When browsing through the history books, you might be led to think that 9 March 1863, the year of Gettysburg, was for the most part an unremarkable day. Apparently nothing of major importance happened anywhere. For instance, The Civil War Day By Day, An Almanac 1861-65 by E.B. and Barbara Long, summaries the day as witnessing the death of loyal Unionist J.L. Pettigru in Charleston, SC; the building of a second ironclad at Vicksburg; and skirmishes at Hazle (sic) Green, KY, St Augustine, FL, on the Comite River near Port Hudson, LA, and at Fairfax Court House, VA. However, this last mention deserves more lingering attention and note; there is more of a story behind this brief mention of Fairfax Court House than at first meets the eye.
In this little northern Virginia village, snow was melting from a storm a few days before. It was cold, windy and wet, as March tends to be in this part of America. 'It ain't a fit night out for man nor beast ...' is a phrase that comes to mind - or as the 'Gray Ghost' said of similar weather that winter, 'only a raccoon could be supposed to travel on such a night'. It was not a season for campaigning or troop movement. Sentries, damp and chilled, huddled with greatcoat collars turned up, seeking any nook or cranny where the icy, probing fingers of the gusting wind couldn't reach them. Those who moved outdoors did so hurriedly, anxious to reach their destination. The streets of Fairfax were deserted from sunset until dawn.
Despite the miserable weather, on the night of 8 March a small, determined band of cavalrymen was riding nearby back roads and byways, heading east through Union lines. Their leader was Lieutenant John Singleton Mosby, a small, slightly-built man by today's standards, barely 5ft 7in. and 125 pounds. Along with his 29 comrades he was about to make a name for himself that would place him in the pantheon of Confederate heroes for decades to come - and all without firing a shot or losing a single man or horse. So quiet and stealthy were his movements in operations like this behind enemy lines that he later became known, in North and South alike, as the 'Gray Ghost'.
'Horse thief'
In December 1862, Major-General J.E.B. 'Jeb' Stuart with 1,800 cavalry and four artillery pieces headed into Northern Virginia. His intent was to cause panic and mayhem behind enemy lines. After capturing the telegraph office in Burke, VA, on the Orange and Alexandria railroad and sending a telegraph to the US Quartermaster's office about the poor quality of the mules he was forced to take, Stuart retired to winter quarters in Dover, VA, near Middleburg in Loudoun County.
Formerly a lawyer from Abington, VA, now a Confederate scout, John S. Mosby called on his friend and commanding officer Jeb Stuart to request that he be allowed to stay behind with a squad of men. To Mosby's relief Stuart said yes, mainly because in winter quarters a man like Mosby who didn't sing, gamble or flirt, would probably go out of his mind with boredom. With nine men, Mosby now started his career as a 'Partisan Ranger'. Partisan Rangers were irregular troops who struck behind enemy lines and then faded away. Their hit-and-run tactics galled their opponents, who thought that 'real' soldiers stood their ground and fought their enemy face to face. They could be likened to the Spanish guerrilla units in the Napoleonic Wars, or Merrill's Marauders in World War II.
Mosby's career blossomed. Striking at Union depots and outposts, he was very successful in redistributing the resources of the Union army to less-well-supplied Confederates. In doing so, he became a bold crusader for the Southern military cause, a Robin Hood-like character. During his career, he was snubbed by high-ranking Confederates, had a bounty placed on his head by the Union, and was ordered executed if captured. Given the vehemence of the Union response to his activities, Mosby was undoubtedly one of the most successful Partisan Rangers. One Union officer, Colonel Percy Wyndham, was particularly contemptuous of Mosby's hit-and-run tactics. An English adventurer who loved military conflict, he had served in theaters of war all over the globe and was something of a martinet. Known for twirling his luxuriant mustache, Wyndham would knit his brow when he heard of Mosby's exploits, and, never known to mince his words, he publicly branded Mosby 'a horse thief'.
