Mosby's Rangers

Jeffry Wert's book on John Mosby's adventures reads like a great novel. It carries the action along while fleshing out the main characters, and gives vivid discriptions of the places of "Mosby Confederacy." Just an outstanding effort and Wert is to be praised. I have read all of the books on Mosby and while the others are good, this one was the most entertaining. It is well researched (as are all of Wert's books), and the author does excellent job of describing the events that brought home the Civl War to the people of Loudoun and Fauquier counties in Virginia.

Jeffry Wert came to his subject about as objectively as is possible in such matters. He was not afraid to point out Mosby's weaknesses - and he had them - but neither was he afraid to trumpet his strengths which were considerably more numerous and important than his weaknesses. John Mosby - in Wert's own words - was the 'most lethal man' about whom the author had ever written and yet, Mosby's 'lethality' is not that of other 'notorious guerrillas and bushwhackers' who fought for the Confederacy, men like Quantrill, Anderson and Ferguson. Rather, his was constrained, premeditated and intellectual in nature; Mosby was no bestial monster who killed in the red rage of sectional hatred. As long as Union soldiers were fighting against him, Mosby - and his men - did not hesitate to kill - and they did it very well indeed! However, once a soldier or a command had surrendered, he immediately embraced that behavior considered honorable in wartime - so much so, in fact,that some of his best friends after the war were officers whom he had captured. Only in two instances did Mosby fight 'under the black flag' - that is, with no prisoners being taken. The first involved the understanding by Mosby's command that they were to kill all troops involved in the destruction of civilian property. The second occurred when Mosby was forced (very much against his will) to engage in retaliation for the hanging and shooting of six of his men at Front Royal and the later hanging of another of his men who had been captured. Mosby believed that unless he responded in kind ('measure for measure' as he himself said) his men would be treated as outlaws and not soldiers when captured. Interestingly enough, in the latter instance, Mosby made sure to get permission to retaliate by going up through the chain of command, requesting the 'blessing' of both Lee and Secretary of War Seddon - which he got. He also chose by lot seven men under Custer and Lowell, the commands that had been responsible for the lynching and shooting of his men. Wert gives us a 'fair and balanced' picture of the man who became the 'patron saint' of today's Special Forces, a man so far ahead of his time strategically that he was often considered a thief and an outlaw by his own side and whose impact on the war was far greater than the size of his command or the limited area in which he fought would indicate. At the same time, however, Wert does not make Mosby into some legendary figure who could have single-handedly rescued the Confederacy if only things had been just slightly different. And yet, it is well to remember that it was Robert E. Lee who, upon hearing of one of Mosby's earliest exploits said, 'Hurrah for Mosby! I wish I had a hundred of him!' Who knows what Lee could have done had he the services of a hundred men with the vision, acumen and intellect of John Singleton Mosby!

I have read many books on or about Mosby over the years, but this one contained the most detail and documentation. I highly recommend it.

I found Mosby's Rangers to be a very interesting book and it is now one of my all-time favorites, Wersh gave very a detailed history of Mosby's life and his actions as a guerilla raider in the Civil War.

Jeffry Wert has committed to words an excellent tale of the South's most successful guerilla leader and his troops. Whether you are a serious student of the Civil War or someone reading your first historical writing, this book will be most enjoyable. The author has skillfully woven personal accounts with narrative so that the military operations and tactical moves of Mosby and his Rangers come alive in the reader's mind. This book will put you in the saddle with the 43rd Battalion of the Virginia Calvary and let you ride along on their guerilla raids and attacks. When you have finished with this superb account of Mosby and his command, you will fully understand why Grant ordered that any Ranger who was captured should be immediately executed without benefit of a trial. For those looking for studious detail, Wert's research is extensive, using memiors, newspaper accounts, and other resources in his well-developed bibliography and notes. Mr. Wert also includes a roster of all soldiers