Mosby's Rangers (review)

168civil war history Dana and his men pulled out of Monterrey in December 1846 and marched to Tampico, where they joined the forces assembling under the leadership of Winfield Scott in preparation for the expedition against Mexico City. In deference to "Old Fuss and Feathers," the lieutenant shaved off his beard "instead of waiting to be ordered to do it" (171). The siege of Veracruz turned out to be "more tedious and harrassing than dangerous" (190). The day before his twenty-fifth birthday, Dana received notification of his promotion to first lieutenant. Within a week, he was gravely wounded during the attack on Telegraph Hill at Cerro Gordo. The war was ended for Lieutenant Dana. Robert H. Ferrell and the University of Kentucky Press staff have done an admirable job. This volume is remarkably free of typographical errors, and the editor's notes are pertinent and informative—although on occasion rather cursory. My only quarrel is with FerrelPs decision to take "some minor liberties" with the correspondence. Eliminating abbreviations , correcting misspellings, and altering capitalization and punctuation in accordance with modern standards indeed "make the letters easier for present-day readers," but it dilutes the flavor and contemporary style of the writing (xv). Nonetheless, this edition provides a rare glimpse into the mind of an American infantry officer during the Mexican conflict. Those who seek insight into the character of men who fought in the Civil War will be disappointed, however. A number of future Union and Confederate generals turn up on these pages, but invariably simply as names mentioned in passing. Dana himself is the solitary military figure brought to life in these letters. Willard Carl Klunder Wichita State University Mosby's Rangers. By Jeffrey D. Wert. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990. Pp. 384. $22.95.) New books in recent years have called attention to guerrilla fighting during the Civil War. For instance, James A. Ramage reevaluated the escapades of John Hunt Morgan in Rebel Raider (1986), and Michael Fellman reinvestigated the guerrillas of Missouri with Inside War (1989). Furthermore, Richard E. Beringer, et al., offered comments about the possibilities of wide-scale guerrilla action by Southerners in their provocative study, Why the South Lost the Civil War (1986). Now Jeffrey D. Wert presents a fresh view of the "Gray Ghost," John Singleton Mosby, and his battalion of rangers that operated in Northern Virginia. Wert has pursued his research in an exemplary fashion and uncovered some new primary sources. Therefore, his work will replace Virgil C. Jones's Ranger Mosby (1940). The two books are similar in style, written in a snappy, action-filled narrative in which excited riders splash across BOOK REVIEWS169 creeks, wounded soldiers tumble from their saddles, and concerned officers furrow their brows as they receive new orders. In other words, Wert writes with dash; the historical figures in his book move vivaciously across the page. As a writer, Wert succeeds in revitalizing his subjects, but he is on softer ground in his points of analysis about Mosby and his rangers. The author contends that "the 43rd Battalion was a matchless body of guerrillas" and he strongly argues in support of that thesis throughout the book. He also claims that Mosby's battalion was "probably the most renowned combat unit of the Civil War" (9). Supporters of the Iron Brigade or the 54th Massachusetts or the Stonewall Brigade may disagree. Moreover, Wert contends that Mosby "had no rival as a guerrilla officer" during the Civil War (22). Some would agree that Mosby was the top guerrilla leader in the eastern theater, but the likes of William C. Quantrill and John Hunt Morgan might lay claim to at least rival Mosby. Wert asserts that "combat was an imperative" for Mosby (33) but then goes on to carefully describe raids designed to take high-ranking Union officers prisoner, capture wagons, procure horses or supplies, or cut telegraph wires. The rangers fought, to be sure, and did not shrink from combat when it came their way; however, like many guerrillas they lived to execute hit-and-run raids, fulfilling limited objectives while taking the fewest casualties possible. The successful, well-publicized forays with light losses kept recruits flocking to...