Revolvers in the hands of Mosby's men were as effective in surprise engagements as a whole line of light ordnance in the hands of the enemy. Mosby rose slowly, put his hand on his revolver and said, if the truce no longer protects us, we are at your mercy, but we shall protect ourselves. A ranger witness later said, had Mosby given the word, not one Yankee there wouldve lived. Instead, Mosby and his men rode away from the Shenandoah Valley without pursuit from the Federals. By the time of Mosby's death in 1916, the people of Virginia had softened their feelings towards him. A friendship based on mutual admiration rose up between the two, and Mosby became a Republican who worked to repair the fractured Union. Last edited on 11 December 2022, at 09:05, General Grant ordered several captured partisans hanged for being out of uniform, List of West Virginia Civil War Confederate units, "Prince George's County: Over 300 years of History: CIVIL WAR", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=43rd_Virginia_Cavalry_Battalion&oldid=1126802426. In stubborn fights I have seen the men on both sides sit on their restless horses and re-load their pistols under a galling fire. Mosby was against secession from the Union, however when the war began, he enlisted in the Confederate infantry as a private, having decided that he couldnt turn against his home state. An interview with historian Richard M. McMurry on his 2023 book, The Civil Wars of General Joseph E. Johnston, Confederate States Army., History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. . Although the war in the Valley was almost over, the soldiers did not know it. The only difference is in the danger . permission to raise a company in January 1863 under the Partisan Ranger Act of Although guerrillas, or partisan rangers, Mosbys men were subject to the Articles of War and Army Regulations within General Lees Army of Northern Virginia. He was a rather dour and taciturn individual, but Jeffries, whom he married on February 25, 1864, evidently coaxed a softer persona out of him. Kathleen Golden is an associate curator in the Division of Armed Forces History. Served during the war in the21st Virginia Infantry, 1st MarylandInfantry, and 1st Virginia Cavalry priorto joining Mosby in December 1863. And now at this moment of bidding you a final adieu accept the assurance of my unchanging confidence and regard. As troopers of Custers 5th Michigan Cavalry regiment began to torch the house on August 19th, three companies of Mosbys Rangers under Captain William Chapman attacked, Wipe them from the face of the earth! For the most part, Mosby and his forces operated out of an area that a horse could travel in a days hard riding, about 25 miles (40 km) in any direction from Middleburg. By the end of the war, its roster would number almost 2,000 men. The raid began as a complete success and the Rangers were having a bit of a frolic as they ransacked the train looking for loot. He formed a group of his best fighters around the gun and prepared to make what amounted to a last stand. Albumen silver print photograph by David Bendann. After the action he rode his horse some distance toward Fairfax, slid exhausted out of the saddle and fell asleep in a field, and on the following morning: . I never knew, nor did I ever hear, of any man in our Command wearing a blue uniform under any circumstances . Thompson, John D. They were married on June 28, 1864, the same day Sam gained the rank of captain and assumed command of Company E of the 43rd Battalion. . I crossed over with the prisoners among the first. The Partisan Rangers had a big hand in bringing the 'Gray Ghost' plenty of glory. His uniform andcrutchesare on display inThe Price of Freedom: Americans at War. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the 43rd Battalion's parent command, the Army of Northern Virginia. The first three requirements were obvious. He was fond of alcoholic spirits and knew that stockpiles of corn and grains probably indicated a still was nearby. Attorney for the Southern PacificRailroad in 1885-1901. The method of operation involved executing small raids with up to 150 men (but usually 20 to 80) behind Union lines by entering the objective area undetected, quickly executing their mission, and then rapidly withdrawing, dispersing the troops among local Southern sympathizers, and melting into the countryside. Mosby asked him, have you ever heard of Mosby? The general replied, Have you captured him? at which time Mosby said, I am Mosby, he said. The publication of Virgil Carrington Jones' bookRanger Mosbyin 1944 led to renewed interest in the dashing cavalryman; in the 1950s came the television showThe Gray Ghost, which aired in syndication from 1957-1958. Many local names were represented on the roster of the Chinquapin Rangers. Between 12th