43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry
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| 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry | |
|---|---|
 Flag of Virginia |
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| Active | June 10, 1863 to April 21, 1865 |
| Country | Confederate States of America |
| Allegiance | Confederate |
| Branch | Partisan |
| Type | Cavalry |
| Size | 9 Companies |
| Nickname | Mosby's Rangers |
| Stars and Bars |  |
| Equipment | 1 mountain howitzer |
| Engagements | Battle of Loudoun Heights-Skirmish at Miskel Farm |
| Commanders | |
| 1st | John S. Mosby |
The 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, also known as Mosby's Rangers or Mosby's Men, was a battalion of partisan cavalry in the Confederate army during the American Civil War. Noted for their lightning strikes on Union targets and their ability to consistently elude pursuit, the Rangers disrupted Federal communications and supply lines.
The 43rd Battalion was formed on June 10, 1863, at Rector's Cross Roads, near modern day Atoka, Virginia, when John S. Mosby formed Company A of the battalion, under the authority of General Robert E. Lee, which had been granted in January 1863, following authorization for such units by the Confederate Congress in April 1862. By the summer of 1864, Mosby's battalion had grown to six cavalry companies and one artillery company, comprising about 400 men. After February 1864, the Confederate Congress revoked the authority of all partisan units, except for two, one of which was the 43rd Battalion. The battalion never formally surrendered, but was disbanded on April 21, 1865, after General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, but not before attempting to negotiate surrender with Major General Winfield S. Hancock in Winchester, Virginia.
Contents |
[edit] Unit organization and muster
[edit] Companies
- Company A - Organized June 10, 1863 at Rector's Cross Roads Atoka, Virginia
- Company B - Organized October 1, 1863 at Scuffleburg Paris, Virginia
- Company C - Organized December 7, 1863 at Rectortown Atoka, Virginia
- Company D - Organized March 28, 1864 at Paris, Virginia
- Artillery Company - Organized July 4, 1864
- Company E - Organized July 18, 1864 at Upperville, Virginia
- Company F - Organized September 19, 1864 at Piedmont, Virginia
- Company G - Organized 1864
- Company H - Organized a few days before April 9, 1865
[edit] Muster and accountability bounds
Beginning June 22, 1864, Mosby allowed no member to leave these bounds without permission:
The area running from Snickersville, along the Blue Ridge Mountains to Linden; thence to Salem (now called Marshall); to The Plains; thence along the Bull Run Mountains to Aldie; and thence along the turnpike to the place of beginning, Snickersville.
Roll call was kept at each meeting, and any man absent for two successive meetings, without satisfactory reason, was to be sent back to the regular service.
[edit] Operating area and method
The 43rd Battalion was a partisan ranger command in the Confederate States Army (CSA) , whose method of operation involved executing small raids with up to 150 men (but usually sized from 20 to 80) by entering the objective area undetected, quickly executing their mission, and then rapidly withdrawing without raising any alarm to their presence. To maintain operational secrecy, Mosby used the methodology of Stonewall Jackson by keeping the raid plan confidential to himself and his guide, only informing his men upon their arrival at the objective. The movement of the rangers was stealthy, as Mosby practice modern noise discipline by using revolvers vice rattling sabers, and forbade the use of canteens, and other noisy equipment. Once in the vicinity of his objective, he would choose soft ground approaches to silence the movement of his horses. Mosby always kept his men well rested for maximum operating efficiency, and his most preferred strike time was between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Even though the 43rd Battalion was a Partisan Ranger unit, they wore regular Confederate Army uniforms. However, they were known for disgusing themselves upon occasion, as well as using captured Union soldiers on the outside of their columns to appear from a distance as a Federal cavalry unit.
Mosby's area of operations was Northern Virginia from Frederick County, Virginia, to the west, to Fairfax County, Virginia, to the east, with most of his operations centered in Fauquier County, Virginia, and Loudoun County, Virginia in an area known as Mosby's Confederacy. Mosby's Confederacy was centered in the lower Loudoun Valley and was bound by the Snickersville Turnpike to the north, the Manassas Gap Turnpike to the south, the Blue Ridge Mountain to the west and the Bull Run and Catoctin mountains to the east.
Mosby practiced what is modernly termed as "psychological warfare" and "force multiplication" on behalf of the Army of Northern Virginia by creating widespread fear and panic behind Union lines. His reputation for silently capturing prisoners became so well known, that in some instances, Mosby is known to have merely whispered "I am Mosby", and was able to successfully subdue his captives, without shouts or alarm.
[edit] Notable battles and raids
- The Chantilly Raids - January 5-6, 1863
- The Chantilly Church Raid - January 26, 1863
- The Herndon Raid - February 2, 1863
- The Thompson's Corner Raid - February 26, 1863
- The Fight at Aldie - March 2, 1863
- The Fairfax Court House Raid - March 8-9, 1863
- The Miskell's Farm Fight - April 1, 1863
- The Catlett Station Raid - May 23, 1863
- The Raid on Seneca Mills - June 11, 1863
- The Raid on Mercersburg - June 28, 1863
- The Fight at Gooding's Tavern - August 24, 1863
- The Cavalry Camp Raids - September/October, 1863
- The Wagon Raids - October/November, 1863
- The Battle of Loudoun Heights - January 1864
- The B&O Raid on Duffield Station - January, 1864
- The Action at Mount Zion Church - July 1864
- The Berryville Wagon Raid - August 13, 1864
- The Raid on Merritt's Cavalry Division - September, 1864
- The Greenback Raid - October 14, 1864
- The Valley Pike Raid - October 25, 1864
- The Rout of Blazer's Command - November 17, 1864
- The B&O Raid on Duffield Station II - January, 1865
- The B&O Derailment Raid - March, 1865
The total tally for the 43rd Battalion by October 1864 was 1,600 horses and mules, 230 beef cattle, 85 wagons and ambulances, and 1,200 captured, killed or wounded, including Union Brig. Gen. Edwin Stoughton who was captured while naked in bed with his girlfriend.
[edit] Notoriety
"The indomitable and irrepressible Mosby is again in the saddle carrying destruction and consternation in his path. One day in Richmond wounded and eliciting the sympathy of every one capable of appreciating the daring deeds of the boldest and most successful partisan leader the war has produced—three days afterwards surprising and scattering a Yankee force at Salem as if they were frightened sheep fleeing before a hungry wolf—and then before the great mass of the people are made aware of the particulars of this dashing achievement, he has swooped around and cut the Baltimore and Ohio road—the great artery of communication between East and West, capturing a mail train and contents, and constituting himself, by virtue of the strength of his own right arm, and the keen blade it wields, a receiver of army funds for the United States. If he goes on as he has commenced since the slight bleeding the Yankees gave him, who can say that in time we will not be able to stop Mr. Trenholm's machine, and pay our army off in greenbacks. If he has not yet won a Brigadier's wreath upon his collar, the people have placed upon his brow one far more enduring."
– Richmond Whig, October 18, 1864
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Mosby, John S., Mosby's Memoirs. J. S. Sanders & Co., 1995. ISBN 978-1879941274
- Ramage, James A., Gray Ghost: The Life of Colonel John Singleton Mosby. University Press of Kentucky, 1999.
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