HISTORY’S CURRENTS: JOHN S. MOSBY

By John Bailey

John S. Mosby was commander of the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Partisan Rangers, an independent Confederate cavalry unit which operated behind Union lines in Northern Virginia. Mosby’s unorthodox hit and run tactics tied down at least 100,000 enemy troops to guard supply lines and in the opinion of General Grant lengthened the Civil War by three months.

John Mosby was born on December 6, 1833 in Powhatan County, Virginia about forty miles west of Richmond. He was a small frail child and thus was bullied by other boys his age. He said that he never ran from a fight, but never won a fight either. In 1849 Mosby entered the University of Virginia in classical studies. He excelled in Latin, Greek and literature but struggled in mathematics. During his third year Mosby got into a fight with a local bully whom he shot in the neck with a pepperbox revolver. He was arrested and convicted of unlawful shooting for which he was fined $500 and sentenced to a year in jail. While in jail Mosby took up studying the law and due to irregularities in the jury as well as his poor health, he was released after eight months. He was later pardoned and the fine was rescinded.

After he was released from jail, Mosby continued his law studies and was admitted to the bar. He opened a law practice in Howardsville, Virginia. Shortly after opening his practice, Mosby met Pauline Clark who was visiting from Kentucky. They were married in Nashville on December 30, 1857 and settled in Bristol, Virginia.

Prior to the Civil War Mosby was very vocal in his opposition to secession but when war broke out he enlisted in the army as a private. He later said that he thought that the war was fought for the preservation of slavery of which he disapproved but that a soldier should fight for his country. Mosby said that the South was his country.

Mosby’s unit was sent to Richmond where they were issued weapons and uniforms. The uniforms were the same as clothes worn in the penitentiaries and the men piled them in front of their commander’s tent, refusing to wear them. Only two men wore them, Mosby and one other. Mosby later said that in three months the others would have been glad to have the prisoner’s clothing.

Mosby’s unit participated at First Manassas, the first major battle of the war. Soon after the battle Mosby wrote to his wife telling her of his peril during the fight. Actually the men were held in reserve and never fired a shot.

Following the battle, Mosby became a cavalry scout in Northern Virginia and was soon recognized for his courage and quick thinking. By late winter of 1862, Mosby was promoted to First Lieutenant and made regimental adjutant.

In the winter session of the Confederate congress a law was passed dictating that soldiers would elect their own officers, up to the rank of regimental commander. Mosby’s commander, Colonel Jones was replaced by Fitzhugh Lee, a nephew of Robert E. Lee. Lee and Mosby did not get along so Mosby offered his resignation which was accepted and Mosby was again a private. J.E.B. Stuart, the cavalry commander had Mosby transferred to his staff as a courier, although he used Mosby as a scout rather than as a courier. During the Federal campaign to capture Richmond in the spring of 1862, Mosby found that the enemy flanks were guarded only by cavalry. He reported this to Stuart who gained permission to conduct a raid behind Union lines. With a force of 1200 riders and 2 pieces of artillery Stuart rode around the opposing army capturing 166 prisoners, 260 horses and mules, disrupted enemy supply lines and gathered invaluable intelligence. This was accomplished with the loss of only one man. Robert E. Lee publicly praised Mosby in his report of the affair.

Following the Seven Days Battles, Mosby was captured and taken to Washington for ten days until he was exchanged. While being returned south onboard a ship Mosby saw several ships loaded with Union troops being transferred from North Carolina. By questioning people on the ship Mosby ascertained that the troops were being moved north to reinforce General Pope in Northern Virginia rather than to add to the army on the peninsula which had assaulted Richmond. Upon his release he went straight to Lee’s headquarters where he gained access to the General. He gave Lee the information and upon reminding Lee of his accomplishments in Stuart’s ride around the Union Army his information was taken seriously. Based on Mosby’s report Lee ordered the bulk of his army north resulting in the Confederate victory at 2nd Manassas. Mosby’s star was rising.

In early 1863 Mosby was given command of a battalion of partisan rangers and ordered to operate behind enemy lines in Northern Virginia. He became so effective in disrupting the invading army that the area between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Washington D.C. became known as “Mosby’s Confederacy.” He was promoted to Captain on March 15th and to Major on March 23rd. Beginning with a band of 15 men Mosby was soon disrupting enemy operations by capturing soldiers and horses at night and destroying supplies. He also captured a group of Union soldiers who had been systematically robbing homes. Following an operation the rangers would scatter with orders to meet again at a predetermined place. Some would lodge in a friendly home while others preferred to camp outdoors. One soldier slept in graveyards because he found them to be quiet and the ground was soft.

The Union cavalry in the area was commanded by a British soldier of fortune named Percy Wyndham. He took Mosby’s operations as a personal insult and publicly vowed to destroy the Confederates. In response, Mosby determined to capture Wyndham and on a rainy night in March Mosby with a force of 29 men infiltrated Wyndham’s headquarters in the town of Fairfax. Wyndham was not in town but his second in command, General Stoughton was in charge. With five rangers Mosby entered headquarters, rudely awakened Stoughton by raising his nightshirt, and slapping his bare buttocks. When Stoughton demanded to know the meaning of the outrage he was asked if he had heard of Mosby. When he said, “Yes, have you caught him?” Mosby stuck the barrel of a pistol in his nose and said, “No, but he’s caught you.” Mosby escaped without firing a shot taking with him one general, two captains, 30 privates and 58 horses. Two days later Mosby turned Stoughton over to Fitzhugh Lee. Stoughton and Lee had been West Point classmates and Lee cordially welcomed his old friend dismissing Mosby without comment. General Stuart as well as the rest of the South was elated with Mosby’s exploit. Lincoln’s comment was that he could always make more generals but good horses were harder to come by.

