Gray Ghost: The Life of Col. John Singleton Mosby

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments 407 Acknowledgments Acknowledgments Many individuals and institutions encouraged and supported this tenyear research project. First and foremost, my wife and best friend, Ann, accompanied me on trips,proofread the manuscript,and shared my time with Mosby, always generously and with a cheerful, buoyant spirit. I am thankful to our daughter,Andrea, for sharing my enthusiasm for history, and I am honored that she followed in my footsteps as a graduate student in history at the University of Kentucky. I express gratitude to Andrea’s husband, Steven M. Watkins, not only for being an ideal sonin -law but also for making a contribution to this study.As a former Navy SEAL and decorated veteran of the Persian Gulf War, Steven consulted on today’s special forces and introduced me to Mike Bailey, a SEAL veteran of theVietnam War.Steven and Mike gave me a deeper understanding of irregular warfare and a greater appreciation of Mosby’s significance. The project would not have been possible without the support of Northern Kentucky University,and I am most grateful.Northern granted travel funds and release time for research, and provided encouragement through two College of Arts and Sciences Research Grants, Summer Fellowship , Faculty Project Grant, Sabbatical Leave, and Regents Professorship . The Virginia Historical Society assisted with a Summer Fellowship for research on Mosby’s civilian supporters.I thank Michael C.C.Adams and Michael A. Flannery for reading the entire manuscript and offering valuable suggestions. Steven Watkins, Mike Bailey, and Allen Ellis read portions, and Harris D. Riley Jr., M.D., read the passages on Mosby’s health problems and provided professional advice on medical issues throughout the project. Flannery advised on alternative medicine and other issues, and Allen Ellis and David Payne consulted on many questions . Roger C. Adams answered questions on military life in the Civil War and, as acting curator, Northern Kentucky University Special Col- Acknowledgments 408 lections and Archives, facilitated my research in the university’s extensive collection of published Civil War sources. Kent Masterson Brown gave encouragement and helpful counsel. My mentor, W. Frank Steely, provided daily encouragement and steadfast support, and Department Chair Robert C. Vitz elevated my morale with his sense of humor and enthusiasm for the project. Marian Winner, Sharon Taylor, Philip Yannarella, and others at the Steely Library and Chase College of Law Library, Northern Kentucky University, assisted greatly. W. Baxter Perkinson Sr. and his wife, Stella, warmly welcomed Ann and me to their home near Petersburg,Virginia, during several of my research trips, accompanied us to Powhatan County, and introduced us to the Wests and Cellas.Aldine and Warren West and their children, Florence and Warren Jr., entertained us at their home, “Edgemont,” Mosby’s birthplace, and Aldine helped with the research. Charles P. Cella Jr. and his wife, Lucy Ann, generously conducted many hours of research on Mosby’s family, and Charles guided me in using genealogical documents at the Virginia State Library and Archives. Mrs. Dorothy Steers conducted research on Pauline Clarke Mosby. Frances Pollard assisted tremendously at the Virginia Historical Society Library. Gladys Calvetti and Judith A. Sibley helped during my visit in the United States Military Academy Library, and Richard J. Sommers and Pamela A. Cheney helped greatly at Carlisle Barracks. I am grateful for the hospitality and encouragement of Mosby’s grandson, Beverly Mosby Coleman, and for the inspiration and counsel of Virgil C.“Pat”Jones,Mosby’s first biographer.Nat and Sherry Morison assisted during our visit to Welbourne. John E. Divine and Horace Mewborn contributed an invaluable and comprehensive tour of Mosby’s Confederacy.Mewborn gave valuable assistance,advice,and counsel.Mrs. William J. deButts welcomed us to her home, “Tudor Grove,” Mosby’s boyhood home in Charlottesville, and V.N.“Bud”Phillips gave us a tour of Bristol and Abingdon. Adele H. Mitchell conferred with me and contributed inspiration and assistance. James E.B.“Jeb”Stuart IV hosted my visit to the Stuart-Mosby Historical Society Museum and graciously accorded encouragement. Among the many other individuals, including librarians and faculty colleagues, who have given assistance, I wish to mention the following : Thomas H. Appleton Jr., Jerry M. Bloomer, Leon E. Boothe, Jim Brown, Chris Burns, Bell Chevigny, John Cimprich, Brian Conley, John M.Coski, Sandra L.DeKay,Elizabeth Dunn,Jeffrey M.Flannery,Stanton Acknowledgments 409 Garner, Paul L. Gaston, Perilou Goddard, George D. Goedel, James R. Harris, Margaret Heilbrun, David A. Holt, James...