Colonel John Singleton Mosby, known as the “Gray Ghost,” was a Colonel in the Civil War, and lived for a time in Fauquier County in what is now the Town of Warrenton. He was noted for his lightning quick raids and his ability to successfully elude his pursuers (the Union Army) and disappear (like a ghost); an interesting man who, while a student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, served time in prison for shooting a fellow student, was known for his hot-tempered, lively personality.

After fighting in the First Battle of Bull Run, being promoted to First  Lieutenant, being captured by the Union Army and imprisoned in the Old Capitol Prison in  Washington, D.C., Mosby formed and commanded the 43rd Battalion, Partisan Rangers of the 1st Virginia Cavalry, also known as Mosby’s Men.

Following the end of the Civil War, Mosby and President Grant became close friends, and Mosby served as the American consul to Hong Kong and in the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mosby was laid to rest in the Warrenton Cemetery.

For more information:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_S._Mosby

James Markham Marshall Ambler, born in Fauquier County in 1848, was a soldier in the Confederate Army, and a physician on the Arctic exploring ship, the U.S.S. Jeanette, which sailed from San Francisco, California in July 1879 to begin what would become a nearly two-year long expedition into the icepack north of Siberia.

His medical skills were critical for maintaining the health of his shipmates during their long entrapment in the ice, and during their arduous journey over the rugged ice and frigid seas after the ship sank in June 1881. During the following weeks he treated his companions’ frostbite and tried to maintain their strength as they slowly starved. Passed Assistant Surgeon Ambler was apparently one of the last three members of the group to succumb to hunger and exposure.

Turner Ashby, born in Fauquier County in 1828, was a Confederate cavalry general during the Civil War. He achieved prominence as Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s cavalry commander in the Shenandoah Valley.  Born at Rose Bank Plantation in Fauquier, as a child Ashby often played in the waters of nearby Goose Creek.

He was also known throughout the Shenandoah Valley for his strict adherence to a Code of Chivalry.  An accomplished horseman at an early age, Ashby in his 20s organized a cavalry company of his friends known as the Mountain Rangers. The Mountain Rangers were absorbed into the Virginia Militia in 1859 following John Brown‘s raid at Harpers Ferry; they performed guard duty at Charles Town during Brown’s trial and execution.

At Harpers Ferry, Ashby was assigned to the Virginia Militia command of Colonel Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson.

Ashby cut a striking figure, called by many the “Black Knight of the Confederacy”. He generally rode horses that were pure white or pure black. A civilian in the Valley named Thomas A. Ashby (no relation) wrote about an encounter with him:

He was just entering upon a career that soon made him an heroic character in the history of the Civil War. Dressed now in Confederate gray, with gilt lace on his sleeves and collar, wearing high top-boots with spurs and a broad-brimmed black felt hat with a long black feather streaming behind, his appearance was striking and attractive. He stood about five feet eight inches in height and probably weighed from 150 to 160 pounds (68 to 73 kg). He was muscular and wiry, rather thin than robust or rugged. His hair and beard were as black as a raven’s wing; his eyes were soft and mahogany brown; a long, sweeping mustache concealed his mouth, and a heavy and long beard completely covered his breast. His complexion was dark in keeping with his other colorings. Altogether, he resembled the pictures I have seen of the early Crusaders,—a type unusual among the many men in the army, a type so distinctive that, once observed, it cannot soon be forgotten.

For more information:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner_Ashby

John Marshall (1755 – 1835), born in Fauquier County in 1755, was the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1801 to 1835, helped shape American constitutional law and make the Supreme Court a center of power.  His court opinions helped lay the foundation for U.S. Constitutional Law and made the Supreme Court a coequal branch of government with the Legislative and Executive branches.

Serving as a Chief justice from 1801 to 1835, he remains the longest-serving Chief Justice in Supreme Court history.

Today, the John Marshall Birthplace park in Midland marks the location of the birth of Chief Justice Marshall.

For more information about John Marshall:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshall