Writing after the Civil War, Confederate Geneeral John S. Mosby reminisced about the activities of his partisan, Confederate raiders, noting “ As we operated in Sheridan’s rear, the railroad that brought his supplies was his weak point and consequently our favorite object of attack.” In early October 1864 Mosby’s men discovered an unguarded approach to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad near Kearneysville, west of Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. In the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, October 13, 1864 Mosby’s command struck, taking up a section of the track and derailing a passenger train. Two U.S. army paymasters were seized along with $173,000 of funds intended for Sheridan’s command. In one of the boldest of the war’s many raids Mosby’s partisans escaped with the cash after unceremoniously burning the train.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.