John S. Mosby was a Confederate soldier in the United States Civil War. Born in Virginia, he opposed succession, but when Virginia succeeded from the United States he joined the Confederate Army.http://www.mosbyheritagearea.org/whowasmosby.html He was a scout for General J.E.B. Stuart and was eventually given command of a band of guerilla soldiers that attacked and harassed Union trains and railroad junctions, depots, supply wagon trains, and guard stations.http://www.mosbyheritagearea.org/whowasmosby.html

Mosby studied military history and tactics, and promoted the strategy of a using a small band of soldiers to live among civilians and carry out attacks on enemies. His operations were carried out so successfully that he earned the nickname “Gray Fox”.http://www.mosbyheritagearea.org/whowasmosby.html

John S. Mosby was born December 6, 1833, in Powhatan County, Virginia. He grew up in Nelson and Albemarle counties in Virginia, and as a child be admired the "Swamp Fox", Francis Marion. Marion was an American officer during the American Revolution and is considered to be one of the originators of modern guerilla warfare.http://www.mosbyheritagearea.org/chronology.html

Mosby entered the University of Virginia in 1850, but was imprisoned for shooting a fellow student who had threatened him.http://www.mosbyheritagearea.org/chronology.html He studied law while in prison, and upon his release studied for the bar exam. In 1855 he was licensed to practice law. He married a woman named Pauline Clarke on December 30, 1857.http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=genpub;idno=acp5211.0001.001 He practiced law until the outbreak of the Civil War. Although he had opposed secession, he joined to Confederate Army when Virginia seceded from the United States.http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=genpub;idno=acp5211.0001.001

Mosby served during the Civil War as a scout and in 1863 was given official command of a unit of rangers who lived among the population in Virginia. The unit, the 43rd Virginia Battalion of Cavalry, would gather for attacks on the U.S. Federal forces and outposts, and then return to hide among the population again.http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/mosby/mosby.html After the Civil War ended, Mosby became friends with Ulysses S. Grant. He was appointed Consul to Hong Kong, and worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad after his return from Hong Kong. He later worked as an assistant attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC. He died on May 30, 1916, in Washington, D.C.http://www.mosbyheritagearea.org/chronology.html

1833: Born in Powhatan County, Virginiahttp://www.mosbyheritagearea.org/chronology.html

1853: Convicted of ‘unlawful shooting’ of a fellow University of Virginia student

1855: Licensed to practice law in Virginia

1862: Advised General J.E.B. Stuart to circle McClellan’s army and attack his rear positions, resulting in Stuart’s ride around McClellan’s army on the Virginia Peninsulahttp://www.mosbyheritagearea.org/chronology.html

1863: Begins conducting raids on Union forces

1876: Served as the U.S. Consul to Hong Kong

1916: Dies in Washington, D.C.http://www.mosbyheritagearea.org/chronology.html