Mosby, John Singleton (1833–1916)

US soldier. He was practising law when the Civil War began and he joined the Confederate forces in Virginia, fighting at First Bull Run and scouting for Jeb Stuart. From January 1863 to the end of the Civil War, he operated as a partisan ranger in western Virginia, leading hit-and-run raids against scattered outposts of the federals, who viewed him as an outlaw. (His most famous incident involved his surprising Union General Edwin Stoughton in bed and slapping him on the behind.)

Mosby was born in Edgemont, Virginia. As a student at the University of Virginia, he had shot a fellow student; while in jail he began to read law under his defence lawyer. As a soldier, he was noted for his gray cape, lined with scarlet, and the large ostrich plume on his hat. He lost popularity in the South for supporting Ulysses Grant for president. He briefly served as US consul in Hong Kong and practiced law in California, but returned to Virginia to a long career as a lawyer.