John Singleton Mosby

John Singleton Mosby (December 6, 1833 – May 30, 1916) also known as the "Gray Ghost," was a Confederate partisan Ranger (a partisan is similar to a guerrilla fighter) in the American Civil War. He was noted for his lightning quick raids and his ability to successfully elude his Union Army pursuers and disappear (like a ghost) with his men, blending in with local farmers and townspeople. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1056x1450, 286 KB)John S. Mosby source File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1056x1450, 286 KB)John S. Mosby source File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1833 (MDCCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A group of Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army (CSA) was organized in February 1861 to defend the newly formed Confederate States of America from military action by the United States government during the American Civil War. ... Look up partisan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The 75th Ranger Regiment—also known as the United States Army Rangers—is an elite light infantry special operations force of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) headquartered in Fort Benning, Georgia. ... Guerrilla redirects here. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ...

Early life

Mosby was born in Powhatan County, Virginia, to Virginny McLaurine and Alfred Daniel Mosby, a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College. Mosby began his education at a school called Murrell's Shop until his family moved to Albemarle County, Virginia (approximately four miles from Charlottesville) around 1840. Here, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, John attended school in Fry's Woods before transferring to a Charlottesville school at the age of ten. Because of his small stature and frail health, throughout Mosby's school career he was the victim of bullies. But instead of becoming withdrawn and lacking in self confidence, the boy responded by fighting back although—as he admitted in his memoirs—he never won any fight in which he was engaged. The only fight he did not lose in these schoolboy melees was with a man who remained his friend in later life and that was because an adult stepped in and separated the combatants. Powhatan County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, Commonwealth — of Virginia. ... Hampden-Sydney College is a liberal arts college for men located in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia. ... Albemarle County is a county located in the the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... Charlottesville is an independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom. ... Blue Ridge Mountains, Shining Rock Wilderness Area Appalachian Mountain system The Blue Ridge is a mountain chain in the eastern United States, part of the Appalachian Mountains, forming their eastern front from Georgia to Pennsylvania. ...

In 1849, Mosby entered the University of Virginia, taking up a Classical Studies curriculum and joining the Washington Literary Society and Debating Union. He was far above average in Latin, Greek, and literature (all of which he enjoyed), but mathematics continued to be a problem for him. In his third year, a quarrel erupted between the frail, physically small Mosby and a notorious bully, George R. Turpin, a tavern keeper's son who was robust and physically impressive. Turpin was supposedly a medical student at the university, but he and his comrades engaged more often in causing injuries than healing them: in one case, Turpin took a knife to a small student, and in another he almost killed a much smaller boy with a rock. When Mosby heard of an insulting remark about him that Turpin made to a friend of the smaller man, Mosby sent Turpin a letter asking for an explanation—one of the rituals in the code of honor to which all Southern gentlemen of the time adhered. Turpin became enraged and declared that on their next meeting he would "eat him (Mosby) up raw!" Mosby decided that he had no choice but to absorb one of Turpin's notorious beatings, since he could not prevail in a fight with the much larger man and to run away would be dishonorable. The University of Virginia (also called U.Va. ... The Washington Literary Society and Debating Union (also known as the Washington Society or the Wash) is a literary and debating group at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. ...

On March 29 the two met, but before Mosby left for the boarding house at which the meeting was to take place, he decided to take a small 'pepperbox' pistol with him in the hope of dissuading Turpin from an attack. Unfortunately, when the two met and Mosby said, "I hear you have been making assertions ...," Turpin put his head down and charged. At that, Mosby pulled out the pistol and shot his adversary in the neck, after which the distraught 19-year-old went home to await his fate. Mosby was arrested and arraigned on two charges: unlawful shooting (a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $500 fine) and malicious shooting (a felony with a maximum sentence of 10 years in the penitentiary). After a trial that almost resulted in a hung jury, Mosby was convicted of the lesser offense, but received the maximum sentence—a year in the Charlottesville jail and a fine of five hundred dollars. Mosby later discovered that he had been expelled from the university before he was even brought to trial. There is nothing to suggest that Turpin, for all of his former violence, was likewise expelled for his notorious past. is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

