John Singleton Mosby - The "Gray Ghost"

[smcgee22]

Another item from my mom's collection. He was known as the "Gray Ghost" for his ability to seemingly appear and disappear at will as Commander of the 43rd Virginia Calvary. If you read his biography, you'll discover he was quite a character. Noteworthy items include being expelled from UVA for shooting another student who bullied him, speaking out against succession yet joining the Confederate army, becoming a campaign manager for President Grant and living until the age of 82.

 

[captaindrew]

Nice piece, thanks for sharing

 

[CW Watch & Sword Guy]

Mosby possessed all the raw ingredients to become a post-war folk hero. But alas, rather like James Longstreet, he was not much celebrated in the South on account of his willingness to reconcile with his former adversaries.

 

[KianGaf]

Wasn't it him that fictionaly captured George Hazard in North & South.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

I've mentioned this a few times before, but I served with his direct descendant (great-great-grandson, I believe) and namesake down at Fort Bragg, where there is (or at least was) a Mosby Street. We would tell him to keep his street clean...

 

[TerryB]

He's always been a favorite of mine. So that's his autograph?

 

[Seduzal]

Thanks for sharing this interesting article.

 

[Patrick H]

He was an adaptable man.

 

[TnFed]

He was an adaptable man.

Knew when to hold 'em. Knew when to fold 'em.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Another item from my mom's collection.

That must be an awesome collection! Are all of her pieces this genre, meaning era images? I ' think ' Hay's collection includes Mosby's signature, too. This is the first I've seen outside of that.

Thanks very much for sharing it.

 

[smcgee22]

He's always been a favorite of mine. So that's his autograph?

yes

 

[smcgee22]

That must be an awesome collection! Are all of her pieces this genre, meaning era images? I ' think ' Hay's collection includes Mosby's signature, too. This is the first I've seen outside of that.

Thanks very much for sharing it.

She has some but her collection has a wide variety of items including bullets, buttons, buckles, hats, uniforms, guns, all kinds of things!

 

[chubachus]

Looks like an original CDV? Could be worth quite a bit. I can't seem to find another CDV version of that photo that is not vignetted (basically meaning cropped down to just show his head and chest). Any idea if a photographer is listed on the back? The Library of Congress has the original negative likely used to print the photo: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017894160/