After the wagons were plundered, Mosby ordered them burned. . During the Civil War, "Mosby's Confederacy" encompassed 1,800 square miles, including today's Fauquier, Loudon, Clarke, Warren, and Prince William counties. Federal Brig. Northern newspapers and Unionists referred to them as guerrillas, a term of opprobrium at the time. He was soon granted a commission as a Major and assembled two companies of cavalry and eight of infantry called the Virginia Volunteers and took part in the first Battle of Bull Run. 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. Sheridan also acquired the scouting and counterguerrilla services of the 100-man Blazers Scouts under the command of Captain Richard Blazer. They hold shooting contests, and trade tobacco for coffee. Mosby supported Grant, his former foe, in the presidential election and was his campaign manager in the state of Virginia. Mosby proved his worth as a scout and intelligence collector during the Peninsula campaign in June 1862. He was admitted to the insaneward at Bellevue Hospital in August. On June 17, Mosby surrendered to Major General John Gregg in Lynchburg, Virginia. Cab was quick-witted, but, seeing how angry I was, said nothing then. While there, he wrote a 24-page pamphlet titled A Few Thoughts on Volunteering that espoused the virtues of a volunteer army. In the Division of Armed Forces History here at the National Museum of American History, the collections related to John S. Mosby are my favorite. From a few troopers the rangers gradually grew to eight . HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Classification. The members of the battalion were referred to as soldiers, partisans, rangers, and guerillas. Another Ranger, Englishman Bradford Smith Hoskins, was not as lucky. But if you want to see some really cool objects used by Colonel Mosby, come to the National Museum of American History! While recuperating, Sam fell in love with his future wife, Eliza Rebecca Miss Beck Elgin. You can also visit theStuart-Mosby Civil War Cavalry Museumin Centreville, Virginia. 2nd Edition. He was a postwar merchant inboth Baltimore and Indianapolis. If attacked themselves, the guerrillas would sometimes ride away a brief distance and then round on their attackers and charge back into them, panicking and scattering them in the melee. Their area of operations in Northern Virginia ranged from the Shenandoah Valley to the west, along the Potomac River all the way to Alexandria in the east, bounded on the south by the Rappahannock River, with most of his operations centered in or near Fauquier and Loudoun counties. Once he was released, Mosby walked to the army headquarters outside Richmond and personally related his findings to Robert E. Lee. Although most of the Federals had passed, the wagon train of the Union Cavalry Corps was vulnerable. Noted for their lightning strike raids on Union targets and their ability to consistently elude pursuit, the Rangers disrupted Union communications and supply lines. Lawrence, Orde Wingate, David Stirling, and Aaron Bank. How long he had stood there in mute appeal for sympathy and relief, I do not know--perhaps all night. Without discipline, order or organization, they roam . In 1899, he was appointed general of the army. Rosser agreed with the Union that Mosby's men were not soldiers but glorified thievesand bad for morale, because his regular troops were jealous: [Mosby's men] are a nuisance and an evil to the service. 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. Promoted to 1st lieutenant on April2, 1862, and served as adjutant of the1st Virginia Cavalry. Many farms in Northern Virginia had their own private, primitive distilleries. With James MacArthur, Nick Adams, Jack Ging, Kurt Russell. 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." Turmoil in Richmond: Joe Johnston, Jefferson Davis Command Alliance Was Doomed From the Start. Always attack and use terror to gain an advantage, always act on the offensive, said Mosby. One survivor lived to tell the gory tale. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Among the Battalion's youngest members was a 16-year-old Scottsville boy named Henry G. Harris. Buried inMount Hope Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. With no formal surrender, however, Union Major General Winfield S. Hancock offered a reward of $2,000 for Mosby's capture, later raised to $5,000. DANIEL MURRAY MASON,4th Corporal, Company E. Born on December 13, 1843. From this modest beginning whould grow on of the best know of all ranger commands. A New Jersey Yankee now living in the area of Virginia known as "Mosby's Confederacy" during the Civil War, curator Kathleen Golden shares what she finds so interesting about John S. Mosbythe ranger, fugitive, friend of President Ulysses S. Grant, diplomat, and inspiration for a 1950s television showon his 180th birthday. Following General Robert E. Lees surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, Mosby tasked William with leading a negotiating team to meet with Union authorities about specific terms for surrender. Hockman, Noah kealbo54 Sergeant Major. Noted 3. The second purpose was to promote the use of guerrilla warfare to help protect areas where there was little protection from the army. My poor motherJesus have mercy on her soul! Upon seeing Atkins body, Mosby reportedly said, There lies a man I would not have given for a whole regiment of Yankees.. Uncle offuture Princeton football hero JohnPrentiss Poe Jr. Died October 11, 1891, in New York. Died January 1, 1922. Ten days later, April 9th, Confederate commanding General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia. Gen. Edwin H. Stoughton who was captured in bed. I made him a captain for it. That was [our] final ride together. A young Private in the Confederate Army, Willie Prentiss, is assigned to guard a remote river outpost during the American Civil War. 