott. The city is located south of Kansas City on the Marmaton ...

, in 1859 to provide protection against marauders thriving on border warfare. It resembled other vigilance societies in organization and methods, although it did not share some of the shadier tactics of other vigilance committees and members of the ''

Regulators Regulator may refer to: Technology * Regulator (automatic control), a device that maintains a designated characteristic, as in: ** Battery regulator ** Pressure regulator ** Diving regulator ** Voltage regulator * Regulator (sewer), a control de ...

''. It achieved great success in apprehending offenders over a wide area. Though it initially focused on horse theft, it diversified into other areas while still retaining the original name.

References

{{Reflist *"Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc." (1912)

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Anti-Horse Thief Association

The Horse Thief Detectives
American vigilantes Kansas in the American Civil War Missouri in the American Civil War People of the American Old West Organizations established in 1859 1859 establishments in Kansas Territory

See also

References

External links