| Mosby's Rangers
Mosby's Rangers perfected the art of hit and run
partisan guerilla warfare. From March of 1863 until
April 1865, the Rangers disrupted communications
and supply lines causing the Union army to commit
significant troops and resources to defend the Northern
Virginia counties of Fauquier, Loudoun, Fairfax and
Prince William, an area which became known as "Mosby's
Confederacy."
A lawyer before the war, John Singleton Mosby,
began his military career at First Manassas serving
as a private in the First Virginia Cavalry under
the command of (then) Lt. Col. J.E.B. Stuart. Distinguishing
himself as a capable and daring scout, Stuart rewarded
Mosby in the winter of 1862 with an independent command
of nine men.
On March 23, 1863, Mosby's Rangers were formally
organized as the 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry.
Mosby's Rangers successfully harassed the Union Army
in Northern Virginia throughout the war. At the close
of the war, on April 21, 1865, rather than surrender
to the Union he had fought, Colonel Mosby chose to
disband his Rangers and send them home to live in
peace.
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