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. They received mixed signals from General Winfield Scott Hancocks staff and rather than risk it, they instead just disbanded the unit. On August 7th, 1864, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan took command of the United States Army of the Shenandoah. Triplett, T.D. There were at least four father/son teams in the 43rd Battalion and a very large assortment of brother and cousin combinations. But the War Department simply reduced the authorized partisan commands to two, Mosby's and John H. McNeill's. In the ensuing firefight the Federals captured six rangers, but a Union officer was supposedly shot while down and trying to surrender. When Lee surrendered in 1865, Mosby and his men were leery of surrendering, fearing that the Union would hang them as spies. It also had at least three foreigners within its ranks. Mosby was promoted to colonel dating from December 7th. William Henry Chapman surpassed his older brothers wartime career. Furious over Major Mosby's successful raids behind Union lines, General Stoughton orders Captain Morrow to locate the source of the Confederates' information. . Mosby's Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Partisan Rangers) (Confederate) Formerly the 43rd Battalion, was organized in December, 1864. The Partisan Ranger Act resulted in many Southerners believing that any of form of guerrilla warfare was now being approved. A constant irritant for Mosby over the past three months had been Blazers Scouts, the 100-man counterguerrilla force acquired by Sheridan in August. Called the Vineyard Fight, this action prevented the 14th Pennsylvania from reinforcing Sheridans punitive cavalry campaign across the Blue Ridge. Paroledin Winchester, Va., on April 22, 1865. Whether it was the family road trip toGettysburgor thestampalbum I had featuring all of the generals that got me hooked, I now consider myself very lucky to work among Civil War objects. I immediately gave orders to mount quickly and form, and one was sent to find out if the report was true. [18] Mosby tried out some small field artillery pieces, including a 12-pound (5.4kg) brass Napoleon,[19] but artillery proved to be too cumbersome for his fast hit-and-run tactics and not especially helpful in action. supply lines. . one artillery company, comprising about 400 men. Mosby experimented with some small artillery pieces but quickly stopped their use as they were of little practicality for the type of lightning fast hit and run raids his forces were conducting. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. Company A - Organized June 10, 1863, at Rector's Cross Roads, Company B - Organized October 1, 1863, at, Company C - Organized December 7, 1863, at Rectortown, Virginia, Company D - Organized March 28, 1864, at Paris, Virginia, Artillery Company - Organized July 4, 1864, at Paris, Virginia, Company F - Organized September 13, 1864, at Piedmont Station near, Company G - A reorganization of the Artillery Company, November 28, 1864, at Salem in, This page was last edited on 11 December 2022, at 09:05. The men were devoted to their horses. He was going home to meet the Savior whom he served and to meet the beloved wife whose presence could not but enhance the glory of heaven itself for him. 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. Southerners, however, viewed this as a betrayal to their cause, and Mosby was shunned by the people who formerly revered him. A lieutenant in the Prussian army, he had come in search of adventure with Confederate forces. The rangers seized over 200 Federal soldiers, 500 horses and mules, 200 cattle, and about 100 wagons. Served as bailiff at the CourtHouse in Baltimore for more than 20years. [25] In discussing as Mosby's "greatest piece of annoyance", the Greenback Raid in which Mosby's men derailed a train and captured a $170,000 payroll from the paymasters of Philip Sheridan's army (each of the 80 raiders received a $2100 share, though Mosby himself took nothing), Munson says that due to Mosby's comparatively tiny force, [i]t was necessary for the Federal troops to guard every wagon train, railroad bridge and camp with enough active and efficient men to prevent Mosby from using his three hundred raiders in one of his destructive rushes at any hour of the day or night. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Small, harassing raids continued in the Valley until October 14th when Mosby and approximately eighty rangers conducted the Greenback Raid near Duffields Station, about seven miles west of Harpers Ferry. Sells, James 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. Gen. J.E.B. A cursory review of unit rosters from both sides during the war reveals many family connections. Joined Nov 29, 2012. Lawyer. 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. Henry's parents, Miletus and Frances Harris, had moved to Scottsville from Louisa County about 1837. The battalion was formed in June, 1863, with five companies, later increased to eight. With intelligence from his scouts, Mosby gathered about 300 rangers and rode into the Shenandoah Valley to ambush Sheridans column. After February 1864, the Confederate Congress revoked the authority of all partisan units, except for two, one of which was the 43rd Battalion, the other being McNeill's Rangers. The field officers were Colonel John S. Mosby, Lieutenant Colonel William H. Chapman, and Major A.E . The battalion never formally surrendered, but was disbanded on April 21, 1865, after Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House to Ulysses S. Grant but not before it had attempted to negotiate surrender with Major General Winfield S. Hancock in Millwood, Virginia. Both operated in Virginia and operated under normal military discipline. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the 43rd Battalion's parent command, the Army of Northern Virginia. 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. Anything they brought back, they would give to the quartermaster, a military officer who was in charge of providing food, clothing, and other necessities, and in return, they would get paid. Hoskins died on June 2, 1863, and was buried in the Greenwich Presbyterian Churchs cemetery. Mosby's area of operations was Northern Virginia from the Shenandoah Valley to the west, along the Potomac River to Alexandria to the east, bounded on the south by the Rappahannock River, with most of his operations centered in or near Fauquier and Loudoun counties, in an area known as "Mosby's Confederacy". cf. Served in the U.S.Department of Interior and Departmentof Justice. They also performed raids in Maryland.[6]. On April 21, twelve days after Lee's surrender, Mosby gathered his battalion at Salem in Fauquier County, Virginia, and read this farewell address to his men:[23]. Not only him but his wife and family as well. Robinson, Vincent Louisa,known as Luly, is remembered forher book A Southern Girl in 61: TheWar-Time Memories of a ConfederateSenators Daughter. JOSHUA WARFIELD RIGGS,Private, Company D. Served in the 1st Virginia Cavalry andthe 1st Maryland Cavalry prior to joiningMosby. One of the first to join Mosby after he began operations in Northern Virginia was William Hibbs. This time, Cab angered Mosby. Hiswill also instructed that $25,000 be givento Princeton to establish and maintainscholarships in his familys honor. Finally it was not safe to send despatches by a courier unless a regiment was sent along to guard him.[26]. Mosby's men each carried two .44 Colt army revolvers worn in belt holsters, and some carried an extra pair stuck in their boot tops. By early September, Sheridan launched a new offensive, this time with improved security. Feb 20, 2013 #18 Thanks for Posting! 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. The youngsters size made him a good target for the enemy, which is how the tales of Cab Maddux and Major Hibbs intersected along the banks of the Potomac River on July 30, 1864. Within a few years, Hoskins left the Army. Reed, taking quick note of his predicament, threw up his arms to indicate his surrender. Albumen silver print photograph by David Bendann. Died July 8, 1869. He survived but endured a long and difficult recovery that kept him from returning to Mosbys command. There were two purposes of the Partisan Ranger Act. Munson "never actually saw blood drawn with a sabre but twice in our war, though I saw them flash by the thousand at Brandy Station. Sam, to give more vigor to his blows, was standing straight up in his stirrups, dealing them right and left with all the theological fervor of Burly of Balfour. [Photographed between 1861 and 1865, printed between 1880 and 1889] Photograph. mosby's rangers roster. Younger brotherof Ranger George Meacham Slater. They are a terror to the citizens and an injury to the cause [because], General Lee sent the letter on to the Confederate War Department with an endorsement recommending "the law authorizing these partisan corps be abolished." Trenary, James F. The reorganization of the Confederate Artillery in 1862 caused the official disbanding of their unit on October 4 and the reassignment of the brothers to recruiting officer duty in Virginias Fauquier County. In 1862, still not comfortable remaining in one place for too long, Hoskins left Canada for the United States and settled in Baltimore, Md. 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. The men then dismounted and went to work again. Mosby himself had six horses that hed change out frequently. Although armed with Spencer repeating carbines, the New Yorkers were killed, captured, or scattered. Mosby, it was reported, woke Stoughton with a spank on his bare back. The general was outraged and demanded to know what the meaning of this was. Hoskins threatened him with his saber and said, Surrender, you damn Yankee. The Union soldier replied, The hell I will, and shot Hoskins in the neck and back. "The rangers had some of the best horses in a region known for raising great horses. "[29], The military effectiveness of Mosby's command, Engraving reproduced from frontispiece, Major John Scott, Partisan Life with Col. John S. Mosby, 1867. Captured on January 4, 1865, and sentto Fort Warren in Boston Harbor, fromwhich he was released on June 13,1865. Instead of surrendering, Mosby's command simply disbanded. Thompson, John D. Both Sam and William were involved in the Rangers fight at Miskels Farm on April 1, 1863. Served during the war in the21st Virginia Infantry, 1st MarylandInfantry, and 1st Virginia Cavalry priorto joining Mosby in December 1863. This time, Cab angered Mosby. [15], For instance, describing the fight at Miskel's barn, Munson says of William H. Chapman (later lieutenant colonel of Mosby's command) wheeling his horse in a thicket of Yankees "[t]he pistols were not a foot apart. He was held as a prisoner in Washington D.C., but he was released in just 10 days as part of a large prisoner exchange program. Robert E. Lee, Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, is said to have remarked, "I wish I had 100 men like Mosby.". Your mission is to infiltrate enemy lines to disrupt the Union war effort. An