and 14th Streets Mosby twice offered his services to Early with little response. He wasknown to every man in the Command and to everybody in that country, as a fighter.. Conrad, W.G. Once he was released, Mosby walked to the army headquarters outside Richmond and personally related his findings to Robert E. Lee. After the war, Sam was the chaplain of the African-American 4th Immune Regiment in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, became the superintendent of public schools in Virginias Allegheny County, and served as the deputy U.S. marshal for the Western District of Virginia in 1909. After Federal victories at Third Winchester and Fishers Hill, rangers again entered the Valley seeking ways to disrupt Sheridans lines of communication. He rose through the officer ranks of Mosbys Rangers, eventually assuming the rank of lieutenant colonel and became second only to Mosby in command of the unit. awoke [and] saw my horse standing at my feet with his head bending over me. From Wikipedia: The Partisan Ranger Act allowed Davis to form a group of partisan rangers. Around thirty Federal troopers were killed or wounded, others captured. This temporary, and informal, command would evolve into the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalryknown better as Mosbys Rangers. On June 17, Mosby surrendered to Major General John Gregg in Lynchburg, Virginia. Grandson ofFounding Father George Mason. During the Civil War Mosby's Rangers were an irregular body of Confederate troops under the command of Col. John S. Mosby. Even then, the 5-foot-5 Cab was heavyset. Furious about what became known as the Berryville Wagon Train Raid, Sheridan dedicated an entire brigade to wagon train security, arming the soldiers with seven-shot Spencer repeating carbines. The young rangers certainly enjoyed these spoils of war, but calls for recrimination and Mosbys head grew louder in the North. Mosby created his force under the auspices of the Partisan Ranger Act of 1862 which sought to recruit irregulars for service into the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Enlisted as a private in the Washington(Va.) Mounted Rifles on May 14, 1861. By the summer of 1864, Mosby's battalion had grown to six cavalry companies and About four miles into the Valley west of Ashbys Gap, Russells men attacked approximately 100 riders of the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House to In a 1907 letter he wrote: I am not ashamed of having fought on the side of slaverya soldier fights for his countryright or wronghe is not responsible for the political merits of the course he fights in and he added,The South was my country.. Postwar, he was treasurer ofthe Washington Monument Society anda member of the Columbia HistoricalSociety. Gen. J.E.B. The Mosby's Rangers had secured $168,000 from two paymasters of Gen. P.H. Federal casualties were reportedly 42 while the Confederates lost five. Mosby usually conducted his operations with as few as twenty or as many as one or two hundred, but he . He died in 1927 in Germany. He was just in front of mehe was generally in front of everybody in a fightat the gate. We both did this a good many times but, I believe, without bragging at the expense of truth, that we saw the back seams of the enemy's jackets oftener than they saw ours. . On November 7th, 1864, in Beemers Woods just west of Berryville, rangers hanged three of the Federals, shot two, while the other two escaped in the night. In 1862, still not comfortable remaining in one place for too long, Hoskins left Canada for the United States and settled in Baltimore, Md. In a fight near Front Royal, Virginia, on September 22nd, rangers under Captain Sam Chapman mistakenly attacked a larger force of Federal cavalry escorting an ambulance convoy. over the country, a band of thieves, stealing, pillaging, plundering and doing every manner of mischief and crime. Estimates vary, but at least twenty Federals were killed and ten captured. The wound, though serious and painful, had a positive aspect. Robinson, Vincent But he often related the circumstance after the war. He survived but endured a long and difficult recovery that kept him from returning to Mosbys command. That was important because Mosby, essentially a teetotaler, despised the use of needed forage for the distilling of alcoholhe believed it served a better purpose by feeding horses or soldiers. DANIEL MURRAY MASON,4th Corporal, Company E. Born on December 13, 1843. Once the immediate danger posed by the Union response had decreased slightly, Mosby stopped his men near Grapewood Farm (near todays Vint Hill Farms area in Warrenton). An adolescent boy released from school for the day in Upperville just as Mosby's men were chasing Union troopers out of town "became so excited that he mounted a pony and joined in the chase with