The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-07

iN'piNh lIldL NIObDy ndu a LeW
minutes before Mt full speed In pursuit
Of Federal cavalry. Had be seen our
train coming no doubt he would have
let his prisoners eacape to capture the
train. ] was Oh special train, IL I
remember correctly, without any
guard"
In the same volume Gen. Grant had
this to say of the man who had be.
come an outlaw Immediately after the
war, because he did not believe that
the amnesty given to ali other South
ern commanders would include him;
since the close OF the war have
come to know Col. Mostly personally,
and somewhat intimately. He is a
different man entirely from what +
had supposed. He is slender, not tall.
wiry. and looks as IL he could en-
dure any amount Of physical exercise.
He Is able. and thoroughly honest and
truthful There were probably but
few men in the South who could have
commanded successfully a separate
detachment in the rear of an opposing
army, and so near the border of hos
Titles, as long as he did without
losing his entire command
1t was Grant who pardoned the out
Jaw and took him into the govern
ment aerVlce. Mosby was a Republic
can and>one of the first of the confed-
crate commanders to accept the result
of the war philosophically in 1878
he was appointed consul at HongkonS
by President Hayes In 1885 he was
removed from the consulate by Presi-
dent, Cleveland. AT the request of
Gen. Grant he was then appointed an
attorney in the law department of the
Southern Pacific Railroad Company.
Six years ago he returned to govern
ment service as 4 special attorney in
the Department Of Justice His work
was to stop the operations of cattle
men in the Middle West on govern
ment lands. and. In spite of threats OF
assassination, he did II so we'll that
he was commended by President
Roosevelt.
Such, in brief. has been the civil
career of the man whose name was
used In war times by the mothers and
nurses of the North to brighten UNI
ruly children into obedience, and who
was dreaded by the Union soldiers as
scourge. There was nothing he was
not accused Of from the wanton kill
Ing OF women and children to being
wizard who could disembody himself
for the purpose Of making astral Wis
its to the headquarters Of Northern
generals to learn all their secrets.
Among the survivors OF the Army OF
the Potomac" gays Mosby In his War
"reminiscences" there are many leg
ends af.oat, and religiously believed to
be true. of a mysterious person. sort
Of Flying Dutchman or Wandering
Jew--prowling among their camps in
the daytime in the garb of a beggar,
or with Pilgrims staff, and leading
cavalry IHe RAJ NJ mir n
popular Imagination have been iden-
tilted with that mythical character.
On the day after Mr.. Lincoln's assass-
ination Secretary Stanton autographed
TO Gen. Hancock, then in command at
Winchester, Va, that I had been seen
In the theatre in Washington on that
fatal night. Fortunately / could prove
an alibi by Hancock himself. as was
at that very time negotiating truce
with him"
After referring to other myths about
himself and his command. and the re-
ports that they usually wore Federal
uniforms to lure their prey into traps
the colonel adds: II can now very well
understand how the legendary heroes
OF Greece We're created. / always wore
the Conferedate uniform. with the in
sigma of my rank. So did my men
so any success / may have had, either
as an individual scout or partisan com
mander. cannot be accounted for on
the theory that it was due to disguise.
The hundreds OF prisoners 1 took are
Witnesses to the contrary"
For nearly four years be nagged the
northern generals (even captured one
of them with his entire staft,) upset
their big plans by Carrying out his
little ones, terrorized the border kill |
ed many. but captured and paroIed
more, and convinced all northern SEN
tlnels in Virginia OF the fooIishuess OF |
going to sleep on picket duty.
In explanation and defence of his |
guerilla methods OF warfare he has !
said:
Il told General Stuart that would,
by incessant attacks, compel the
enemy either greatly to contract
MS lines or to reinforce them;
either of which would be of great
advantage to the Southern cause. The
means supplied me were hardly ade-
quate TO the end proposed, but T
thought that zeal and CELEBRITY would
go far to compensate for the deficiency
OF my numbers There was a great
stake to be won and resolved to play
O bold game to win 1t. 1 think Stuart
was the only man in the army OF
Northern Virginia. except two or three
who accompanied me and knew ma
we'll. who expected that I would ac-
complish anything
Nearly every one thought that was
starting out on quixotic enterprise
that would result in doing no harm TO
the enemy. but simply in getting all
of my own men killed or captured
As line is only as strong as its
weakest point. It was necessary for the
enemy to be. as strong as / was at
every point to resist my attacks. It
IS easy, therefore, to see the results
that may be accomplished by u small
body OF cavalry moving rapidly from
point to point on the communications
Of an army To destroy supply trains.
to break up the means Of conveying
intelligence and thus !solating an army
from It's bases, as we'll as the different
corps from each other, to confuse their
Plans by capturing dispatches. are the
objects Of partisan war 1t is Just as
legitimate to fight an enemy In the
'ear as In front. The only difference
s IN the danger.
NOW to prevent all these things
rom being done. heavy deta cnments
n, De made to guard against them.
Inc military value of partisan's work
not measured by the amount of
property destroyed or the number of
men killed or captured, but by the
lumher he keeps watching, Every
a We Sry{k ~ ~.