nd
executed with a dash and will which were at times very astonishing. His
men must have been warmly attached to him as their leader, while the
gain they made by their plunder greatly increased their zeal. The
command was truly _unique_ in its leader, its composition, and its
_modus operandi_, while its results, assisted as they were by the
topography of the country, and the Rebel sympathizers within and just
without our lines, attracted no little attention. The orders of General
Stuart and even those of General Lee associated the name of Mosby with
consummate daring and continual success, stimulating the band to greater
deeds. We append one specimen of those orders, furnished us by one of
their own number:

HEADQUARTERS, CAVALRY DIVISION,
Army of Northern Virginia, March 27, 1863.

CAPTAIN--Your telegram, announcing your brilliant achievements
near Chantilly, was duly received and forwarded to General
Lee. He exclaimed upon reading it, "Hurrah for Mosby! I wish
I had a hundred like him!"

Heartily wishing you continued success, I remain your
obedient servant,

J. E. B. STUART,
Major-General Commanding.

Captain J. S. MOSBY, commanding, etc., etc.

But it is not often permitted one man always to prosper in his
enterprises, and even the wonderful Mosby was destined to meet equals,
and to be worsted in engagements. Later in the season, while General
Stahel's cavalry division was picketing the line of the Orange and
Alexandria Railroad, Mosby made a sudden descent one morning upon the
First Virginia Cavalry at Warrenton Junction. Unfortunately, these Union
Virginians, who were one of the best regiments in our service, were just
then unprepared for any such manoeuvring. They had just been relieved
from duty, and were taking their rest. Many of the men were lounging
about under the shade of trees, or quartered for the time in a few block
buildings situated in an angle formed by the two railroads. Their horses
were mostly "unsaddled and unbridled, and hence not fit for a fight,"
while many of them were grazing loosely and quietly in the adjoining
fields.

Mosby advanced upon them from the direction of Warrenton--was at first
mistaken for a squadron of our own cavalry, which had been sent out on a
scouting expedition. The error was soon corrected by a fierce charge
made by the guerillas. Such of the men as were roaming about the
premises, mostly unarm