no weapon except his textbook. Served in the U.S.Department of Interior and Departmentof Justice. In1904, he was recorded residing at theMaryland Line Confederate SoldiersHome in Baltimore. Gen. Edwin H. Stoughton who was captured in bed. The battalion was formed in June, 1863, with five companies, later increased to eight. Present on June - Dec. 1863 muster roll. . McKay, Thomas B. Sam provided Mosby with an indelible memory that the Gray Ghost shared in his Mosbys War Reminiscences and Stuarts Cavalry Campaigns: There was with me that day a young artillery officerSamuel F. Chapmanwho at the first call of his State to arms had quit the study of divinity and become, like Stonewall Jackson, a sort of military Calvin, singing the psalms of David as he marched into battle. During the Mount Zion Church fight on July 6, 1864, guerrilla John Alexander "noticed in one of the charges that his mount was unaccountable dull, and in spite of the most vigorous spurring fell into the wake of the pursuit." He was still in search of adventure, however, and traveled to Italy in 1860 to join the forces of Giuseppe Garibaldi in the struggle to unify Italy. Ignoring Earlys indifference, Mosby decided to stretch his resources to defend the Valley anyway, to vex and embarrass Sheridan andto prevent his advance into the interior of the state. Mosby was acting on his own; his best friend and mentor, Jeb Stuart, had been killed in action on May 12th, 1864. R. Roland Sergeant. One of the first to join Mosby after he began operations in Northern Virginia was William Hibbs. Engraving reproduced from Major John Scott. Mosbys men conducted nearly 30 raids in 1863-64 and were very successful at putting a thorn in the enemys backside as well as scouting and foraging for the army. Trenary, James F. The vision we have cherished for a free and independent country has vanished and that country is now the spoil of a conqueror. Sam was grievously wounded in the Grapewood Farm Fight in Auburn, Fauquier County, (where Hoskins had been mortally wounded) and paroled on the field by the victorious Union cavalry. He died January 10, 1898. Stuart. The 43rd Battalion were partisans who melted into the civilian population when not on a raid, and at one point General Grant ordered several captured partisans hanged for being out of uniform. Mosby later wrote that Stuart, made me all that I was in the warthe best friend I ever had.. My Three Favorite (but obscure) War Movies, Innovation on Morse Code for the US Military, Lone Survivor uncovered: The ambush at Sawtalo Sar, Adam Brown: A SEALs Life of Courage and Redemption, Complete List: Ticonderoga-class Missile Cruisers To Retire By 2027, Nuclear Close Calls That Nearly Caused World War III, Russian Sausage Millionaire and Putin Critic Falls to His Death in India, Deadly Russian Rifle Brigade Wiped Out During War in Ukraine. Taking along a small contingent of Rangers, Mosby decided to travel south in hopes of linking up with General Joseph Johnston and continue fighting. We did more than any other body of men to give the Colt pistol its great reputation, wrote Mosby. There were at least four father/son teams in the 43rd Battalion and a very large assortment of brother and cousin combinations. On the 150th anniversary of the fall of the city of Atlanta to the Union Army's Division of the Mississippi during the Civil War, we're "Um, what is that? Promoted to 1st lieutenant on April2, 1862, and served as adjutant of the1st Virginia Cavalry. The 43rd Virginia Cavalry Battalion, also known as Mosby's Rangers, Mosby's Raiders, or Mosby's Men, was a battalion of partisan cavalry in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.Noted for their lightning strike raids on Union targets and their ability to consistently elude pursuit, the Rangers disrupted Union communications and supply lines. Even at that supreme moment in my life, when I had just stood on the brink of ruin and had barely escaped, I could not restrain a propensity to laugh. Conrad, Charles I disband your organization in preference to surrendering it to our enemies. . Washington, D.C. Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use). They hauled in 1,600 horses and mules, 230 beef cattle, 85 wagons and ambulances, and 1,200 captured, killed or wounded, including Union Brig. 6-10-63 in the 43rd Va. Cav. Federal Brig. Late in the month, with Stuarts blessing, Mosby gathered experienced horsemen from the Middleburg, VA area to form Mosbys Rangers. Sells, James If he has not yet won a Brigadier's wreath upon his collar, the people have placed upon his brow one far more enduring. With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! Ulysses S. Grant but not before it had attempted to negotiate surrender with https://www.historynet.com/mosbys-rangers-legends-on-horseback/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot. All