Contents of Mosby's Confederacy

Rather a busy day here and expecting a snowstorm or just a mess tomorrow (we generally get our first snowfall in early December), so not much free time to devote to the blog. I thought it best to post the table of contents of Mosby's Confederacy to give an idea of the book's organization and ... contents. The various tours listed can each be accomplished in the space of day, provided one has a reliable guide, such as the book or a knowledgeable individual.

Mosby's Confederacy

Evans, Thomas J., and James M. Moyer. Mosby's Confederacy: A Guide to the Roads and Sites of Colonel John Singleton Mosby. Shippensburg, Pa.: White Mane Pub. Co, 1991.

From the book’s dust-jacket: “As Mosby said after reading the Life of Marion, ‘I remember how I shouted when I read aloud…the way the great partisan hid in the swamp and outwitted the British.’ As an old veteran, he explained his war tactics to an interested small boy named George S. Patton, Jr. In between, Col. John Singleton Mosby earned a reputation as the Civil War’s greatest guerrilla leader. He so dominated his chosen battleground, centering in Northern Virginia, close to the seat of the Union government, that it became known as Mosby’s Confederacy.”

This wonderful book is relatively hard to come by, yet it is essential reading for anyone contemplating day-trips into Mosby’s Confederacy. It was written by many of the stalwarts of the Stuart-Mosby Historical Society, some of whom I’ve known and many I regret that I did not know. Several of these men and women fall into the category of those we call “old-timers,” in that they knew or knew someone who knew some of Mosby’s men. So, much of what is found here is based upon oral history or rather obscure written sources. Even if you never chance to enter Mosby’s Confederacy, you may be fascinated by the places and events described  in this book and the people who inhabited them not so long ago.

Forgotten Fights

Michno, Gregory, and Susan Michno. Forgotten Fights: Little-Known Raids and Skirmishes on the Frontier, 1823 to 1890. Missoula, Mont.: Mountain Press Pub. Co., 2008.

In this book, the Michnos (husband and wife) supplement the coverage of their earlier book, the Encyclopedia of Indian Wars (2003), with a detailed compilation covering about 300 small fights of the Indian wars during 1823-1890. These events were not included in the earlier publication. The book begins with a simple state-by-state chronology of the incidents examined. Each chronology is keyed to an outline map showing the locations of the incidents, plus rivers and forts and camps. This is followed by brief narratives of each event, in chronological order, from Skull Creek (Eagle Lake, Texas) in spring 1823 to Salt River (Globe, Arizona) on Mar. 7, 1890. In 1890, the frontier was declared “closed,” and the Indian wars ended. The authors’ brief Summary is sobering in its assessment of the enormous cost of the wars in human lives and property. The Notes, Bibliography, and Index are extensive and well-done.

Modern Guerrilla Warfare

Having spent the better part of the last five years or so studying and analyzing the subject, it's a pleasure to catch up with some of the earlier literature which, while appealing, hadn't seemed directly (too) useful to the work at hand. In fact, Osanka's volume is useful as representative of the thinking in the West on guerrilla warfare as it confronted the Communist threat worldwide at the time. It consists of 37 essays and case studies by scholars, experts, and military men with practical experience in all aspects of guerrilla and counterguerrilla warfare, not only in World War II and the postwar world but also in previous history. Of course, as the title indicates, the emphasis is on tactics, techniques, procedures, and policies in Soviet Russia, Communist China, the Philippines, Indochina, Laos, Vietnam, Malaya, and Cuba. The work is supported by an extensive research bibliography.