officer of the StuartMosby Historical Society in Centreville, Va., Buckland has written several books and frequently delivers presentations focused on the men who rode with Mosby. He can be contacted at info@mosbymen.com. permission to raise a company in January 1863 under the Partisan Ranger Act of McDonald, Samuel Frances was a milliner and opened a shop in town while Miletus ran a general store. Ranger John Munson wrote, usually a young fellow who joined Mosbys command came with romantic ideas of the partisan rangers existence. Adding to the lure of ranger life, Mosby allowed his troopers to keep plunder from raids, if men got rewardsof horses and arms, they were more devoted to the cause.. Seeing a comrade in arms struggling through the waves some distance off and not receiving that attention from the Federal soldiers which he thought due to his rank, Cab cried out at the top of his voice, Hurry up, Major Hibbs! HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. Cab Madduxmade a rather attractive mark, but as the bullets were splashing the water around him, his characteristic solicitude for others was manifested. After escaping fromJohnsons Island, he joined Mosbyscommand. Began Partisan Ranger career inJanuary 1863 with nine men loaned tohim by Stuart. Reportedly a prosperous and well-knownarchitect in New York City afterthe war. Paid $630 between 7-1-63 and 2-1-64. Stuart, loaned him the services of nine cavalrymen. Worked for several years as theclerk of the Court of Common Pleas inBaltimore, and as a U.S. Army paymasterin 1888. 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. In 1871,he married Louisa Sophia Wigfall, thedaughter of Senator Louis TrezevantWigfall (a former member of both theU.S. and Confederate senates). Servedin the Fauquier (Va.) Artillery beforetransferring to Mosbys Rangers. Read Next: Oldest Merrills Marauder MG Milton Pitcher Dies at 100. Although the war in the Valley was almost over, the soldiers did not know it. . You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article. 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. On April 21, 1865, Mosby disbanded rather than surrender the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry in Salem, Va. (today Marshall). Munson said in his memoirs: "Something gray" was the one requisite of our dress and the cost of it mattered little. The first purpose was to take control over guerrilla warfare and decide who would and would not be able to use it. I had no faith in the saber as a weapon. Born in 1817, he was 2030 years older than the vast majority of the unit. 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. In that clash, Mosby and about 150 men ambushed and then attacked a 300-man detachment of the 2nd Massachusetts and 16th New York Cavalry regiments. 7. His well-varnished account of it was that I ordered him to be shot at sunrise, that he said he hoped it would be a foggy morning, and that I was so much amused by his reply that I relented and pardoned him. 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. 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. From Wikipedia: The Partisan Ranger Act allowed Davis to form a group of partisan rangers. General Rosser erred here indicating ignorance of Mosby's tactics, as it has been tirelessly repeated that Mosby's men rejected the saber for the much more efficient six shot pistol. Attended Princeton University prior tothe war. He died January 10, 1898. 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. He later scouted for Stuart during the Second Manassas, Antietam, and Fredericksburg campaigns. . for their lightning strike raids on Union targets and their ability to While being transported back to the South, he observed large amounts of Union troops under Ambrose Burnside from North Carolina on their way to reinforce the Army of the Potomac and John Pope in the Northern Virginia Campaign. Action in the Valley declined, although there was a sharp encounter between rangers under Lt. John Russell and Federal cavalry on December 16th. Silman, James L. Served in the 1st Maryland Cavalrybefore joining Mosby. Mosby's Rangers Are Born: 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 . Mosby's Rangers in the Shenandoah Valley. Grandson ofFounding Father George Mason. The first three requirements were obvious. Massow waved Reed to the rear to await his fate as a prisoner and then began to ride by Reed in search of another target. The vision we have cherished for a free and independent country has vanished and that country is now the spoil of a conqueror. 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. A guard pulled his revolver, but Charles Dear beat his draw. The tried using carbines captured from Union cavalry but found them too unwieldy for their type of operations. 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. 2023 The SOFREP Media Group. The Union began hanging any of Mosbys men they captured. They burned 'em. Ritter, Harrison but the first of many raids with Mosby's men."[9]. Instead, they each carried two .44 caliber revolvers and many of his troops carried two more, one each stuffed in a boot top. After Federal victories at Third Winchester and Fishers Hill, rangers again entered the Valley seeking ways to disrupt Sheridans lines of communication. The line must be stronger at every point than the attacking force, else it is broken. Mosby later wrote that Stuart, made me all that I was in the warthe best friend I ever had.. Charging with a yell, then firing their Colt revolvers, Russell and the Rangers scattered most of the Federals. 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.
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