In my novel Brookhaven, I have the 13-year-old Sam McClure sent to the Confederate army in the East. His father had fought with Robert E. Lee in the Mexican American War, and Lee hoped that the young Sam had learned some of his father’s espionage and survival skills. The young man is assigned to a unit called Colby’s Rangers, and after a few weeks of basic training is sent with others to prepare for Lee’s invasion of the North, which culminated in the Battle of Gettysburg.
The model for Colby’s Rangers in the novel is an actual unit called Mosby’s Rangers. It was less involved in espionage and more involved in disruptions of federal lines, camps, and supply lines. When General Jeb Stuart “rode around” the Union army of George McClellan in 1862, it was Mosby’s Rangers leading the cavalry.
To continue reading, please see my post today at Dancing Priest.
Some Wednesday Readings
Humanizing the Humanist: Irving Babbitt – Bradley Birzer.
When Culture Comes Full Circle – Michael De Sapio at The Imaginative Conservative.
Gettysburg’s Test of Courage – Francis Sempa at Modern Age.
Unconditional: Frank Blair’s Fight for Missouri – Devan Sommerville at Emerging Civil War.
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