The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1902-02-06
MEMORIES OF MosBY's MEN
Daring Deeds of His Band Incidents. Etc.

The first time ever saw Mosby was
in Warrenton, Va, in January, 1868.
Hookers army was about Fredericks-
burg then. and General j f. B. Stuart
had Just made Xmas raid on his com
mnnicatiOns at Dnmfries On his return,
while still in Loudoun county, he had
left Mosby, at his request, with nine
men, to make some captures, il he could.
He had been very successful, and stop
ped all night in Warrenton on his way
to report to his chief. remember how
youthful he looked and how thin he was
from the active service he had seen The
remark of the hotel-keeper after he had
left still fingers with me: ''lf that fellow
Mosby attempts that caper again, he
will be caught" But Boniface was
neither prophet nor the son of a prophet,
a. Mosby's career was a constant recur-
renee of just such "capers"
was in Warrenton at that time in the
capacity of a gatherer of cOnscripts. |
had been in the army from it's organiza-
ton, first in the infantry and then in the
artillery. In the latter was lieutenant,
and had been relieved oiduty. as were all
the officers ofsome thirty other batteries,
by order of General R. f. Lee. He said
the artillery arm of the service was out
of proportion to the size OF his army, and
could not be maintained with the sen-
der resources of the Confederacy. In the
conscript business remained about two
months, and, finding it not at all to my
taste, asked TO be relieved, and joined
Mosby, who was then active in the coun-
try where | had been gathering men,
who were very unwilling to leave their
homes to become soldiers. The first
skirmish was ever in with him was at
MiddIeburg, Va There were less than a
dozen of us, and we were attempting TO
follow up a raiding party of the enemy,
consisting of a company of cavalry. We
set out to pick up their stragglers; but
came up too near, and the whole COM
mand turned on us, and we fed in regu-
lar Tam 0'Shonter style. This was kept
up for mile or two, with no other loss
to us than uniforms bespattered with
mud and weary lot of horses.
Next time we came off better. With
hardly fifty men, we attacked picket
post not far from Chantilly, Fairfax
county Colonel Mosby, in his War
"reminiscences, published in 1887, tells
how the engagement at Chantilly was
brought on. He had sent John Under
wood, a scout, who seemed TO know all
the roads and by-paths in Fairfax coun-
ty, down to locate the Federal picket
posts in the direction OF Fairfax Court
house. He reported post Of possibly
seventy men at Chantilly, a few miles
from Centreyile, and Others in support
ing distance.
Mosby gathered about fifty men on the
10th of March. 1863, and we went down
the Little River turnpike. 1t was a raw,
chilly day. and the roads were bad any
where off the pike. What a happy, go
lucky band it was There was not a
man in authority in it, except our leader,
and he had not yet been commissioned
as a partisan. General Stuart had sent
him out to conduct his enterprises in his
own way remember Captain Hoskins,
an English officer, who had distinguished
himself in the Crimean war, and had nj
forwards been with GaribGldi. Not
three months after, he was shot in a
fight Mt Greenwich. Prince William coun-
ty, and died before my eyes Captain
Kennon, who had come out with the
Tiger Battalion from New Orleans, was
also along. What yarns he could spin !
Let me illustrate. Kennon joined an ex-