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Confederate guerilla leader John Singleton Mosby and his intrepid Rangers are known for their incredibly daring feats, but they weren’t always successful. One chilly night in the winter of 1864, the Union calvary met the Confederates’ surprise raid with a bloody defeat.
Their fears were realized as the recently minted commander of Mosby’s Company B, Captain Billy Smith, collected nearly three dozen Rangers to go after the Union troopers. Smith ambushed Hunter at Five Points, a junction where five country lanes converge about four miles from Rectortown. Forming a line of battle, the Union troopers occupied a strong position and fired their carbines at the oncoming horsemen, but many of the cartridges were damp from the inclement weather and misfired.
Screaming as they charged into the Union flanks and rear, the Rangers unleashed a torrent of lead from their Colts. Smith’s second charge broke Hunter’s men. The Rangers routed the Federals, “killing, wounding, and capturing 57.” In the melee, Hunter was unhorsed and lay wounded and bruised on the ground. Two Rangers with empty pistols stood over him and demanded his weapons.
About 200 yards from the sleeping, unsuspecting camp, Mosby paused and ordered Stringfellow and a few other men to stealthily capture Cole and his staff, located in a two-story house 100 yards from the battalion’s bivouac area. Instead “the party sent with Stringfellow came dashing over the hill toward the camp, yelling and shooting. They made no attempt to secure Cole,” remembered Mosby.
Crimson blood splattered the white snow. Several Rangers including one of Mosby’s original fifteen were mortally wounded. A signal gun from Harpers Ferry discharged, indicating Union reinforcements were on the march toward the besieged camp. Faced with mounting casualties, Mosby ordered his men to retire. As the Rangers tried to evacuate their wounded, more went down, including Billy Smith, as he tried to save young Charles Paxson who had been unhorsed by a hail of bullets.
The Confederate’s retreat to Woodgrove was filled with gloom; “sad and sullen silence pervaded our ranks and found expression in every countenance.” Mosby called it “one of the worst fights.” His Rangers suffered great losses—eight killed and several wounded who possessed invaluable leadership and experience. The Rangers’ strength stemmed from the exceptional skill and bravery of the men.
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