Bushwhacking

to make one’s way through woods by cutting at undergrowth, branches, etc.
to travel through woods.
to pull a boat upstream from on board by grasping bushes, rocks, etc., on the shore.
to fight as a bushwhacker or guerrilla in the bush.
to fight as a bushwhacker; ambush.
to defeat, especially by surprise or in an underhanded way:
They bushwhacked our high school team when they used college players.
a person or thing that bushwhacks.
(in the American Civil War) a guerrilla, especially a Confederate.
any guerrilla or outlaw.
Australian Slang. an unsophisticated person; hick.
Historical Examples

The Recollections of A Drummer-Boy Harry M. Kieffer
The Citizen-Soldier John Beatty
Duffels Edward Eggleston
Thirty Years on the Frontier Robert McReynolds
The Maids of Paradise Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers
First on the Moon Jeff Sutton
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 Various
History of Woman Suffrage, Volume III (of III) Various
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Work Projects Administration
Slim Evans and his Horse Lightning Graham M. Dean

verb
(transitive) (US & Canadian, Austral) to ambush
(intransitive) (US & Canadian, Austral) to cut or beat one’s way through thick woods
(intransitive) (US & Canadian, Austral) to range or move around in woods or the bush
(intransitive) (US & Canadian) to fight as a guerrilla in wild or uncivilized regions
(intransitive) (NZ) to work in the bush, esp at timber felling
noun
(US & Canadian, Austral) a person who travels around or lives in thinly populated woodlands
(Austral, informal) an unsophisticated person; boor
a Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War
(US) any guerrilla
(NZ) a person who works in the bush, esp at timber felling
n.

To assault, esp from ambush: Two guys jumped out and bushwhacked him
To attack violently: After that speech the President felt bushwhacked