Mosby's plan
By early March, Mosby had already made a name for himself with the boys in blue. At this point in time, one of the senior officers with the Federal cavalry at Fairfax Court House was none other than Wyndham himself. Wyndham had recently threatened to burn down the town of Middleburg, which he believed to be Mosby's command center. Word reached the ears of sympathizers and was soon relayed to Mosby. This threat, and being branded a common horse thief, greatly angered Mosby, who considered himself a man of honor who took Union booty for the benefit of the South. Horse thieves stole horses purely for personal profit: Mosby's activities included foraging behind Union lines to cut telegraph wires, disrupting communications, and capturing badly needed supplies for the Confederacy. In order to show Wyndham what kind of 'horse thief' he was, Mosby came up with a simple plan to enter Fairfax Court House, capture the colonel himself, and escape back through Union lines. He kept this to himself but sent word for his Rangers to assemble.
Infiltration
On the afternoon of 8 March, 29 Rangers gathered at a little place called Dover's Mill, just west of Aldie (present-day Marshall, VA) and some 20 miles from Fairfax, assembling from all parts of Loudoun, Fauquier and surrounding Virginia counties. This band and their commander had every intention of teaching Colonel Wyndham a lesson. Mosby led his men south-east down Little River Turnpike. Once they were on the move he revealed his plan to a recent recruit, an ex-Yankee sergeant (according to Mosby) named James F. Ames. 'Big Yankee', as he was nicknamed, was a deserter from the 5th New York Cavalry. Coincidentally, the 5th New York Cavalry was under Wyndham's command and now garrisoned with other units at Fairfax Court House.
Big Yankees's job was to get the Rangers past the Federal pickets and into Fairfax Court House undetected. If challenged by sentries, he was to answer '5th New York Cavalry'. In theory, the sentries would recognize Ames's accent as something no Confederate could easily imitate and let the unit pass. It was, as Mosby later recalled, 'pretty easy' to pass the Union pickets.
Even though Ames and Mosby knew the area, the raid did not go as smoothly as desired. The unit became divided moving through the darkness in the thick woods around Chantilly and regrouping delayed progress. But at 2:00 am on 9 March, Mosby's men entered Fairfax Court House. After capturing a few sentries in the cold night, they cut the telegraph lines and a detail went to the stables for some badly needed horses. No doubt the label of 'horse thief' added a grim satisfaction to this latter act! With his remaining men Mosby hurried to Wyndham's headquarters. Time was passing and Mosby aimed to be away well before dawn. But here the plan suffered a further set-back. Wyndham was supposedly staying in a house owned by a man named Murray. When Murray was brought to Mosby, it was revealed that Percy Wyndham was in fact staying at Judge Thomas's home at the far end of town.
Mosby sent Ames and a squad of men to the Thomas residence. There they discovered Captain Augustus Barker of the 5th New York Cavalry and Ames's old commanding officer. Big Yankee proudly introduced his new commander to Barker, who told them that Wyndham had taken the train to Washington and was spending the night with friends. The thread of the plan was rapidly unraveling - the principal objective of the raid, what Mosby recalled as 'our reatest desire', was impossible to achieve! However, despite failing to capture Wyndham, 'Ames got his two staff officers, his horses and his uniform' - and the Gray Ghost nevertheless managed to take another, higher-ranking prize. A captured Union telegraph operator, Robert Weitbrecht, had told the raiders that Brigadier General Edwin H. Stoughton, commanding a force of US regulars and Vermont Infantry, was headquartered at the home of Dr William Gunnell. Mosby took five men and got Weitbrecht to lead them quickly to the Gunnell house.
Kidnap
Arriving at the Gunnell home, the Rangers knocked hard on the front door. Lieutenant Prentiss of the general's personal staff popped his head out of a second floor window demanding to know who was making such a noise. 'Dispatch for General Stoughton' came the reply. Prentiss hurried down the stairs. As the door swung open, Mosby (in his own words) 'took hold of [Prentiss'] nightshirt, whispered my name in his ear, and told him to take me to Gen. Stoughton's room. Resistance was useless, and he obeyed'.
That evening the Federals had been having a party. Stoughton had a reputation as a drinker and a womanizer; he was said to have kept a young woman named Annie Jones from Massachusetts in a nearby tent, and made her an 'honorary major' on his staff. There were empty champagne bottles in every room and the place was a mess. Stoughton was in a drunken sleep and snoring loudly.
