n. 1. One accustomed to beat about, or travel through, bushes. [ U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
They were gallant bushwhackers, and hunters of raccoons by moonlight. W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. A guerrilla; a marauding assassin; one who pretends to be a peaceful citizen, but secretly harasses a hostile force or its sympathizers. [ U.S. ] Farrow. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. 1. Traveling, or working a way, through bushes; pulling by the bushes, as in hauling a boat along the bushy margin of a stream. [ U.S. ] T. Flint. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. The crimes or warfare of bushwhackers. [ U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]