efore the
day had dawned. The money was divided upon reaching their Confederacy,
each man receiving something over two thousand dollars, Mosby taking
nothing.

Only the men who participated in a particular raid were allowed to
share in its spoil. The officer who commanded the expedition always
controlled the distribution. It was seldom there was anything to divide
except horses and their equipments. Those who had distinguished
themselves in the fight were allowed the first choice as a reward for
their gallantry, the shares of the others being divided by lot. This
system, by rewarding individual merit, encouraged a healthy rivalry
among the men, and at the same time removed all inducement to leave the
fight for plunder. Often when a charge was ordered, a genuine horse-race
followed, the swiftest steeds leading the way.

In this manner the men were mounted and equipped without expense to
themselves or the Confederate Government. On the contrary, the army
quartermaster kept an agent in Mosby's Confederacy, to purchase from the
Rangers their surplus stock and arms. His standing price for a horse was
forty dollars in gold. But each Ranger retained two or more of the best
for his own use. In this way they were always splendidly mounted. I once
heard a Federal officer say he was not surprised that Mosby's men rode
such fine horses, as they had both armies to pick from. The cavalry was
armed with pistols alone, of which each man carried at least two. Their
superiority over all other arms for this branch of the service was
frequently demonstrated. It is a weapon that can be used with one hand,
leaving the other to guide the horse. Cavalry is never really efficient
unless trained to rush into close contact with the enemy. To see the
whites of their eyes is not sufficient; they must ride over the foe. In
the rapid charge the carbine is not only useless, but a positive
incumbrance. The saber is comparatively harmless; it serves to frighten
the timid, but rarely ever deals a death-wound. Let two men encounter
each other in the charge, one relying upon his pistol, the other upon
his saber, and the former, though an ordinary marksman, will almost
invariably get the better of his antagonist. The Rangers realized their
advantage in this respect. It encouraged them to rush into close
quarters, where the rapid discharge of their pistols soon told upon the
enemy, no matter how bravely they had withstood the onset. I have seen
the victory