be possible to penetrate
Wyndham's entire system of cavalry posts as far as Fairfax Courthouse
itself. Here, then, was the making of the spectacular coup which Mosby
needed to answer his critics and enemies, both at Middleburg and at
army headquarters. He decided to attempt nothing less than a raid upon
Fairfax Courthouse, with the capture of Wyndham as its purpose.

This last would entail something of a sacrifice, for he had come to
esteem Sir Percy highly as an opponent whose mind was an open book and
whose every move could be predicted in advance. With Wyndham
eliminated, he would have to go to the trouble of learning the mental
processes of his successor.

However, Wyndham would be the ideal captive to grace a Mosby triumph,
and a successful raid on Fairfax Courthouse, garrisoned as it was by
between five and ten thousand Union troops, would not only secure
Mosby's position in his own army but would start just the sort of a
panic which would result in demands that the Union rear be re-enforced
at the expense of the front.

So, on Sunday, March 8, Mosby led thirty-nine men through the gap at
Aldie, the largest force that had followed him to date. It was the
sort of a foul night that he liked for raiding, with a drizzling rain
falling upon melting snow. It was pitch dark before they found the
road between Centreville and Fairfax, along which a telegraph line had
been strung to connect the main cavalry camp with General Stoughton's
headquarters. Mosby sent one of his men, Harry Hatcher, up a pole to
cut the wire. They cut another telegraph line at Fairfax Station and
left the road, moving through the woods toward Fairfax Courthouse. At
this time, only Mosby and Yank Ames knew the purpose of the
expedition.

It was therefore with surprise and some consternation that the others
realized where they were as they rode into the courthouse square and
halted. A buzz of excited whispers rose from the men.

"That's right," Mosby assured them calmly. "We're in Fairfax
Courthouse, right in the middle of ten thousand Yankees, but don't let
that worry you. All but about a dozen of them are asleep. Now, if you
all keep your heads and do what you're told, we'll be as safe as
though we were in Jeff Davis' front parlor."

He then began giving instructions, detailing parties to round up
horses and capture any soldiers they found awake and moving about. He
went, himself, with several men, to the home of a citizen named
Murray, wh