American Historical Ephemera and Photography

3 7/8 x 5 1/2 in. albumen/silver gelatin enlargement photograph on cardstock mount (spotting, few punctures, soiling to print; spotting, soiling and wear including corner losses to mount); framed to 7 1/2 x 10 in. (not examined out of frame). Signed "Jno. S. Mosby" on mount recto. Inscribed "For Ada - Copy of photo taken in Richmond in 1864 when I was wounded. J.S.M. Age 30." The print here is a later enlargement/copy of the original photograph taken in 1864.

John Singleton Mosby (1833-1916) enlisted as private in his native Virginia and was soon appointed Major of the "Virginia Volunteers," composed of two mounted companies and eight infantry companies. The Confederate Congress passed the Partisan Ranger Act in April 1862 while Mosby was scouting for J.E.B. Stuart on the Peninsula. Mosby was captured in July and held for ten days in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, DC before being part of the first exchange of prisoners in the war. By the end of the year, Mosby and Stuart were engaging in raids behind enemy lines. Mosby was then in command of the 43rd Virginia Cavalry which became known as "Mosby's Raiders/Rangers," and he earned the nickname "Gray Ghost."

After the war, Mosby went into hiding in Lynchburg until he was paroled by Ulysses S. Grant. The two became friends, and Mosby even acted as Grant's election manager in Virginia, which many southerners saw as a complete betrayal of their cause. Grant noted that he found Mosby to be "thoroughly honest and truthful," and Mosby was appointed to a number of government positions, including as consul to Hong Kong under Rutherford B. Hayes.