문태수는 1907년부터 1911년까지 충청·전라·경상도를 중심으로 활약한 정미의병기의 대표적 지역 의병장이다. 본 논문에서는 문태수의 의진운영과 전략·전술을 살펴보았다. 일제를 토벌하고 국권을 회복하고자 했던 문태수는 전력의 열세를 극복하기 위해 꾸준히 병력과 무기를 모았으며, 주로 기습을 통해 일본군의 병참과 치안을 끊임없이 위협하였다. 이 과정에서 의진을 크게 전투조직과 지원조직으로 나누었으며, 특히 지원조직은 전략·군량·무기·소모로 나누어 운영하였다. 물자와 병력은 성인 남성을 대상으로 권유하는 방식으로 모았지만 경우에 따라서는 납거와 같은 방식도 쓰였던 것 같다. 한편 무기는 화승총을 중심으로 하고 있었고 일부는 군도와 양총을 사용하였는데, 주로 징발을 통해 조달하면서 때로는 일본군을 습격하여 획득하거나 아니면 경성에서 구입하기도 하였다. 이외 무기 수리와 탄환 조달을 위해 이를 담당하는 부하를 별도로 두고 있었다. 문태수 의진의 규모는 많을 땐 200명까지 확인되며 추정치이지만 1,000명까지 언급된 부분도 있었다. 그리고 1909년까지 줄곧 증가하던 병력은 1910년을 기점으로 급격히 감소하기 시작하여 그해 중반이 되면 10명대로 크게 감소한 정황도 확인된다. 문태수의 부하들은 「判決文」과 기타 자료를 통해 72명의 실체를 추출하였는데, 그 주축 연령대는 20~30대였고, 대부분이 전북 출신이었다는 점에서 의진의 뿌리가 전북에 있었음을 알 수 있었다. 또한 참여자의 직업은 농민의 비율이 가장 높았지만 정미의병기 의진답게 해산군인 출신도 3명이 확인되고 있었음은 주목할 부분이다. 이외 문태수는 항전을 위해 민심의 획득을 대단히 중시했으며, 그 결과 무주 지역에서는 신처럼 추앙받기도 하였다.
Mun Tae-soo was a local representative of the Jeongmi Righteous Army, who was active mainly in Provinces of Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang from 1907 to 1911. This paper studies the management, strategy and tactics of Moon Tae-soo’s righteous army. Moon Tae-soo, who wanted to destroy Japanese army and restore national sovereignty, steadily gathered troops and weapons to overcome its own inferiority of military power, and constantly threatened the logistics and security of the Japanese army mainly through surprise attacks. In this process, the Righteous Army was largely divided into a combat organization and a support organization, and in particular, the support organization was divided into strategies, provisions, weapons, and recruitment. Supplies and troops were collected by soliciting adult males, but in some cases, it seems that a method such as kidnapping was also used. The weapons were centered on matchlocks, and also sabers and western style gun were used. They were mainly procured through requisition, sometimes obtained by raiding the Japanese army or purchased in Gyeongseong. In addition, there was a separate subordinate in charge of weapon repair and ammunition procurement. The size of Moon Tae-soo’s army was confirmed at most, up to 200 people, and although it is an estimate, there were some cases where up to 1,000 people were involved. However, the number of troops, which had been continuously increasing until 1909, began to decrease rapidly from 1910, and by the middle of the same year, the number of troops decreased significantly to the number of roughly 10 people. Through the ruling from the trial and other data, the detailed information on Mun Tae-soo’s 72 subordinates was found and it was learned that the main age group was in their 20s and 30s, and most of them were from Jeonbuk, indicating that the root of the Righteous Army was based in Jeonbuk. Although the majority of participants were farmers, it is noteworthy that 3 of them were confirmed to have been discharged soldiers. Moon Tae-soo placed great importance on winning public sentiment for resistance, and as a result, he was worshiped as a god in Muju regions.