Rights Reserved. Box 378 Red Hook, New York 12571 United States. Born in 1833 in Bishops Taskbrook, Warwickshire, Hoskins joined the British Armys 44th Foot as a lieutenant and in 1854 served in the Crimean War, where he took part in some of the fiercest fighting. During the ensuing melee, Massow was riding down on the Union commander, Captain James Sewell Reed, with his saber poised for a lethal strike. mere boys, unmarried and hence without fear or anxiety for wives or children. Died July 8, 1869. When other correspondents were captured in the Rangers' raids, they were treated well and given liquor and cigars. Facing off in a farm field owned by the Gold family about one-half mile south of Berryville, Chapman split his companies into two attack wings and charged, yelling and screaming. After less than a month, Mosbys combat tactics in the Valley were established. The young family moved into a two-story brick house on Harrison . The 43rd Battalion was formed on June 10, 1863 at Rector's Cross Roads, near Rectortown, Virginia, when John S. Mosby formed Company A of the battalion. When Mosby became aware of the location of a still, he had it destroyed. After the war, William Chapman became an Internal Revenue Service agenta Revenuer who ferreted out hidden, illegal alcohol stills. The roster of the 43rd Virginia Cavalry Battalion, better known as Mosby's Rangers, eventually over the course of the last two years of the war contained over 1900 men, although at no time were there more than a fraction available for action. Known as the Gray Ghost, Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby, along with his partisan rangers, terrorized Federal units in northern Virginia from late 1862 until the end of the Civil War in 1865. The partisan rangers job would gather intelligence and take supplies away from the Union army. This sort of shooting left the enemy with a good many empty saddles after an engagement. Mosby got his first chance to attack Sheridan early on August 13th, 1864. Only three men in the Confederate army knew what I was doing or intended to do; they were Lee and Stuart and myself. He also said that after he got to the burning cars he made up for lost time. 3. The total tally for the 43rd Battalion by October 1864 was 1,600 horses and mules, 230 beef cattle, 85 wagons and ambulances, and 1,200 captured, killed or wounded, including Union Brig. Died May 30, 1916. Mosby had agreed to a truce two days before, but not surrender. This time, Cab angered Mosby. Constitution Avenue, NW After the disastrous Union defeat at Fredericksburg in December 1862, Stuart and Mosby led several raids behind enemy lines in Prince William, Fairfax and Loudoun counties, to disrupt the Union communications, harass the enemy and gather supplies for their own forces. After a brief stay, he returned to England in 1861. "[7], The unit also utilized child soldiers. Relevance Mosbys Partisan Ranger career began in late December 1862 when his commander and mentor, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. In 1906, after nearly 54 years of military service, he retired. By the time Mosby chose to disband rather than surrender the 43rd on April 21, 1865, nearly 800 men had been part of this elite unit. According to James J. Williamsons Mosbys Rangers: A Record of the Operations of the Forty-third Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, From Its Organization to the Surrender: We then pushed on up the river to reach the ford at Nolands Ferry [sic] before another detachment of Yankees, who were coming down the river, should get there. At wars end, when General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox, Mosbys men never surrendered, they disbanded and returned to their farms. All six victims were either shot or hanged and three were buried in Front Royals Prospect Hill Cemetery. On November 26, 1863, the Army of the Potomac departed Culpeper County to initiate the Mine Run Campaign. According to Chapmans obituary in the Greensboro (N.C.) Daily, published September 7, 1929: General [Winfield Scott] Hancock, to whom Colonel Chapman surrendered his command, was so impressed by the spirit of the young Confederate that he wrote in his report that in healing the wounds of war and reuniting the country This young man will be valuable to the government. The prophecy was fulfilled in a life of devotion to the interests of the south without bitterness toward his former foes. Mosby's Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Partisan Rangers) Overview: Mosby's Cavalry Regiment, formerly the 43rd Battalion, was organized in December, 1864. consistently elude pursuit, the Rangers disrupted Union communications and Hoskins was quite conspicuous during those engagements, clad in the scarlet uniform of his British Army days