Mosby's mind knew no hesitation, as he recalled. 'There was no time for ceremony, so I drew up the bedclothes, pulled up the general's shirt, and gave him a spank on his bare back, and told him to get up'. The general drunkenly demanded to know who was there. 'I told him that he was a prisoner ... I then asked him if he had ever heard of Mosby, and he said he had. "I am Mosby," I said.'
The general took his time getting dressed which did not surprise Mosby since 'he had the reputation of being a brave soldier and a fop'. After a short period he was given assistance by two of Mosby's men to speed him up. While dressing Stoughton asked whether Confederate Gen. Fitzhugh 'Fitz' Lee was with him. Mosby lied and said yes, to hurry the general along. Lee had been a fellow cadet at West Point, and Stoughton requested to be taken to him. After a fashion, that was exactly what Mosby intended. He informed Stoughton they were going for a ride.
'A ludicrous incident'
The time was now approximately 3:30 am. The mission was completed, and Mosby's Rangers started back with their prisoners, approximately 70 of them, each mounted on a captured horse and leading another. Not a hundred yards on their way, Col. Robert Johnstone of the 5th New York heard the commotion, and poked his head out of a window to demand they halt. Mosby detailed men to grab this nosy Union officer and they dismounted. For an instant the Confederate raiders stared up at the Union officer. At this point Johnstone realized Mosby's men were Confederates and ducked back inside. As two Rangers went in the front door, the naked Johnstone left out the back. Mosby recalls Mrs Johnstone '(holding) her ground like a lioness to give her husband time to escape' while the colonel found a hiding place outside under the privy. According to some accounts, Mrs Johnstone understandably refused to embrace her husband when he came out of hiding, at least until he had bathed.
Extraction
'To deceive the enemy and baffle pursuit, the cavalcade started off in one direction and, soon after it got out of town, it turned in another.' As they had done on the way in, the raiders skirted the Federal pickets and fortifications and strong garrison at Centreville. Mosby chose this route along the pike that lay between Centreville and the cavalry camps outside Fairfax because he believed it was the one he would be least expected to take. And this proved to be the case, with the pursuing Union cavalry starting in the opposite direction. However Lt. Prentiss managed to get away in the dark with about half the other prisoners and captured horses. Cpt. Barker attempted to escape too, but he unfortunately fell into a ditch close to a Union redoubt and the quick restraining reactions of a Ranger called 'Jake the Hungarian' prevented him from doing so.
The final obstacle was Cub Run. By Mosby's own account 'the stream was swift and booming from the melted snow, and our choice was to swim or to turn back. In full view behind us were the white tents of the enemy and the forts, and we were within cannon range. Without halting a moment, I plunged into the stream and my horse swam to the other bank. Stoughton followed and was next to me. As he came up the bank, shivering from his cold morning bath, he said, "Captain, this is the first rough treatment I have to complain of."' Indeed it was the only complaint Stoughton had to make about his treatment at Mosby's hands. After crossing Bull Run at Sudley's Ford, the raiders and their prisoners passed the shallow graves of the fallen from the two battles of Manassas. On top of Brawner Farm Hill in Groveton, Mosby paused to study the trail they had made, to make sure they were not being followed.
The raiders stopped at Warrenton where the whole population turned out to cheer their success. Stoughton was allowed to have breakfast with a local man who was the father of another of his West Point fellow students, Maj. R.F.Beckham, now a Confederate artillery officer (see A Brand New Day: The Confederate Cavalry's Wake-up Call at Brandy Station by Carl Smith in OMJ Preview Issue, 1999). Mosby then moved on south and crossed the Rappahannock. He spent the night near Brandy Station with the captured officers before continuing to Fitz Lee's headquarters at Culpeper next morning.
Mosby and his men had carried out a feat that would remain hard to rival in terms of audacity and cunning. He had captured one general, two captains and 30 men, along with 58 horses. President Abraham Lincoln, when informed of the attack, dryly observed: 'well, I am sorry for that. Generals I can make, horses I cannot afford to lose.'
