Lt. James F. "Big Yankee" Ames,
Co. FB. ca. 1831 (enlisted 1861 at age 30)
M. apparently never married (?)
D. October 9, 1864, near Piedmont (now Delaplane) Va.
Very little is known of "Big Yankee's" early life before he deserted from the Union Army and joined Mosby's command. He was born in Bangor Maine and was a sailor before the war. Muster rolls describe him as being medium height (5' 9 1/2"), light complexion, dark hair, blue eyes.
He joined the 5th New York Cavalry on October 31, 1861 as a corporal in Company M. In 1862, he was transferred to Company L and was promoted to Sargeant on May 11, 1862.
The 5th New York was assigned to form part of the defenses of Washington City and were posted to Fairfax Courthouse. On February 10, 1863, Ames deserted and the following day linked up with Mosby. Many of the men in the command distrusted him at first, thinking he was a spy or a decoy. Mosby's ineffable ability to judge character stood him in good stead. He had a hunch that Ames was sincere. As it turned out, he was wise to back that hunch, as Ames' first-hand knowledge of the Yankee brigade headquarters ar Fairfax Courthouse was indispensable in enabling the raid which made Mosby's reputation.
To prove his sincerety, Ames rode his first raid unarmed, thereby winning the confidence of his fellows.
Not having come away with a horse, he and new recruit Walter Frankland walked 25 miles from their base in Loudoun county to the federal cavalry camp at Germantown, where they managed to make off with two Yankee horses. On this journey, Ames confided his reasons for deserting to Frankland, saying that he'd originally enlisted to preserve the Union but upon Lincoln's issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation, he felt that the purpose and focus of the war had changed.
A great favorite of Mosby's, "Big Yankee" Ames was involved in most of the major operations of the unit. He was promoted 2nd Lieutentant when Company F was formed on September 13, 1864. Less than a month later, he was killed in action on October 9th at Benjamin Cook Shacklett's near Piedmont (now Delaplane). Ranger Ludwell Lake shot Ames' killer, a man named Johnson, as he was going thorugh Ames' pockets.
"Big Yankee" was buried in an unmarked grave near where he fell, by Mosby himself. The location was kept secret for fear that Union troops might desecrate it. A monument was later erected to Ames' memory in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery but Mosby never divulged the exact location of the grave.
Note: Jon Pardo has a picture of Yew Hill Farm, where "Big Yankee" Ames is buried, on his Mosbys Rangers memorial website, which commemorates the men of the 43rd who were killed in action.
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