| “ | [Mosby's Men] are a nuisance and an evil to the service. Without discipline, order or organization, they roam over the country, a band of theives, stealing, pillaging, plundering and doing every manner of mischief. They are a terror to the citizens and an injury to the cause.
— General Fitz Lee
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The 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, better known as Mosby's Rangers, was a controversial group of men who harrassed Union Supply Trains and couriers. The controversy comes from what they were: many called them guerrillas or partisans, while others called them heroes and soldiers. Operating for two years during the war, the Ranger's didn't take part in any of the direct major battles in Virginia or the area around it, but they took part in fourty-three noteworthy raids against the Union Lines: against railroads, supply trains, and even towns. Their greatest achievements took place in October 1864, when they captured 1,600 horses and mules, 230 Cattle, 85 Wagons, and caused 1,200 casualties, including Brigadier General Edwin Stoughton, who was so caught by surprise he was still asleep in bed when the Rangers got him.
Many historians have studied the effect Mosby had on the war and the Southern War Effort. John Munson, one of the last surviving members wrote "Our objective was to annoy the enemy, and in that we succeeded." He went further, stating that General Grant had admitted that "Mosby's Band of three-hundred men kept 17,000 men away from the front lines," guarding everything to railroad juctions to mail trains.
Battle vs. Sepoy (by LB&SCR)[]
TBW.
Expert's Opinion[]
TBD.