Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1900-09-12
RECKLESS IN DARING.
BRILLIANT PERFORMANCES IN
BATTLE BY MOSBY.
Ex-Confederate Leader Numbers His
Fights by Wounds-Bitterest Ene-
mics Acknowledge His Bravery and
Honesty.

Says a writer In the Washington
Post: When the world counts its sol
diers ii viii call the name of John Sin
gleton Moshy No history of the late
war can be written and omit the name
of Mosby. Beyond most men Mosby
was brave and honest, and he was q
born soldier.
Gen. Lee said that the only fault he
ever had with Mosby was hat he was
forever getting wounded. OF his hon
esty and the integrity of his nature you
may read in Supreme Court report.
where Justice Blaic delivered
the opinion less than twelve years ago
The courage and absolute honesty of
Mosby's nature were never doubted
That tells a great deal by itself. When
nature has made man brave and made
him honest the man is about finished;
there's not much more to do. And so
1t is with Mosby--a man who In his
way and day may be called an Ameri-
can Bayard.
Mosby was great on n day when it
was not easy 20 be great; he was great
on the day of battle. War is a storm.
human storm. Weak men are blown
, oGt, only the strongest shine. 1t is
such natures as Moshy's which burn
and glow like beacons then.
After Virginia seeded AIosby was
one of the first 10 enlist. He was in for
twelve months as one of Gen. Joe John
CT On Inv II It.Ttf
and subsequently gave service in the
Shenandoah and along the southern
part of the Potomac
AT the end of twelve months he was
| offered furlough. He didn't want il;
he was thirsty for war and rs-enlisted
until the close of hostilities.' Who
ever else failed it may be set forth at
this point that Mosby carried out the
terms of his enlistment He was there
still fighting, when hosiilities closed
Indeed, when some gray old men
were talking at Chamberin's, one of
their number declared that Mosby
made fight after Let surrendered
that it was Mosby who made the last
gray line of battle for cause already
lost, and fought round the lost standard
of a Confederacy already dead This
may well be true. Mosby was very
busy about the time that Lee surren-
dered; the saddles hadn't been off his
horses for three months, except to feed
and curry them, and it may be that the
Mosby bugle was ringing boots aud
saddles" for some days after Lee had
quit, purely through Mosby's ignorance
of the news.
After his rc-enlist:lert Cen }. Z. b.
Stuart got possession Of Mosby Stuart
could pick out a cavalryman as If by
instinct 1t didn't take him long to
pick out Mosby. He had the young
man up to headquarters and made him
master of his scouts. A+
This exactly matched the taste of
Mosby and in June, not five months
later, history found Mosby at the head
of whole cavalry brigade, cutting and
slashing at thu rear of McClellan's
army in a way which much discencert-
ed that eminent commander. This was
on the Chickahominy.
1t was In 1862 that Mosby returned
TO northern Virginia and raised force
of his own. As a result of this indie
pendent roundup Mosby found some
thing like 100 cayalrymen following his
guidon. With this slim force he cut
off more wagon trains. tore up more
railroad, cut more telegraph wire, de
stroyed more stores, cleaned out more
scouting parties, chased more pickets
into camp, and generally kept more
Federal generals in a stew and ferment
than any other man in the Southern
army. There was never day in the
independent career of Mosby when
more than 400 men roue at his back.
and yet there has been as many as
10000 Federal troops looking for Mos
by all AT once. There is q hundred mile
stretch in the Shenandoah valley and
Mosby has fought Sheri6an's cavalry
going and coming. over every foot of it.
1t Is worth a record that Mosby's
command was9leve. captured until he
voluntarily surrendered at the close of
the war. The reason was as much as
anything else that it was rugged like
a disappearing gun. Press 1t or corner
1t and the command disbanded like a
flock Of blackbirds; every man for him
self.
One day M0sby's command would
fight as an organization; as inveterate.
as steady a body of cavalry as ever
marched upon a battlefield The next
1t would have disappeared, scattered:
it was nowhere and literally didn't ex-
list. One might rs wen try to capture
air
But week later, when pursuit had
spent itself. Mo Iby might rid. back
into the valley with his bugler With
in forty-eight hours of raDung call
his 400 men would be at his back again,
ready for any service, no matter how
desperate the work to which he might
choose to lead them
When Sheridan sent Early whirling
up the valley like ball, 1t was Mosby
who fastened to the rear of his army
with his handful of rangers. and made
him stop and turn. Mosby's was the
only Confederate flag in northern Vir-
GINA. Had 1t not been for Mosby
Sheridan would have been forewarned
AS Grant told him to-and scattered
Lees communications like ehaf. The
war would have ended; there would
have been nothing of all that bloody
fighting In the Wilderness had 1t not
been for the guerilla Mosby and that