and wielding a saber. battalion never formally surrendered, but was disbanded on April 21, 1865, after Servedin the Fauquier (Va.) Artillery beforetransferring to Mosbys Rangers. Hibbs unique ability to find forage paid personal dividends, too. Mosby was a small town lawyer who joined the Confederate Army when his home state of Virginia seceded from the Union, and who became GeneralJeb Stuart'sbest scout, earning himself both a command and the nickname "Gray Ghost." After an association of more than two eventful years I part from you with a just pride in the fame of your achievements and grateful recollections of your generous kindness to myself. They burned 'em. Figgins, Alphaeus 6. CHARLES EDWARDGROGAN,1st Lieutenant, Company D. Author McHenry Howard referred toGrogan as having as little sense of fearand danger as any man he had everseen. Captured at Gettysburg whileserving on Maj. Gen. Isaac Trimblesstaff and sent to the Johnsons IslandPOW camp in Ohio. I am no longer your commander. Lawyer. As you succeed in your operations, your notoriety grows and the Union devotes additional troops to stopping you. Live a Nautical Lifestyle. The next day, April 21st, 1865, Colonel John Singleton Mosby disbanded his ranger battalion, but never officially surrendered. But the War Department simply reduced the authorized partisan commands to two, Mosby's and John H. McNeill's. Many years past military age, he rode side by side with his own sons, in the foremost ranks, and his poor maimed and scarred body attested to his familiarity with hot battle., Hibbs did revel in the name, and his tombstone in Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery in Aldie, Va., is clearly marked MAJOR Wm. He was now reviled in much of his home state of Virginia for his friendship with Grant. Bottom: Mosby Heritage Area sign on Route 211 in Fauquier County, Virginia. At the war's end, Mosby was a fugitive with a bounty on his head but received a pardon from President Ulysses S. Grant. Cab had earned Hibbs ire, but his playful exuberance created an even bigger quandary for himself on October 14, 1864, during the famed Greenback Raid, when Mosbys men derailed a train on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Jefferson County, W.Va., seizing $172,000 in paper currency from two Union army paymasters. But if you want to see some really cool objects used by Colonel Mosby, come to the National Museum of American History! THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ . Sort By: Mosby proved his worth as a scout and intelligence collector during the Peninsula campaign in June 1862. Since the close of the war, I have come to know Colonel Mosby personally and somewhat intimately. Death had no terror for him. Mosby supported Grant, his former foe, in the presidential election and was his campaign manager in the state of Virginia. Hoskins died on June 2, 1863, and was buried in the Greenwich Presbyterian Churchs cemetery. 2, Chapman. He is a different man entirely from what I supposed. Compton, Z.T. Mosby was promoted to colonel dating from December 7th. He soon came back and said it was not. [24], Virginian newspapers were eager to carry articles about Mosby's Rangers. Hibbs feats link him with another Ranger, Henry Cabell Maddux, born on July 17, 1848, and nicknamed Cab. On February 20, 1864, still just 15 years old, Maddux was leaving a boys academy in Upperville, Va., his school books in his hand, when a group of Union cavalrymen came galloping through town. . This proved useful to Confederate military raiding. They received mixed signals from General Winfield Scott Hancocks staff and rather than risk it, they instead just disbanded the unit. Years afterwards Cab confessed why he gave the false alarm. Stuart for the Confederacy during the Fredericksburg and Gettysburg campaigns and started his own cavalry unit, the 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, which became known as Mosbys Rangers, or Mosbys Raiders. I had no faith in the saber as a weapon. He was named the Consul to Hong Kong, a position he held for eight years and served in the Justice Department as well as a lawyer for the railroad. . After escaping fromJohnsons Island, he joined Mosbyscommand. P.O. Even though she has lived in the state of Virginia longer than she lived in New Jersey, she still gets called a Yankeeaffectionately, she thinks. At least partially in retaliation for the recent ranger executions in Front Royal, Mosby, through a lottery process, identified seven Federal prisoners to be hanged. On November 18th, near Kabletown, West Virginia, about eight miles north of Berryville, Richards and his rangers trapped Blazers troopers, charged, and killed, captured, and scattered the Federals. Not only him but his wife and family as well. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet.
