Gray Ghost: The Life of Col. John Singleton Mosby

by James A. Ramage

Confederate John Singleton Mosby forged his reputation on the most exhilarating of military activities: the overnight raid. Mosby possessed a genius for guerrilla and psychological warfare, taking control of the dark to make himself the "Gray Ghost" of Union nightmares. Gray Ghost , the first full biography of Confederate raider John Mosby, reveals new information on every aspect of Mosby's life, providing the first analysis of his impact on the Civil War from the Union viewpoint.

Genres: Civil War, History, Biography, American Civil War, War, Nonfiction

464 pages, Hardcover

First published August 19, 1999

Reviews

[William Sariego · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of attending a presentation by Dr. Ramage at a Civil War Roundtable back in the early 90's. His writing is just as engaging as his lecturing. Mosby is a fascinating character both for his exploits during the war and his service to the reunited country afterwards. Highly recommended to a student of history.

[Mike Imbrenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live smack dab in the middle of Mosby's area of operations. Mosby conducted used a small unit of cavalry to conduct irrelegular warfare operations against union lines of communications, requiring the Union to deploy 10x the number of forces to defend strategic assets and creating a huge swath of space behind union lines that union soldiers were afraid to enter. Mosby was amoung the last confederate officers to surrender, but actually become a huge partisan for Grant after the war and has to take the US Consulship to Hong Kong to prevent his assassination by the Klan. I love this book because it's scope is effectively within 30 miles of my house in all directions and there are historical markers of Mosby engagements all over my town including across from my kids daycare. Fascinating corner of the civil war, but requires a strong knowledge of engagements in at least the Northern Virginia theater to understand.

[Robert K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mosby is one of the most interesting Civil War characters I’ve ever read about. He is downright fun to read about for his exploits during the war all on the back of a horse. The fact that he harassed the Union troops residing here in Virginia on a continual basis and got away with it is appealing to one who appreciates mischievous conduct. But the idea that he actually sat down with prominent Yankee soldiers, had dinner with them & left them believing he was someone other than who he was is just astonishing to me. Moreover, the fact that he placed his Virginia reputation at risk in later years by endorsing Republican President U.S. Grant. Virginians viewed that as a betrayal which placed Mosby on the side of freed blacks which scared white southerners.

I liked learning about this man who is well known & still revered across Virginia.

[Sandra Oldfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good portrayal of a minor character of the war. Toward the end the author puts in a bit too much of his own biases for my liking but overall he does a good job of portraying Mosby's life during and after the civil war.

[William Corrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written account of Col. Mosby's life.

[James Ennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glorifies a trader!

[L.A. Jacob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it’s me, but I think that biographies at this time were kiss ass to their subjects. This one is no exception.

[Gary Willprecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read about Mosby and the leadership he provided in leading raids against the North during the Civil War. He could quietly slip into the middle of a supply convoy of horses, mules and wagons and ride away over 100 mules, loads of supplies and ammunition. The convoy guards would be completely unaware.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This must be THE definitive book on John Singleton Mosby

James A. Ramage has written what must be THE definitive book on the life of John Singleton Mosby, Gray Ghost: The Life of Col. John Singleton Mosby . I cannot imagine a more thoroughly written book on the topic. Ramage discusses his family history, his childhood and more.

Of course, the largest amount is written about his service in the Civil War as a partisan ranger that terrorized the Union troops arrayed against Robert E. Lee. Ramage is definitely a fan of Mosby, but he refuses to get involved in the hype that Mosby and his contemporaries sometimes engaged in concerning how effective Mosby's men were. Ramage agrees that Mosby was cost-effective, meaning that his small groups of men - usually around 120 or so - would tie down thousands of Union soldiers, but disagrees with Mosby himself that he tied down tens of thousands.

The real strength of this biography is that...

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[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent biography of one of the Confederacy's top partisan raiders. A nice recounting of Mosby's adventures during the war scouting for Lee's army and raiding Union supply trains. The part about Mosby's post Civil War career is excellent detailing his break with old Confederates to support Grant in the 1872 Presidential Election. it also details his service in the administration of several other Presidents as Us Counsel in the far east and as a land commissioner in the West. It also details his defense of Jeb Stuart and his literary battles with the Southerners who believed that Lee did not wrong.

[Hugh Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ramage writes one of the best military biographies I have ever read. Setting the stage for Mosby's exploits with an introductory chapter on the psychological effect of guerrilla raids, he prepares the reader excellently for an exciting story. Mosby the man, who had read so widely as a boy that he could not write anything without making literary allusions, comes to life before the reader's eyes. Mosby has never had a better biographer, one who truly understands his perspective at all stages of his life. This biography should stand for a few decades as the definitive Mosby work.

[Grant Turnage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mosby was an amazing man. His experiences in the Civil War are what summer blockbusters are made of. It's too bad that most believe he was on the wrong side of history. He was a tough son a b*tch and a clever and resourceful officer. The book was well written. I enjoyed it. If you are a Civil War buff, read it.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Mosby was a guerrille raider for the Confederacy and vastly impacted Union operations. This is the history of his forces and tactics. A good historical read.

[Joan]

I just couldn't do it. Read 55 pages for book club and was not enjoying it, since I don't like nonfiction, esp bio's. So obviously can't give any starts.

[Fred Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent bio of one of the first commandos