Biography of Col. John Singleton Mosby:Part 4: After the War
With the surrender of Lee, Mosby simply disbanded his command on April 20, 1865, rather than formally surrender. His men all obtained their paroles individually, but the terms of Mosby's parole were constantly in doubt. At one stage, his wife and youngest son went to see President Johnson, who had been a guest at their wedding. Johnson was surprisingly unhelpful.
A similar entreaty to General Ulysses S. Grant was more successful.
Grant intervened, giving Mosby immunity, leading to his eventual pardon in 1866. This was to be the beginning of strong friendship with Grant that was to last for the rest of their days.
Never a conformist, Mosby, however, did not "reconstruct" easily. Soon after his pardon in April 1866 in Leesburg, Va., he defied Union orders that no Confederate insignia be worn on the streets. When challenged by federal soldiers, he confronted them, stating that there were "not enough damn Yankees in Leesburg" to strip his uniform of its identification. The insignia stayed, and Mosby rode out of town triumphant.
Mosby decided to settle in Warrenton, in Fauquier county, the heart of "Mosby's Confederacy" where he could be near the men who had fought under him. It was to prove a good decision commercially, as his law practice flourished and he did well on local real estate transactions.
As his friendship with his new patron Grant grew, Mosby soon became an active Republican and staunch advocate of the reunification of the war-scarred nation. It was not an unnatural position to adopt for one who had been an ardent unionist prior to the outbreak of war.
His support for Grant's reelection in 1872 was a decisive factor in Grant's carrying the Old Dominion.
However, it earned him the emnity of many Virginians, depsite the respect that local people felt for his war record. Often, his former Rangers would need to rise to his defense, both verbally and otherwise. While they might not agree with him politically, they would still defend him to the death, as they had done during the war years.
He ran for Congress and was badly defeated, and backed Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden in the hotly contented Presidential race which is still a source of contention. Local political sentiments against him escalated, and he narrowly escaped injury when someone fired a potshot at him at the Warrenton Railway station.
Partly to reward his political loyalty and partly to get him out of town for his safety, President Hayes appointed him Consul to Hong Kong in 1878.
There was little to hold Mosby to Warrenton, as his beloved Pauline had died not too long before, leaving six children whom Mosby farmed out to friends and relatives before leaving for Hong Kong.
He entertained former President Grant when he came to Hong Kong on an official visit. It was to be the last time that the two old friends and former adversaries would meet, as Grant died shortly thereafter.
After serving in Hong Kong, he received an appointment as the lawyer for the Southern Pacific Railroad in San Francisco. While living in California, he befriended a young boy and regaled him with stories of his wartime exploits. The boy, George S. Patton, grew up to leave a legacy of his own.
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