Mosby’s men were a loosely organized group, coming together at a predetermined time and place, conducting a raid and then scattering throughout Northern Virginia. They slept in private homes, barns, haystacks and camped in the woods. One Ranger preferred graveyards because they were quiet and the ground was soft.

Between raids, Mosby was constantly on the move scouting enemy positions. Due to the sensational articles in both the Northern and Southern newspapers most people pictured him as a giant of a man so no one recognized the small stoop-shouldered man as the commander of the Rangers. One rainy night Mosby, accompanied by two prisoners held at gunpoint, fell in with a troop of Union cavalry for several miles and then turned off on a side road. On another occasion it was reported that Mosby was in Culpepper, Virginia and enemy cavalry came into town looking for him. A man sitting in a barber chair informed the Union commander that Mosby had left the town not ten minutes before and told which way he went. After the cavalry galloped away in pursuit, Mosby got out of the barber chair and rode out of town in the opposite direction.

By spring of 1863 Mosby’s command had grown to about 55 men. Many were transfers from other cavalry units while others were local men whose knowledge of the terrain proved to be invaluable. There was also a European adventurer, a soldier of fortune and a Union sergeant who deserted to Mosby because he enlisted to save the Union, not to end slavery. The sergeant later became a lieutenant in the Rangers known as “Big Yankee” Ames. Many were attracted to Mosby because of the opportunity for plunder. According to the Partisan Ranger Act, regularly enlisted men were allowed to keep whatever valuables they captured. While some independent units were little better than thieves, Mosby did not tolerate pillaging from private citizens. Deserters, thieves and cowards were quickly weeded out.

Throughout the spring Mosby was able to raid throughout Northern Virginia capturing men and material as well as disrupting communications. While most of the citizens were loyal to the South, there were many Unionists who were quick to point out Mosby’s activities to the Northern troops leading to near disaster. During one raid Mosby was at first victorious but was soon surprised by a large force of Union cavalry and was routed leaving his prisoners as well as many of his own dead and wounded men behind. At a place called Miskell’s Farm Mosby’s command numbering about 70 soldiers was surprised by a force of over twice their number. Mosby was able to rally his men into a savage counterattack and routed the Union cavalry capturing 85 men. While Mosby’s exploits were impressive his real value lay in scouting the enemy’s movements and the diversion of large bodies of Union troops from the battlefront.

Mosby’s rangers were attached to Stuart’s cavalry as scouts for Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863. While Stuart’s performance was marginal at best Mosby was cited for his outstanding performance.

Throughout the rest of the war Mosby’s men became adept at destroying railroads forcing the Union to construct blockhouses within sight of each other all along the tracks. Mosby even used a cannon to attack the trains and on one occasion stopped a train carrying General Ulysses Grant. The Rangers were driven away before they discovered their prize.

In the spring of 1864 General Custer hanged ten of Mosby’s men as spies, even though they were in uniform when captured. Mosby hanged five of Custer’s men in retaliation and the hangings ceased. Ten Union prisoners were chosen by lot for hanging Mosby excused one prisoner because he was a child while three others escaped. One was released by some of Mosby’s Rangers because he was a Mason. When Mosby heard of this he was enraged, informing his men that his unit was a military command, not a fraternity house.

As Lee’s army was forced further south toward Richmond, Mosby’s area of operation grew in size. In early1865 Mosby had eight companies under his command. His unit was scattered from east of Fredericksburg, north to the outskirts of Washington and west to the Shenandoah Valley.

By the war’s end, most of Mosby’s command just dissolved and went home. At least one Ranger committed suicide by single handedly attacking a large body of Union troops. Because one former Ranger was implicated in the Lincoln assassination Mosby’s Rangers were specifically excluded from being paroled. On April 21st Mosby called his men together at a place called Salem Crossroads and disbanded the battalion. Mosby was declared an outlaw and a $5000 reward was placed on his head.

Mosby was forced to hide in the mountains of his native in southwestern Virginia while his brother negotiated his surrender. Under the impression that he could turn himself in, Mosby rode into Lynchburg, Virginia and presented himself for surrender. The provost marshal knew nothing of the arrangements and promptly ordered Mosby’s arrest. Mosby drew his pistols and informed his would-be captors that all 12 cylinders would be empty when they took him. He backed from the room and rode from the town.

Upon hearing of this incident, General Grant ordered that Mosby be allowed to surrender.
After being paroled, Mosby opened a law practice in Warrenton and soon moved his family there. He was doing quite well, soon expanding his practice to real estate. He even received a $10,000 fee for negotiating a contract to rebuild a railroad that he and his men destroyed.

While the war was over, Mosby was often arrested by his former enemies, partly due to old grudges held against him and partly because Mosby was extremely difficult to get along with. Mosby’s wife finally went to General Grant and got a letter granting Mosby his full civil rights.

Following the death of his wife, Mosby traveled the world becoming a railroad attorney and at one time was appointed ambassador to Hong Kong. Throughout the remainder of his life he was always accompanied by one or more former Rangers. While living in California Mosby was a frequent guest of the Patton family and often was seen drawing maps and diagrams in the dirt for young George Patton.

In his final years Mosby managed to alienate nearly everyone and was constantly involved in controversy. One of his sons commented that the war ruined a good father. Mosby often regretted that he had not died in the war. To his credit, Mosby always looked after his men, helping them in any way he could.

Mosby died on May 30, 1916, and was given a hero’s funeral in Warrenton, Virginia.

History’s currents or current history? You decide!

ED. NOTE: Published in two parts in the paper edition of the Clarion Issue.