Gray Ghost: The Life of Col. John Singleton Mosby

3 “Virginia is my mother.”

28 Gray Ghost 3 “Virginia is my mother.” Mosby’s conviction and incarceration had shattered the serenity of life at Tudor Grove; soon after his release from jail, the family moved to a farm in Fluvanna County.He continued reading law and on September 4,1855, passed the bar under the examination of Judge Field and two other judges. Leaving home at the age of twenty-two, he opened a law practice in Howardsville on the James River in Albemarle County. There were few clients, and he was half-starved and homesick; but then an attractive nineteen-year-old woman from Kentucky came visiting relatives,and his mood brightened.1 When he first met Mariah L. Pauline Clarke, he knew immediately that she was unlike any other young lady that he had known. He noticed that Pauline’s hairstyle and clothing were in fashion and she was attractive , with a well-shaped body, strong chin, well-proportioned nose, and comely mouth with a pretty little dimple in her upper lip. Her eyes gleamed with intelligence and zest for life, and when she smiled her face illuminated with congeniality. Mosby thought that, like his mother, here was a person who radiated affection, warmth, and love for family and friends. Mosby soon learned that here was a rare woman whose self-confidence matched his own. And what was most astounding was that she could match him in conversation. She had a lively sense of humor and had read literature and history. She enjoyed talking about the Crusades and gossiping about King Henry VIII, Lady Jane Grey, and other English kings and queens; and she was interested in Robert the Bruce of Scotland , Rob Roy, and Robin Hood. Pauline had keen interest in newspaper editorials on national politics and world affairs,and Mosby was impressed that her father had been a member of Congress and in the last election was an elector for President Franklin Pierce. 29 “Virginia is my mother.” Pauline’s father was Beverly L. Clarke, a Virginia native who had moved with his parents to Kentucky at about fourteen years of age.Beverly was a handsome, well-educated attorney who ran for office and became one of the most respected statesmen in the Bluegrass State.He was known for sterling integrity, gentlemanly manners, and polished oratory. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from Simpson County and in 1847 began a single term in the United States House of Representatives . In 1855 he won the Democratic nomination for governor but lost to Know-Nothing orAmerican Party candidate Charles S.Morehead.2 Beverly married his first cousin, Mariah Louisa Clarke, a devout Roman Catholic. They had a son, George W. Clarke, and three daughters .Following a Catholic tradition,they named all three in reverence for theVirgin Mary:Mariah (Pauline),Maria (called Delia) and Mary.Pauline was born on March 30, 1837.When she was eleven years old, her mother died. Beverly then married Zenobia Turner, also a Roman Catholic, and they had a son, Thomas H. Clarke. Beverly did not join the church himself until near the end of his life,but during the emotional 1855 governor’s campaign, his opponents condemned him for having a Catholic wife. In 1858 President James Buchanan appointed him minister to Guatemala and Honduras, and his wife accompanied him to Central America. He was serving when he became seriously ill and was not expected to survive .A few months before his death on March 17, 1860, he was baptized, and when he died he was temporarily buried in the Church of San Francisco in Guatemala City. In 1868 the Kentucky legislature had his body reinterred with honors in Frankfort.3 Pauline visited Howardsville and met Mosby in June 1856, and that winter he visited her in Kentucky. They married on December 30, 1856, in the City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, with Father J. Schacht officiating .4 The newlyweds lived in Howardsville, creating a harmonious, loving home. Pauline was entirely comfortable being married to a lawyer, the same profession as her father. Having grown up surrounded by politics and accustomed to the commotion and hubbub of political campaigns , she thrived on meeting new people and welcoming guests into their home. Like him she had great inner strength that gave her courage and composure and enabled her, on a daily basis, to live a buoyant life in good humor and with the conscious goal of making a loving home for her husband and children. With no...