Gray Ghost: The Life of Col. John Singleton Mosby

Contents

JAMES A. RAMAGE I=: A>;: D; Col. JohnSingletonMosby Gray Ghost Gray Ghost THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY JAMES A. RAMAGE The Life of Col. John Singleton Mosby Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Copyright © 1999 by The University Press of Kentucky Paperback edition 2010 Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved. Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508–4008 www.kentuckypress.com 14 13 12 11 10 5 4 3 2 1 Frontispiece: One of the best scouts in the Confederacy, Mosby posed as a regular cavalry scout, with boots, binoculars and saber, in Richmond early in 1865. (Library of Congress.) The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Ramage, James A. Gray Ghost : the life of Col. John Singleton Mosby / James A. Ramage p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-8131-2135-3 (acid-free paper) 1. Mosby, John Singleton, 1833-1916. 2. United States—History—Civil War, 1861-1865—Underground movements. 3. Guerrillas—Confederate States of America—Biography. 4. Soldiers—Confederate States of America—Biography. 5. Diplomats—United States—Biography. I. Title. E467.1.M87R36 1999 973.7’45’092—dc21 [b] 99-13688 ISBN-13: 978-0-8131-9253-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. Member of the Association of American University Presses To Ann Contents 1 Mosby’s Weapon of Fear 1 2 The Weakling and the Bullies 11 3 “Virginia is my mother.” 28 4 Scouting behind Enemy Lines 36 5 Capturing a Yankee General in Bed 58 6 Miskel’s Farm 77 7 Featherbed Guerrillas 96 8 Unguarded Sutler Wagons 105 9 Masquerading as the Enemy 120 10 Seddon’s Partisans 131 11 Mosby’s Clones in the Valley 147 12 The Night Belonged to Mosby 165 13 Blue Hen’s Chickens and Custer’s Wolverines 184 14 The Lottery 201 15 Sheridan’s Mosby Hunt 216 16 Sheridan’s Burning Raid 228 17 Apache Ambuscades, Stockades, and Prisons 243 18 “All that the proud can feel of pain” 262 19 Grant’s Partisan in Virginia 271 20 Hayes’s Reformer in Hong Kong 285 21 Stuart and Gettysburg 300 22 Roosevelt’s Land Agent in the Sand Hills 318 23 The Gray Ghost of Television and Film 333 Conclusion 344 Notes 349 Bibliographic Essay 401 Acknowledgments 407 Index 411 Illustrations follow page 216 blank ...