Balls
by Mathew Paust
Confederate John Singleton Mosby and two other scouts, riding behind Union lines along Virginia's Pamunkey River in the area of Hanover and King William counties, came upon a Union supply wagon, which they promptly captured. Mosby left one man to guard the wagon and its team, and rode on with the other. Further upriver, after discovering two Union supply schooners at dock, he sent the other scout back to inform Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, and rode on alone.
Mosby soon came upon a company of Pennsylvania cavalry, mounted and drawn up in a line across the road.
Evening was drawing nigh and Mosby's horse had tired from the daylong ride. He knew if he turned to flee, the Union riders could overtake him with their fresh mounts. He pulled up at the crest of a hill, made a show of drawing his saber and turned in the saddle, waving it in the air as if beckoning followers. "Come on, boys!" he shouted, "Come on!"
The Pennsylvania troopers executed a smart wheel-around and vanished in a cloud of dust down the road.
Col. John Singleton Mosby
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Author's Note
Mosby went on to form his own guerrilla unit and was soon terrorizing Union imaginations as The Gray Ghost.
I paraphrased historical accounts, based on official reports, for this anecdote.
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Sometimes it works!
I'd've hated to play poker with the guy.
Gotta watch those Pennsylvania troopers.
Nicely written.
I bet he laughed about that for years afterward.
(Unless he died.)
Oddly enough he's still alive. Saw him just the other day. He weighs about 37 pounds and has to use a wheelbarrow for his yam sack, but other than that he's doing pretty good!
;-)
I bet he's still laughing about it, then.
He lived long after the war, serving under President Grant as consul to Hong Kong and as an asst. U.S. Attorney in the West, mediating disputes between the cattle barons and the settlers. He pissed people off wherever he went, and in his later years blasted the U. of Va., his alma mater, for its football program, which he considered a barbaric, dangerous waste of time for students. He was nuts, but in a heroic way.
Nicely written, Mathew. Sorry, can't fave something admiring of a Confederate.
Not even one who supported Grant for president after the war and alienated the entire Confederacy? Mosby and Lee were alike in that they didn't want the war, didn't support secession, but once it started, they were bound to defend Ol' Virginny from the Yanks.
All traitors.
Abe forgave 'em.
no matter what side of the war each man has one battle to win. fear.
Thank you, W.R. So true, so very true.
This is a great story, well told.
Thanks, Steven.
When in doubt, double down. Nice prose.*
Hi, As another W. R. Smith, and this one from Fairfax County, VA (you can still sniff the Gray Ghost on a summer's eve out around by Bailey's Crossroads just about the time the lightning bugs wink on) I'll deign to weigh in: Fine prose, fine teeth, fine motion, fine sentiment. Doesn't matter, of course, who the guy was; I mean, Achilles owned slaves, too. Sure, Mosby was a pig, so was Achilles; all humans are; that's why they make such excellent subjects for writing. Thanks kindly for giving us a peek, Marse Mathew!
These kind of bluffs are actually quite common in miltary history. The enemy might very well be more scared than the opposing undermanned troops.