John Singleton Mosby was born December 6, 1833 at Edgemont, the home of his maternal Grandfather, in Powhatan County, Virginia.    In 1841 his father purchased a 400-acre farm near Charlottesville, Virginia where he learned to ride and shoot.  At the age of 16, Mosby
already versed in Greek, Latin, and Mathematics entered the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.  When a fellow student threatened him, Mosby shot his assailant through the throat.  He was arrested and found guilty of unlawful shooting.  His fellow students petitioned the Governor for clemency and within several months Mosby was pardoned.

While in jail for the shooting, Mosby was befriended by his prosecutor who loaned him law books to pass the time.  After his release he took up the study of law full time and was admitted to the bar.  He set up practice and married Pauline Clark in 1855.

When war broke out he was practicing law in Bristol, Virginia.  He enlisted in a local Confederate cavalry unit, fought in the Battle of First Manassas, and then was assigned to Gen. J. E. B. Stuart's cavalry as a  scout.  While Stuart prepared to move south for the winter in January 1863, Mosby appealed to Stuart to let him stay behind with a squad of men.

Quickly Mosby became the thorn in the side of the Union; his activities in northern Virginia let General Grant to issue an order for him and his followers, when captured to be hanged without trial.  His men were well disciplined usually operating in bands of 20 to 80, quickly dispersing when overpowered.  For over two years his men kept up their activities.  Mosby himself was wounded seven times.

Rather than surrender, Mosby disbanded his group on April 21, 1865 and returned to the practice of law in Warrenton, Virginia.

Mosby supported U.S. Grant's reelection to the U.S. Presidency and  served as a U.S. Counsel in Hong Kong for seven years.  In 1885, he settled in San Francisco and served as a lawyer for the Southern Pacific Railroad.  He returned to Washington in 1901 and a job with the Justice Department.  

On May 30, 1916 Colonel John Singleton Mosby died in Washington at the age of 83.