Miskel's Farm
The Battle at Miskel’s Farm
Abstract
The Battle at Miskel’s Farm placed the Confederate scout forces of John Singleton Mosbys’ Partisan Rangers against the Union forces of Major Charles F. Tagert on 31 March 1863, on a small farm in Loudon County, Virginia in a battle that would display the ferocious confidence and unwavering tenacity of Captain John Singleton Mosby who was never captured by the Union forces. This battle, won by Mosbys’ Rangers, highlights the Principles of Offense, Unity of Command, Security, and Surprise, and the Tenents of Initiative and Agility. Additionally present were the violations of the Battlefield Operating System of Intelligence and Command and Control. This victory cemented Captain John Mosby’s reliability as a confident and credible leader for the Confederates during the Civil War.
The Battle at Miskel’s Farm
Introduction
The Battle at Miskel Farm occurred on Thomas and Lydia Miskel’s farm in Loudon County, Virginia where Broad Run empties into the Potomac River on 31 March 1863. Once serving as a scout under the 1st Virginia Calvary, John Singleton Mosby raised a troop of 69 Partisan Calvary men authorized under the Confederate government’s Partisan Ranger Act of 1862 to operate behind enemy lines and raid federal supply trains.3 This allowed them to obtain valuable intelligence and supplies from the Union forces in order to help sustain the Confederate forces. This battle emphasized the effective use of Offensive Manuevers, Security and Surprise, and the Tenets of Initiative and Agility. It also conclusively demonstrated that the lack of security and ability to surprise does not always overcome a solid unity of command. One primary source was used, William J. Stier, Civil War Times. Secondary sources include Mosby’s Rangers by Jeffry D. Wert, and several references provided by the AMEDD History Department.
Strategic Setting
John Mosby’s troop of Rangers was organized in 1862 under the
Abstract
The Battle at Miskel’s Farm placed the Confederate scout forces of John Singleton Mosbys’ Partisan Rangers against the Union forces of Major Charles F. Tagert on 31 March 1863, on a small farm in Loudon County, Virginia in a battle that would display the ferocious confidence and unwavering tenacity of Captain John Singleton Mosby who was never captured by the Union forces. This battle, won by Mosbys’ Rangers, highlights the Principles of Offense, Unity of Command, Security, and Surprise, and the Tenents of Initiative and Agility. Additionally present were the violations of the Battlefield Operating System of Intelligence and Command and Control. This victory cemented Captain John Mosby’s reliability as a confident and credible leader for the Confederates during the Civil War.
The Battle at Miskel’s Farm
Introduction
The Battle at Miskel Farm occurred on Thomas and Lydia Miskel’s farm in Loudon County, Virginia where Broad Run empties into the Potomac River on 31 March 1863. Once serving as a scout under the 1st Virginia Calvary, John Singleton Mosby raised a troop of 69 Partisan Calvary men authorized under the Confederate government’s Partisan Ranger Act of 1862 to operate behind enemy lines and raid federal supply trains.3 This allowed them to obtain valuable intelligence and supplies from the Union forces in order to help sustain the Confederate forces. This battle emphasized the effective use of Offensive Manuevers, Security and Surprise, and the Tenets of Initiative and Agility. It also conclusively demonstrated that the lack of security and ability to surprise does not always overcome a solid unity of command. One primary source was used, William J. Stier, Civil War Times. Secondary sources include Mosby’s Rangers by Jeffry D. Wert, and several references provided by the AMEDD History Department.
Strategic Setting
John Mosby’s troop of Rangers was organized in 1862 under the
Bibliography: CWTI Staff. "John S. Mosby- An Appraisal." Civil War Times Illustrated Nov. 1965: 4- 7, 54-59. Colonel John Singleton Mosby. Shippensburg: White Mane Publishing Company, 1991 FReeper Foxhole. "Colonel John Singleton Mosby (1833-1916)." www.freerepublic.com. May 2003. 21 Apr. 2008 . Jones, Virgil Carrington. "Chantilly and Miskel Farm." Ranger Mosby. North Carolina: University of North Carolina, 1944 Stier, William J. "Specters At dawn." Civil War Times Feb. 2005: 24-32. Wert, Jeffry D. "Chapter 3, From Miskel 's to Grapewood." Mosby 's Rangers. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990 Kenyon, 1896. 50-57. 2 Evans, Thomas J, James M Moyer and Virgil Carrington Jones, Tour #14, The Battle of Miskel’s Farm (Shippensburg: White Mane Publishing, 1991) 47-49 3 Newborn, Horace, “The Operations of Mosbys Rangers,” 2000, Blue & Gray Magazine 4University of North Carolina, “Chantilly and Miskel Farm”s. < http://www.UF.Historical.edu/Civil War/Yeehaw> (15 April 2001).