Through The Lens

Mosby’s Rangers

By Stephanie Hagiwara · Originally published March 2016 · p. 8

Mosby’s Rangers

This issue begins a new chapter for Civil War News as we say thank you and farewell to Ron Coddington, who has decided to retire after 15 years writing “Faces of War.” This new column, “Through the Lens,” will continue to focus on telling the stories behind the images. It will focus not just on individuals, but all Civil War photography. For the last six years I have had the pleasure of being the editor for Civil War In Color.com and Civil War in 3D.com and have spent time gathering and telling the stories of these great images. I hope to share my passion for this part of our history in the stories and images that have inspired me. —Being a ranger, “was a fascinating life and its attractions far more than counterbalanced its hardships and dangers.”… Col. John Mosby It sounds like a tale from a Walter Scott novel. On March 8, 1863, John Mosby selected a dark and rainy night for his famous “Stoughton Raid” at Fairfax Court House, Va. Mosby managed to capture Gen. Edwin Stoughton while he was asleep. Upon being slapped on the rear, Stoughton asked, “Do you know who I am?” Mosby replied, “Do you know Mosby, General?” “Yes! Have you got the rascal?” “No, but he has got you!” The newspapers loved it. Mosby’s Rangers had captured one general, two captains, 30 enlisted men and 58 horses without firing a shot, thrusting what would become the 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry into fame. What began as an idea to “make things lively during the winter months” turned into 28 months of raids, ambushes and attacks against Union forces. To local schoolboy Sam Moore, “It seemed to us boys that they sprang up in almost every field where their presence was needed; that they grew almost as the weeds grow in a neglected field, and that wherever one of Mosby’s men was needed, there he and some of his companions were sure to be found.” Moore said, “They had for us all the glamour of Robin Hood and his merry men, all the courage and bravery of the ancient crusaders, the unexpectedness of benevolent pirates and the stealth of Indians.” Both sides talked about the Rangers throughout the war. In a letter home, trooper Aaron B. Tompkins of the 1st New Jersey Cavalry wrote: “The other day we was out on a scoute to a place Mosby keeps him self I suppose that you know fore you see him in the papers we get after him every once in a wile but he has got such good horses that we seldom get eny of them they have there horses trained so that they can jump over a fence like a deer.” The Rangers fought in their Confederate uniforms but were “as vain of a lot of dandies as one would wish to see” according to Ranger John Munson. Some would have uniform coats with gold braid and ostrich plumes. A Federal raiding party intending to capture 19-year-old Adolphus “Dolly” Richards at his home, settled for his uniform. Not appreciating the trade, Richards collected a few men and successfully led a charge to rescue his attire. Mosby’s recruits came from everywhere. Ranger James F. Ames deserted from the New York 5th Cavalry. He believed that Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation shifted the focus of the war from a “War for the Union, to a War for the Negro.” His information made Stoughton’s capture possible. Ames stayed true to the Rangers until his Oct. 8, 1864, death near Piedmont, Va. Ranger Baron Robert von Massow, a former officer in the Prussian army, got a letter of introduction from Gen. J.E.B. Stuart to join the Rangers.

Mosby’s Rangers are, from left, front: Walter Gosden, Harry T. Sinnott, Otho L. Butler, Isaac A. Gentry; middle: Robert B. Parrott, Thomas Throop, John W. Munson, Col. John S. Mosby, [?] Newell, Charles H. Quarles; back: Lee Howison, W. Ben Palmer, John W. Puryear, Thomas Booker, A.G. Babcock, Norman V. Randolph, Frank H. Rahm. (Naval History and Heritage Command) After his first raid he exclaimed, “This beats the fox hunt in England.” Mosby’s Rangers were primarily teenagers or in their earlier 20s. Mosby said, “They are the best soldiers I have. They haven’t the sense enough to know danger when they see it, and will fight anything I tell them to.” During their raids, Rangers encountered family who sided with the North. In September 1863, Mosby and four men went to Alexandria to capture the governor of West Virginia to dispel rumors of Mosby’s death. As the governor was not home, they went to the home of Col. D.H. Dulany, his military aide. Dulany, believing they were Federal officers disguised as Confederates, welcomed them. Then he spotted his son, French, who rode with Mosby. Before they left, Dulany suggested his son to take a pair of old shoes with him as he reckoned shoes, “were d----d scarce in the Confederacy.” French, lifting his trouser leg, revealed to a fine pair of cavalry boots and asked his captive what he thought of that. Mosby promoted for command aptitude and the ability to follow orders. An example would be 19-yearold 3rd Lt. William Ben Palmer who rode a little gray thoroughbred. Ranger John Alexander described Palmer as “the only man of whom I ever heard of who could preserve the amenities to the point of killing a foe with apologies for his rudeness.” An exception to Mosby’s promotion policy was John Puryear, a Richmond native in his early 20s. According to Ranger John Munson, Puryear was known for his courage but he “lacked judgment and the prospect of his acquiring it was extremely remote. … All that he knew about war was what he gathered in each mad dash through the ranks of the enemy, with his long black hair flying in the wind and his revolver hot with action.” Early on the morning of Nov. 19, 1864, Puryear was captured during a scout near Kabletown, W. Va. Lt. Thomas K. Cole tried clubbing him with a rifle and threatened hanging but Puryear kept silent. His captors, distracted by the commotion caused by a Ranger charge, gave Puryear the opportunity to slug his guard and escape.

He immediately joined the Rangers’ pursuit of the enemy and caught up with Cole. He then shot and killed the officer who had, less than an hour earlier, dangled a noose around his neck. His courage had to be recognized. Mosby told him, “Puryear, I am going to make you a Lieutenant for gallantry. But, I don’t want you to ever command any of my men.” Till the very end of the war the Rangers showed their bravado in their raids on Union forces. On Feb. 8, 1865, with snow on the ground, they ceased hostilities against the Union and took up pursuit of an old quarry. Instead of laying chase to Federal forces they laid chase to foxes. About 100 men and 100 hounds spent the day in a quest for sport rather than war. Stephanie Hagiwara is the editor for CivilWarinColor. com and CivilWarin3D.com. She writes a weekly column for HistoryinFullColor.com that covers stories of photographs of historical interest from the 1850s to the present. Her articles can be found on Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest.