glance at the map it will be observed that it bordered upon the Blue
Ridge Mountains on the west, and the Bull Run Mountains on the east. The
valley between is one of the richest, most beautiful, and highly
cultivated in the State of Virginia. It was thickly inhabited with old
Virginia families, who were loyal and true to the Southern cause. These
people received Mosby's men into their houses as their guests, and
neither danger nor want could tempt their betrayal. Robin Hood's band
sought safety in the solitudes of Sherwood Forest, Marion's men secreted
themselves "in the pleasant wilds of Snow's Island" and other South
Carolina swamps, but the Partizan Rangers of Virginia protected
themselves by dispersing in an open country among a sympathizing people.
They never established a camp; to have done so would have invited
capture. Each soldier had his boarding-house, where he lived when off
duty, as a member of the family. From these they would come, singly or
in groups, bringing their rations with them to some designated
rendezvous, march rapidly to and from the point of attack, send their
prisoners under guard to the nearest Confederate post, divide the spoil,
and disperse. If they were pursued by an overwhelming force as was
frequently the case, the evening found them scattered to the four winds,
where each man, mounted upon his own fleet steed, could protect himself
from capture. If the Federals attempted to follow the chase in small
parties, the Rangers, from behind every hill and grove, would
concentrate and dash upon them. If they marched in solid column, the
Rangers would hang upon their flanks, firing upon them from behind
trees, fences, and hilltops. In this way, General Julius Stahel, who had
invaded Mosby's Confederacy with two brigades of cavalry and four pieces
of artillery for the avowed purpose of utterly demolishing the Rangers,
was so annoyed that he retired, thoroughly disgusted with an enemy "who
only fought when they got their foe at a disadvantage."