While serving time, Mosby won the friendship of his prosecutor, attorney William J. Robertson. When he told Robertson of his desire to study law, Robertson offered his law library to the young man, and Mosby occupied himself with the study of law for the remaining time of his incarceration. Immediately after the sentence had been handed down, a petition was begun by nine of the twelve jurors asking that the young man be pardoned. It seemed that two of the jurors were against the boy; one hated students of the university and found Mosby's trial an opportunity to make a statement to that effect. The other juror hated Mosby's father, Alfred. In addition to this petition and others from the university, Mosby's parents submitted sworn statements by several physicians indicating the frail state of the youth's health and that the twelve-month sentence might well constitute a death sentence, since Mosby was beginning to sicken as the weather grew cold and he suffered in the small, unhealthy jail. On December 23, 1853, Mosby was pardoned by the governor, and in early 1854, his fine was rescinded. After studying for months in Robertson's law office, Mosby was admitted to the bar and established his own practice in nearby Howardsville, Albemarle County, Virginia. Around this time, Mosby, a Methodist, met Pauline Clarke, a Catholic visiting from out of town. The couple moved to Bristol, Virginia, (close to Clarke's hometown in Kentucky), and were married in a Nashville, hotel on December 30, 1857. is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Albemarle County is a county located in the the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... Motto: A Good Place to Live Nickname: The Birthplace of Country Music Map Political Statistics County Independent city Mayor To Be Determined Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 34. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... Nashville redirects here. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Civil War

Mosby during the American Civil War

Mosby spoke out against secession, but joined the Confederate army as a private at the outbreak of the war and initially served in William "Grumble" Jones's Washington Mounted Rifles. (Jones became a major and was instructed to form a more collective "Virginia Volunteers", which he created with two mounted companies and eight companies of infantry and riflemen including the Washington Mounted Rifles.) Mosby was upset with the Virginia Volunteers' lack of congeniality and he wrote to the governor requesting to be transferred. However, his request was not granted. The Virginia Volunteers participated in the First Battle of Bull Run. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 466 × 599 pixels Full resolution (2739 × 3520 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 466 × 599 pixels Full resolution (2739 × 3520 pixel, file size: 1. ... A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank (equivalent to Nato Rank Grades OR-1 to OR-3 depending on the force served in). ... Born on May 9, 1824 near the middle fork of the Holston River in Virginia William Grumble Jones was a cavalry officer who served in both the United States cavalry and later in the Confederate States cavalry. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Irvin McDowell Joseph E. Johnston P.G.T. Beauregard Strength 35,000 32,500 Casualties 2,896 (460 killed, 1,124 wounded, 1,312 captured/missing)[1] 1,982 (387 killed, 1,582 wounded, 13 missing)[1] For other uses...

After impressing J.E.B. Stuart with his scouting ability, Mosby was promoted to first lieutenant and assigned to Stuart's cavalry scouts, helping the general develop attack strategies. He was responsible for Stuart's "Ride around McClellan" during the Peninsula Campaign. Captured by Union cavalry, Mosby was imprisoned in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C., for ten days before being exchanged. Even as a prisoner, Mosby spied on his enemy. During a brief stopover at Fort Monroe, he detected an unusual buildup of shipping in Hampton Roads and further inquiries convinced him that they were carrying thousands of troops under Ambrose Burnside from North Carolina on their way to reinforce John Pope in the Northern Virginia Campaign. When he was released, Mosby walked to army headquarters outside Richmond and personally related his findings to Robert E. Lee.^[1] For the Watergate conspirator, see Jeb Stuart Magruder. ... First Lieutenant is a military rank. ... McClellan and Johnston of the Peninsula Campaign The Peninsula Campaign (also known as the Peninsular Campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. ... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ... A photo of the prison The prisons architectural diagram. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... Satellite Photo of Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, Virginia (also known as Fortress Monroe) is a military installation located at Old Point Comfort on the tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads on the Chesapeake Bay in eastern Virginia in the United States. ... This view from space in July 1996 shows portions of each of the Seven Cities of Hampton Roads which generally surround the harbor area of Hampton Roads, which framed by the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel visible to the east (right), the Virginia Peninsula subregion to the north (top), and the... Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator. ... Major General John Pope John Pope (March 18, 1822 – September 23, 1892) was a career Army officer and general in the American Civil War. ... Union soldiers at the Orange & Alexandria Railroad The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September, 1862, in the American Civil War. ... For other uses, see Robert E. Lee (disambiguation). ...

In January 1863, Stuart, with Lee's concurrence, authorized Mosby to form and take command of the 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry, Partisan Rangers, which later expanded into Mosby's Command, a regimental sized unit of partisan rangers operating in Northern Virginia. The Confederate government certified special rules to govern the conduct of partisan rangers, and these included sharing in the disposition of spoils of war. Having previously been promoted to Captain (March 15, 1863) and Major (March 26, 1863) in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States, he was soon promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on January 21, 1864 and eventually to Colonel, December 7, 1864. 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry The 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, also known as Mosbys Rangers or Mosbys Men, was a battalion of partisan cavalry in the Confederate army during the American Civil War. ...

