Mosby and Me
By 1st Lt. OreoPage One:
This is ordinary story - but a story of love between a man and his horse and to begin I am not the man.
I am the horse.
Specifically, as I would find out later, I am a mount, a Confederate Cavalry mount. Mount being the term for a horse in the cavalry.
To be even more specific, I am also a 1st Lt serving with the 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, under the Command of Colonel John S. Mosby, in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, in the year of 1998 - Believe it or not !
Our Battalion's History:
You may have heard of Colonel Mosby and the 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, whom were also known as "The Gray Ghost and Mosby's Rangers" if you know anything about our American History and especially the history of our American Civil War, which was fought between 1861 to 1865, a period during our nation's history when Americans were fighting each other over a variety of causes, the self determination of states individual rights and slavery being 2 of the key issues.
Our nation was torn apart from the inside, an individual's beliefs being so adamant and strong that there were family members fighting against family members, such as a father fighting against son, brother against brother, cousin against cousin. At that time it did not seem to matter if you were from the North or South: whatever you believed in was right where you would make your stand. Many times it was at the ultimate sacrifice that any person can make on behalf of his country, that being the sacrifice of one's own life.
Colonel Mosby and those men who served with the 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry were members the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under the command of General Robert E. Lee, were fighting on behalf of the Southern point of view.
Colonel Mosby started out the American Civil War as a Private or Trooper in the 1st Virginia Cavalry under the command of "Colonel Grumble" Jones, but he was first and foremost a scout for General Jeb Stuart and was responsible for many of the southern "Army of Northern Virginia" successes early in the war by supplying timely and accurate information on the union "Army of the Potomac" and its movements.
In January, 1863, Colonel Mosey was given his own command with permission to operate behind the union or "Yankee" lines. Starting with just nine men this command would make military history, from its initial exploit in March, 1863, "the Fairfax Court House Raid".
At this time Fairfax, VA. was located behind the union lines and was supposed to be secure, but on a snowy night in the midst of a brigade (approximately 5000 men) of Yankee Cavalry Mosby and 19 of his men would enter and then depart the brigade headquarters with the commanding officer, Brigadier General Edwin Stoughton, 34 members of his command and 60 horses. And they did it without firing a single shot!
President Abraham Lincoln of the United States, upon hearing of this raid, remarked that he didn't mind losing a general, as he could create a general with the stroke of his pen. It was the 60 horses that were lost that really irritated him. They cost $125.00 each! (a lot of money in those days) President Lincoln also is said to have given the Colonel Mosby his nickname: "The Gray Ghost".
Colonel Mosby and the 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry operated in primarily 2 counties of Virginia, Fauquier and Loudoun. This area soon became known as"Mosby's Confederacy".
From this base the Rangers attacked Union wagon trains, communication and railroad lines and troop detachments. The mission of the battalion as the Colonel was later to say is to "weaken the union armies invading Virginia by harassing their rear".
The 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry never actually surrendered at the end of the Civil War. Colonel Mosby felt that his organization should not have to endure this experience. He thought it would not be appropriate since the Battalion had been holding the upper hand in its operations against the enemy.
Read the rest of the story
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