John Singleton Mosby (original) (raw)

Aftermath & Reconstruction

John Singleton Mosby "A Long And Stormy Career" December 6, 1833 - May 30, 1916

Confederate Col. John Singleton Mosby opted not to surrender his partisan command at the end of the war, but rather to disband the unit and let its members make their own peace with the victorious Yankees. Just 31 years old, Mosby reopened his law practice in Warrenton, VA, the heart of the territory in which his rangers had operated during the war. Mosby earned the enmity of many Southerners when he supported Republican politics and Ulysses S. Grant's bids for the White House. His politics were so contrary to the view held by most Southerners that he was persecuted and ostracized. He and Grant were kindred spirits and held a mutual appreciation for each other. In the summer of 1878 Mosby accepted an appointment as consul to Hong Kong from President Rutherford B. Hayes.

Mosby, a widower, farmed his six children out to relatives and friends and set out for his new post, where he discovered widespread corruption and embezzlement of government funds in the Asian consul offices. He caused an investigation that brought on reform and upheaval in the Far East foreign service offices. Mosby was replaced in Hong Kong in 1885, and upon returning to the United States, found that his old friend Grant, on the day before his death, had secured Mosby a job in San Francisco with the Southern Pacific Railroad.

While in California, Mosby became friends with a young boy named George S. Patton, with whom he would ride while relating Civil War stories. In 1897 he lost an eye and sustained a fractured skull when kicked by a horse. Four years later, at the age of 67, Mosby lost his job with the railroad, and President William McKinley secured for him a job with the Department of the Interior enforcing federal fencing laws in Omaha. Mosby did so with such vigor that local politicians had him recalled, and he was sent to Alabama to chase trespassers on government-owned land before taking a job in the Justice Department, a position he kept until 1910. He died in Washington on Memorial Day 1816.

Fascinating Fact: The last time Mosby saw Grant was when Grant stopped in Hong Kong while on a trip around the world after completing his presidency.

Back to index page