Some of Mosby's men

Initially, Mosby's group consisted of Fount Beatie, Charles Buchanan, Christopher Gaul, William L. Hunter, Edward S. Hurst, Jasper and William Jones, William Keys, Benjamin Morgan, George Seibert, George M. Slater, Daniel L. Thomas, William Thomas Turner, Charles Wheatley, and John Wild. He and his men carried out the Greenback Raid and attacked Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's wagon train at Berryville. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. ... Berryville is an incorporated town in Clarke County, Virginia, United States. ...

Mosby is famous for carrying out a daring raid far inside Union lines at the Fairfax County courthouse in March 1863, where his men captured three high ranking Union officers, including Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Stoughton, whom Mosby allegedly found in bed, rousing him with a slap to his rear. Upon being so rudely awakened, the general shouted, "Do you know who I am?" Mosby quickly replied, "Do you know Mosby, general?" "Yes! Have you got the rascal?" "No but he has got you!" Fairfax County is a county in Northern Virginia, in the United States. ... Edwin H. Stoughton Edwin Henry Stoughton (June 23, 1838 - December 25, 1868), was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a lawyer. ...

The disruption of supply lines and the constant disappearance of couriers frustrated Union commanders to such a degree that Grant told Sheridan, "When any of Mosby's men are caught, hang them without trial." On September 22, 1864, Union forces that Mosby believed (not necessarily correctly) to be commanded by, and acting with the knowledge of, Union Brig. Gen. George A. Custer executed six of Mosby's men in Front Royal, Virginia; a seventh was executed on a subsequent occasion. William Thomas Overby was one of the men selected for execution on the hill in Front Royal. His captors offered to spare him if he would reveal Mosby's location, but he refused. According to reports at the time, his last words were, "Mosby will hang 10 of you for every one of us." After his death, a Union soldier pinned a piece of paper on his shirt that read: "Such is the fate of all of Mosby's gang." is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 - June 25, 1876) was an American cavalry commander in the Civil War and the Indian Wars who is best remembered for his defeat and death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn against a coalition of Native American tribes, led by... Front Royal is a town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. ...

After informing General Robert E. Lee and Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon of his intention to respond in kind, Mosby ordered seven Union prisoners, chosen by lot, to be executed in retaliation on November 6, 1864, at Rectortown, Virginia. The soldiers charged with carrying out the orders hanged three men; they shot two more in the head and left them for dead (remarkably, both survived); the other two condemned men managed to escape.^[2] On November 11, 1864, Mosby wrote to Sheridan, as the commander of Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley, requesting that both sides resume treating prisoners with humanity, and pointing out that he and his men had captured (and returned) far more of Sheridan's men than they had lost.^[3] The Union side complied and, with both camps treating prisoners as "prisoners of war" for the duration, there were no more executions. is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

Several weeks after Robert E. Lee's surrender, Mosby simply disbanded his rangers, refusing to surrender formally.

Postbellum

Mosby and his former lieutenant John S. Russell

After the war, Mosby became an active Republican, saying it was the best way to help the South. Mosby went on to become a campaign manager in Virginia for President Grant. In his autobiography, Grant stated, "Since the close of the war, I have come to know Colonel Mosby personally and somewhat intimately. He is a different man entirely from what I supposed. He is able and thoroughly honest and truthful." Mosby's friendship with Grant and his work with people whom many Southerners still perceived to be the enemy made Mosby a highly controversial figure in Virginia. He received death threats, his boyhood home was burnt down, and at least one attempt was made to assassinate him. The danger Mosby was in at home contributed to his appointment as U.S. consul to Hong Kong (1878–1885). He subsequently served as a lawyer in San Francisco with the Southern Pacific Railroad, an employee with the Department of the Interior, first enforcing federal fencing laws in Omaha, then evicting trespassers on government-owned land in Alabama, and assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice (1904–10). He died in Washington and is buried in Warrenton Cemetery. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 665 × 599 pixels Full resolution (809 × 729 pixel, file size: 188 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This original picture was presented March 1971 by Mrs. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 665 × 599 pixels Full resolution (809 × 729 pixel, file size: 188 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This original picture was presented March 1971 by Mrs. ... GOP redirects here. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Roman rank. ... San Francisco redirects here. ... The Southern Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting marks SP) was an American railroad. ... The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Cabinet department of the United States government that manages and conserves most federally owned land. ... Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, Washington, D.C. For animal rights group, see Justice Department (JD) The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the... Street scene, Warrenton, Virginia, ca. ...