Consequences
When he took Stoughton to meet his classmate Fitz, Mosby was treated with indifference while Stoughton was very politely received. Mosby fumed, but showing nothing of his anger to his superior, he turned and shook hands with Stoughton and rode off in the rain to telegraph his report to Jeb Stuart. They met that evening in Culpeper. This was a much warmer reunion. A few days later the raid was announced at cavalry dress parades throughout Northern Virginia. Within days word reached Gen. Robert E. Lee and he wrote back to Stuart: 'Mosby has covered himself with honors'. As Lee was not given to effusive comments, this statement was considered high praise indeed.
On 21 March Lee wrote to Confederate President Jefferson Davis of Mosby's raid and requested some way to reward him for his performance. On 23 March Mosby was promoted to the rank of captain and was given orders to raise a regular cavalry company. Two days later Stuart elaborated on these orders, informing Mosby he should not use the term 'Partisan Rangers' but instead call his men 'Mosby's Regulars'. Throughout the war, however, many on both sides referred to the unit as 'Mosby's Rangers'. After receiving this recognition and public praise, Mosby wrote: 'This satisfied me, and I soon returned to my field of operations and again began war on the Potomac.'
Mosby's raid on Fairfax Court House had many repercussions. Following Gen. Stoughton's capture, Johnstone (of the 5th New York) and Wyndham (Mosby's original target) both resigned. Gen. Stoughton was released in May, but no new command was ever given to him, so he also resigned. As Mosby put it, generously absolving him from any negligence as a commander; 'without any fault of his own, Stoughton's career as a soldier was blasted'.
After the raid, Union Secret Service men came from Washington to Fairfax County. The investigation centered around the pretty young woman named Antonia Ford. Miss Ford was seen with a blond-haired stranger about a week before the raid. It was said that she introduced him to several Federal soldiers during his visit. Little is known about this man, but his description did fit that of Mosby. Miss Ford was arrested and sent to the Old Capitol Prison in Washington where she was held for six months, then released. Nothing was ever proven.
The Union Secret Service did other things as a direct result of Mosby's raid. If Mosby could strike at Fairfax Court House, what of Washington, two dozen miles further? They recommended the posting of additional guards on all bridges crossing the Potomac into Washington: the planks on the old Chain Bridge were even taken up at night. And President Lincoln was forced, for a brief time, to have a personal guard with him whenever he left the White House. This precaution was later dropped at the President and Mrs Lincoln's personal request.
Mosby never forgave Gen. Fitzhugh Lee for his indifference when he delivered Gen. Stoughton to him. Fitz Lee could not see the honor in using such irregular tactics in warfare, but Mosby's Rangers were certainly effective in diverting badly needed men and material from the main Union war effort. One raid derailed a Federal supply train. Without those supplies, Sheridan's Valley Campaign was delayed another season - but that's another story of the Gray Ghost.
The closing words must be Mosby's. Before the Fairfax raid he had dinner with a friend. 'Just as I was to mount my horse, as I was leaving, I said to him, "I shall mount the stars tonight or sink lower than plummet ever sounded." I did not rise as high as the stars, but I did not sink. I then had no reputation to lose, even if I failed, and I remembered the motto, "Adventures to the Adventurous".'
by Bill Gallop
Suggested Reading
Virgil Carrington Jones, Ranger Mosby, EPM Publications, 1988.
— Gray Ghosts and Rebel Raiders, EPM Publications, 1987.
Kevin H. Siepel, Rebel: The Life and Times of John Singleton Mosby, St. Martin's Press.
Steven Z. Starr, The Union Cavalry In the Civil War, Vols. 1, 2, & 3, Louisiana State University Press.
The Memoirs of John Singleton Mosby can be found on the University of North Carolina website, at the following address: http://metalab.unc.edu/docsouth/mosby/menu.html
About the author
Bill Gallop is a writer and historical researcher living in the Washington, DC area. He has written on subjects as diverse as information technology, gaming, employment, and World War II naval history. He has had a long-standing passionate interest in the life of John Singleton Mosby.