PUBLIC "-//Fairfax County Public Library//TEXT (US::ViF::vif00158::A Guide to the John S. Mosby Letters)//EN" "vif00158.xml" A Guide to the John S. Mosby Letters, 1864-1910 John S. Mosby Letters MSS 06-25 © 2024 Fairfax County Public Library. All rights reserved. Machine-readable finding aid created by Ross Landis, February 11, 2024 Description is in English A Guide to the John S. Mosby Letters, 1864-1910 A Collection in The Fairfax County Public Library MSS 06-25

Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library Descriptive Summary Fairfax County Public Library The John S. Mosby Letters, 1864-1910 MSS 06-25 0.5 linear feet English 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. Mosby, John Singleton (1833-1916) Administrative Information Access Restrictions

None

Use Restrictions

Consult repository for information

Preferred Citation

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 2023EAD generated by Ross Landis, 2024

Historical and Biographical Information

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.

Scope and Content

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.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

None

Index Terms Beattie, Fountain “Fount” (1840-1923) Chinn, Benton (1844-1926) Confederate States of America. Army. Virginia Cavalry Battalion, 43rd. Guerrillas -- Southern States -- Correspondence. Keith, Thomas R. (1872-1937) Mosby, John Singleton (1833-1916) Soldiers -- Southern States -- Correspondence. Container List Letter: John S. Mosby to Thomas Keith, with newspaper clipping, 1900 January 20 Photocopy of John Mosby Farewell Order dated Apr 2, 1864 [sic] “letter in possession of James L. Klipstein”, 1864 [1865] April 2 Photocopy of letter, John S. Mosby to Joseph Bryan, [1907] November 9 Photocopy of letter, John S. Mosby to John S. Russell, 1908 March 11 Aperture cards (7) of photocopied letters in folders 6 through 40, 1888-1910 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, [1888] Postcard, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1895 January 29 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1895 December 27 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, [1896] January 30 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, [1896] February 10 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, [1896] April 23 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, [1896] April 29 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, [1896] October 11 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, [1896] October 22 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1897 October 17 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1897 October 18 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1897 October 20 Letter, John C. Ropes to John S. Mosby (w/Mosby's response), 1897 December 14 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1898 January 9 Letter, John S. Mosby to Alice Chinn, 1898 January 22 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1898 February 5 Letter, John S. Mosby to Alice Chinn, 1898 May 19 Undated note, John S. Mosby [to Alice Chinn], [1898 July] Postcard, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1901 July 20 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, [1901 October] Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, [1903] Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, [1903] Letter, R.E. Lee, Jr. to Alice [Chinn], 1904 April 1 Letter, John S. Mosby to Frank B. Pemberton (1 of 2), 1904 September 23 Letter, John S. Mosby to Frank B. Pemberton (2 of 2), 1904 September 23 Letter, John S. Mosby to Judge James Keith, 1906 January 27 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1906 February 28 Letter, Lawrence Washington to John S. Mosby, 1906 March 23 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1906 June 6 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1907 June 21 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1907 July 24 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1908 March 12 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1909 March 29 Letter, John S. Mosby to Fount Beattie, 1909 May 29 Letter, John S. Mosby to Benton Chinn, 1910 February 12 John S. Mosby Letters collection original cover sheet, Undated