Description
Signed copy of Mosby’s War Reminiscences and Stuart’s Cavalry Campaigns, by Confederate cavalry officer, Col. John S. Mosby.
Octavo, 264pp. Red cloth, title in gilt with illustration on spine. Frontispiece portrait, top edge gilt. Dampstain to top quarter of rear cover, no impact to text block. Previous ownership signature in pencil on second free endpaper. Clean text throughout. (Dornbusch II: 1288) (Eicher, 292)
Signed on the front free endpaper: “Jno. S. Mosby.”
John S. Mosby (1833–1916), known as the “Gray Ghost,” was a Confederate cavalry officer during the American Civil War. Leading Mosby’s Rangers (43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry), he conducted raids behind Union lines, disrupting supply chains and communication. Born in Virginia, Mosby was a lawyer before the war and re-entered the legal profession afterward. He later worked as a U.S. consul to Hong Kong and held various government positions, aligning with the Republican Party.
In “Mosby’s War Reminiscences,” the colonel recounts his time with J.E.B. Stuart and evaluates the tactics that made him and Stuart feared by Union generals.
Provenance: The John S. Mosby Collection of Hugh C. Keen, Hindman Auction, October 2024.