Many years after the war, Mosby explained how, as someone who disapproved of slavery, he could have fought on the Confederate side. While he believed the South had seceded to protect slavery, he said, in a 1907 letter, that he had felt it was his patriotic duty to Virginia. "I am not ashamed of having fought on the side of slavery—a soldier fights for his country—right or wrong—he is not responsible for the political merits of the course he fights in ... The South was my country."^[4]

Monuments and memorials

• The area in Virginia, primarily around Centreville, in which Mosby conducted most of his behind-the-lines activities was called "Mosby's Confederacy", even in the Northern press. Such was the fame of this unit that after the war, reunions of "Mosby's Rangers" always drew many times the number of men who actually served in that unit.
• There are at least 35 monuments and markers in Northern Virginia dedicated to actions and events about Mosby's Rangers.
• John Mosby Highway, a section of US Route 50 between Dulles Airport and Winchester, Virginia, is named for Colonel John Singleton Mosby.
• Some sources give Mosby credit for coining the term "the Solid South." He used it in an 1876 letter to the New York Herald, supporting the candidacy of Republican Rutherford B. Hayes for president.
• Herman Melville's poem "The Scout Toward Aldie" is about the terror a Union brigade feels upon facing Mosby and his men.
• Virgil Carrington Jones published Ranger Mosby (1944) and Grey Ghosts and Rebel Raiders (1956). He also wrote the late-1950s television program, Ranger Mosby.
• Mosby Woods Elementary School, an elementary school in Fairfax County Public Schools, is named after Mosby.
• Lee McGiffin wrote a book in 1993 titled, "Iron Scouts of the Confederacy," which chronicles the true adventures of two teenage boys who enlisted with John Mosby's outfit of cavalry riders.
• The 1967 Disney television movie Willie and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders ^[5] starred Kurt Russell as a young Confederate, serving under Mosby. Actor Jack Ging portrayed John Mosby.^[6]
• The CBS Television series Gray Ghost aired during the 1957-58 television season, and starred Tod Andrews as Mosby.^[6]
• Loudoun County High School uses the name "Raiders" for its athletic teams. This is a reference to Mosby's Raiders.
• During his time in San Francisco, Mosby told his war stories to a young boy, George S. Patton, Jr., the future general.

Centreville is an unincorporated community in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. ... Aerial photo Washington Dulles International Airport (IATA airport code IAD, ICAO airport code KIAD) serves the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area. ... Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates: , Country State Founded 1802 Government  - Mayor Elizabeth Minor Area  - City  9. ... The phrase Solid South describes the electoral support of the Southern United States for Democratic Party candidates for almost a century after the Reconstruction era, 1876-1964. ... Rutherford Birchard Hayes (October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American politician, lawyer, military leader and the nineteenth President of the United States (1877–1881). ... Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. ... The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ... Mosby Woods Elementary School is in Fairfax County, Virginia. ... The Fairfax County Public Schools system (abbreviated FCPS) is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Disney may refer to: The Walt Disney Company and its divisions, including Walt Disney Pictures. ... Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... Loudoun County High School is a public secondary school in Leesburg, Virginia. ... George Patton redirects here. ...

References

• Boyle, William E., "Under the Black Flag: Execution and Retaliation in Mosby's Confederacy", Military Law Review, Vol. 144, p. 148 et seq. (Spring 1994).
• Jones, Virgil Carrington, Ranger Mosby, Howell Press, 1944, ISBN 0-939009-01-3.
• Longacre, Edward G., Lee's Cavalrymen: A History of the Mounted Forces of the Army of Northern Virginia, Stackpole Books, 2002, ISBN 0-8117-0898-5.
• McGiffin, Lee, Iron Scouts of the Confederacy, Christian Liberty Press, 1993, ISBN 1-930092-19-9.
• Ramage, James A., Gray Ghost: The Life of Colonel John Singleton Mosby, University Press of Kentucky, 1999, ISBN 0-8131-2135-3.
• Winik, Jay, April, 1865, HarperCollins Publishers, 2001, ISBN 0-06-093088-8.
• The Home of The American Civil War: John Mosby
• John Singleton Mosby "A Long And Stormy Career"

Notes

is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

External links

• The Memoirs of Colonel John S. Mosby
• John Singleton Mosby in Movies and TV
• Biography from Spartacus Educational
• University of Virginia: Col. John Mosby and the Southern code of honor
• Typed carbon copy letter, signed. John Mosby to Eppa Hunton. 1909 November 18.
• John Singleton Mosby Museum, Warrenton, VA