The John S. Mosby Letters consist of 0.5 linear feet and span the years 1864-1910 and consist of 1 original handwritten letter,
two folders of photocopies of handwritten and typed correspondence and one folder of aperture cards of the photocopies in
folders 6 through 40.
John S. Mosby Letters, MSS 06-25, Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library
Acquisition Information
The original letter in folder 1 from John Mosby to Thomas R. Keith dated January 20, 1900, was donated to the Historical Society
of Fairfax County in 1950-1951 by Keith’s daughter, Hannah Keith Howze. The letter was later transferred to Fairfax County
Public Library’s Virginia Room on an unknown date. The two photocopied letters from John Mosby in Folders 3-4 were a gift
of Dr. Kenneth S. McAtee, May 1989. The photocopies of John Mosby letters 1864-1910 in folders 5 through 40 were a gift of
Mrs. Virgie R. Ritchie. Folder 5 contains seven aperture cards containing images of the letters in folders 6-40.
Processing Information
Mark F. Hall, September 2023 EAD generated by Ross Landis, 2024
John Singleton Mosby, b. Dec. 6, 1833, Powhatan County, VA. Attended Hampden-Sydney College and the University of Virginia;
later studied law and admitted to Virginia bar. Joined Confederate Army, served in 1st Virginia Cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart.
Appointed to lead 43rd Virginia Cavalry ("Mosby's Command"), which operated as partisan rangers and guerrillas often behind
Union lines in Northern Virginia. Mosby’s raids earned him the nickname “The Gray Ghost” and parts of Northern Virginia were
known in the press as Mosby's Confederacy. One of his most famous exploits was the capture of Union Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Stoughton
from a house (now the rectory of Truro Parish) across Main Street from the old Fairfax County Courthouse. After the war, Mosby
served as U.S. consul to Hong Kong (1878-1885), and later as an attorney for the Southern Pacific Railroad, a land agent for
the U.S. Department of the Interior, and an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. He died May 30, 1916, and is buried
in Warrenton, VA.
The John S. Mosby Letters consist of 0.5 linear feet and span the years 1864-1910 and consist of 1 original handwritten letter,
two folders of photocopies of handwritten and typed correspondence and one folder of aperture cards of the photocopies in
folders 6 through 40. The original handwritten letter contains a newspaper clipping and the letter refutes statements in the
newspaper. Much of the correspondence in folders 5 through 40 consists of letters from Mosby to Benton Chinn, chiefly regarding
contemporary newspaper references to Mosby’s Rangers, other Civil War topics, and political issues of the era in addition
to personal matters. Transcriptions of the letters are included.
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