Mosby's Rangers

The 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, also known as Mosby's Rangers, Mosby's Raiders 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.

Try this Mosby's Rangers quiz.

Questions

1. What was the authority for the formation of the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry?

2. By the summer of 1864, how large had the battalion grown?

3. Did the Confederate Congress revoke the authority of the 43rd Battalion?

4. What was the normal size of a small raid?

5. As a Partisan Ranger unit, what uniforms did they wear?

6. Where was the Mosby's Confederacy?

7. What were the terms Mosby's Rangers used in fighting the Union?

8. At the end of the Civil War, did the battalion formally surrender?

Answers

1. The 43rd Battalion was formed on June 10, 1863, at Rector's Cross Roads, near Rectortown, 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 passage of the Partisan Ranger Act in April 1862 by the Confederate Congress, which authorized such.

2. By the summer of 1864, Mosby's battalion had grown to six cavalry companies and one artillery company, comprising about 400 men.

3. After February 1864, the Confederate Congress revoked the authority of all partisan units, except for two, one of which was the 43rd Battalion.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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 disguising 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.