In 1863, John Singleton Mosby and his band of irregulars, recruited in Union-occupied northern Virginia, began raiding Yankee outposts, wagon trains, troop detachments, headquarters and railroad lines. Their most celebrated exploit: capturing a Union general behind enemy lines without firing a shot. After each sortie, the Confederate guerrillas would hide in "safe houses" provided by the citizens of two northern Virginia counties. Mosby was captured once (and exchanged) and wounded several times, but continued to plan and personally lead guerrilla raids throughout the final two years of the war. Wert (from Winchester to Cedar Creek) has written the first comprehensive study of Mosby's Rangers and offers new material about its organization, membership and tactics, plus biographical information about Mosby himself. He reveals that the partisan band rarely exceeded 200, that a large percentage of them were teenagers, that the civilians who sheltered them paid a high price in Yankee retribution.

The man and the mission -- A wily foe -- From Miskel's to grapewood -- Mosby's rangers -- Wagon hunting -- Autumn 1863 -- LIfe in Mosby's confederacy -- Blood on the snow -- The cost of war -- Springtime of change -- Into the valley -- Bloody September -- War on railroads -- Reprisal -- Days of flames, days of darkness -- Toward Salem.