Unearthing The Untold Story of Civil War Guerilla Warfare

The Union infantry escort aboard the train ran for its life and fired several shots blindly into the woods before another round from a Confederate howitzer penetrated the engine’s boiler, causing a terrifying explosion of steam and metal. Ta. The Rangers charged forward and plundered. train. They first rescued a newspaper carrier with a broken leg from the wreckage, then set the car on fire and scattered before nearby Yankee troops arrived, alerted by the sounds of the scuffle. The 5th New York Cavalry, 1st Vermont Cavalry, and other northern units arrived. About a mile from the ambush position, the Rangers were closely pursued as they attempted to prevent their escape. But instead of continuing to retreat, Mosby ordered a halt, and Chapman removed the barrel of his cannon and opened fire on the Union cavalry. The shell exploded, the Union soldiers scattered, and the Rangers rushed through the opening and roared down the road toward the small community of Greenwich. With Yankees on all sides, Mosby wanted to keep the gun as a “piece of honor” rather than scattering it. He instructed his men to flee in a different direction. He ordered Chapman to unscrew his howitzer and drive off down Barnwell Road.⁸ Meanwhile, to slow the Hunters’ movements, Mosby and several Rangers boldly deployed a rear guard that included “the brave Captain Hoskins, who fell from his horse and was mortally wounded” in hand-to-hand combat with the Union advance guard. The Confederate rear guard bought valuable time for Sam Chapman to set up his guns on a hill near Grapewood Farm, owned by Warren Fitzhugh.⁹ A narrow country lane about 100 yards from the Fitzhugh house was fenced on both sides, and Union cavalry concentrated in the killing zone. As Mosby rode up to Chapman and the other rangers who were manning the guns, he “noticed that their faces were shining with what the Romans called a light.” Gaudia Sertaminis,¹ And they had never looked so happy in their lives. ”^TenThe 5th New York charged down a narrow rocky path “enough for three horses to walk abreast.”¹¹Chapman ignited a bullet from the howitzer’s barrel. The shell exploded in the ranks of New Yorkers. Undaunted, their leader said, “I think we can get the guns before they fire again. Let’s go!”¹²Another of Chapman’s grapeshot shells exploded among a group of Union cavalrymen in a narrow alley. The fragments hurled metal balls resembling giant shotguns that pierced the flesh of horses and men, killing three people and injuring several others. Among them was the leader who had two grape circles placed on his thighs. The New Yorkers charged several times as the Rangers counterattacked from the side of the road, blowing away at the Colts and driving the Yankees back to the bend in the road. The surviving New Yorkers from there joined the 1st Vermont Cavalry.

The New Yorkers, now reinforced by 100 Vermonters, again charged down the country road. At close range of about 50 yards, the cannon spat out more of its deadly iron, killing and wounding more. With the Union troops faltering, Mosby ordered a charge, and the Rangers drove the Yankees to the bottom of the hill.

The Yankees finally broke through, and the ground around Chapman’s cannon deteriorated into fierce hand-to-hand combat in which many Union and Confederate troops fell together. Fighting preacher Sam Chapman stood by his gun until he ran out of ammunition and was seriously injured by a bullet.

A Union prisoner threatened, “I’m going to finish you off.”

“Why? I’m your prisoner now,” the ranger replied.

“Yes; but you shot me in the shoulder here.”

“Well, I guess I had the right to do that because I hadn’t stopped firing at that time.”¹³ Chapman argued.

The officers transported Chapman and Captain Hoskins to Grapewood.¹⁴ He then moved to The Lawn, a mansion in Greenwich owned by fellow Englishman Charles Green. At The Lawn, Hoskins, who was suffering from pain from his wounds, visited Chapman and the two “tried to encourage each other.”¹⁵ The next day, the British officer died in front of Chapman, and Mr. Green buried his body in a nearby churchyard. His grave can be visited.

Portrait of John Singleton Mosby, 1865, William Emerson Strong Photograph Collection, Public Domain

Mosby narrowly avoided capture. Then we drove to James Hathaway’s house (one of his many hideouts) and where his wife Pauline was waiting. Partisans could not endure the same camp life and outdoor life as regular soldiers, so soldiers often lodged in mansions and farms in Fauquier and Redon counties, where many had families. Ta. But his respite was short for Mosby on the night of June 8, 1863. A detachment of the 1st New York Cavalry stormed the red-brick Hathaway mansion, bursting into her bedroom and finding Mrs. Mosby with her mouth clenched in indignation under the bedsheets. The cunning guerrilla leader slipped from his second-story bedroom window onto a large branch of a black walnut tree. He hugged a tree, hiding from the patrols that were watching everywhere but the top of the tree.² With Hathaway on board, the Yankees left the area. He faced countless crises, but the partisan leadership survived unscathed.

Patrick K. O’Donnell is a bestselling and critically acclaimed military historian and expert on elite forces. He is the author of 13 of his books, including a new bestselling book about the Civil War. Unvanquished: The untold story of Lincoln’s special forces, the search for Mosby’s Rangers, and the shadow war that shaped American special operations., It’s currently on display in front of Barnes and Noble stores nationwide. His other bestsellers include: essential things, unknownand Immortals of Washington. Mr. O’Donnell served as a combat historian for a Marine rifle platoon during the Battle of Fallujah and is a frequent lecturer on espionage, special operations and counterinsurgency. He has provided historical consulting for the award-winning DreamWorks miniseries Band of Brothers, as well as documentaries produced by the BBC, History His Channel, and Discovery. PatrickKODonnell.com @Combatant