Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1865-05-31
MosBY AND HIS GUERILLAs.

md their opinions about their leader - n
They are most of them young, prepos- n
'essing more than ordinary intelligence, t
Ind generally from what they call good O
amilies." Quite number of them are I
from Maryland and Washington. They G
are perfectly amenable to the discipline |
Of the place, and our officers have no ,
trouble with them. Among them is a ;
young man named Hiskil-a good look
ing man of about 20 years; a private in
Mosby's command-who claims to be q
grandson of President Monroe When
President Lincoln was killed many Of them
seemed to regret it very much, and there
were no expressions of joy among them.
They say that Lincoln was lenient, and
they had reason to expect favorable treat
ment from him. Our informant heard !
them speak frequently of their command
er, Mosby, and from their statements he
wrote an account of him, substantially as
follows:
The future historian will accord to
Mosby a bravery and sagacity worthy to
place him beside Marion and Murat. He
began at the foot of the ladder, having
at first enlisted, or rather he took up arms
On his own account, as did many others
who were in the first battle of Bull Run,
where he rendered good service. His
thorough knowledge of the country soon
after attracted the attention of jeff Davis
and he was promoted, and we'll did he
earn the rank of Colonel, which he SUBJ
sequently held. His command, which at
no time exceeded 500 men, harrassed US
more than any other 10000 rebels. Ever
since the first year of the war his raids
have been the terror of the Union people
in the upper part of Virginia. Though
nominally in our possession, it has been
unsafe for Union man there to avow his
sentiments If he did so, all his horses,
stock, household goods &C., were sure to
be gobbled up. Mosby entered our line
with impunity, securing what he required
and returning in safety. He hung, sui.
len. defiant, and dangerous on our rear
in retreat, driving back and burning
our wagon trains, and destroyed all the
forage which was likely to fall into oul
hands. He fought to win and rarely en-
: tered into an engagement without good
chances of success No prisoners wer,
, treated harshly, but all were made to giv'
up their money and swap clothes, if hi
men were to be benefited in the least by
] the trade.
On one raid he captured two of our pay
masters, and, as the term is expressed by
the prisoners, they went through them
s On a division made among those wit
were on this raid each ones share wa
t $2l68. In person Mosby is not formid
able. He is not over five feet seven inch
@ les high, is thin and spare, and can clas]
his body with his hands. His age is 80
. He is insensible to fatigue; knows n
s such word as fear, has the percing eye 0
D an eagle, and impresses person with tn
+ idea that he can fathom his innermos
s thoughts. Though genial he is exacting
He is q skillful horseman and dea'
o shot; drinks no Intoxicating liquors, am
Q his favorite beverage is strong coffee. II
!, allowed no men of his command to max
use of ardent spirits, and destroyed al
!, that came within his reach. On one o.
casion, being severely wounded by ou
men, he ordered his aid to strip his il
sigma Of rank from his shoulder aud leav
him to his fate. The federal soldiers az
e preached him, stripped him Of his boot
It and left him, seemingly, in the last thro,
n of life, little dreaming that there lay Oh
l. feigning mortal wounds whose death woul
l. have been worth thousands Of men to ou
cause. But to him, this was only anotht
S. exploit.
!. On another occasion Gen. Lee wishe
IA to deal with u man by the name of Delai
" who had left the confederacy and CON
,e within our lines at Alexandria, and !
Is detailed Mosby to capture him. In ii
h evening, attended by single orderly,
,c made his way through our lines to d
,s lain's house, and knocked at the doc
Al when his summons was answered by hi