Rebel: The Life and Times of John Singleton Mosby

by Kevin H. Siepel, Eugene McCarthy (Foreword)

Rebel  is the first complete biography of Col. John S. Mosby, one of the  Confederacy's best-known practitioners of guerrilla warfare. The book not only covers his early life and wartime exploits, but also delves into his postwar life, breaking new ground in the process. Mosby, one-time nemesis of the U.S. government, not only became a staunch Republican and the friend of Republican presidents, but also went on to serve in crusading positions as U.S. consul in Hong Kong, as a Land Office special agent in Nebraska and Alabama, and as an attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice. A fighter for much of his long life, he was nonetheless thoroughly revolted by the carnage being perpetrated in Europe as he approached his death in 1916.

Genres: Civil War, American Civil War, History, Biography

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Kevin H. Siepel writes on personal, historical, and environmental themes. His most recent work is the two-volume Conquistador Voices, a fresh look at the Spanish Conquest of the Americas that makes extensive use of eyewitness and first-person accounts by conquistadors or others to whom the account may have been dictated. The five personages covered in these two volumes are Christopher Columbus, Hernan Cortes, Francisco Pizarro, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, and Hernando de Soto.
The author’s benchmark Rebel: The Life and Times of John Singleton Mosby (St. Martin’s, DaCapo, University of Nebraska Press) has proven durable, as has his biography of a western New York state pioneer, which also broke new ground.
Siepel’s essays and articles have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Service Journal, Civil War, Wild West, two Chicken Soup for the Soul volumes, at www.wordworth.com, and elsewhere. One of his Monitor essays was translated into several languages and published worldwide by Readers Digest.
Siepel speaks and teaches Spanish.

Reviews

[Sarah Bierle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, it was a good introductory biography. There was a lot of Civil War story and explaining things that didn't have a lot to do with Mosby, but I think the author was trying to explain the war, in case readers weren't familiar. I felt there were more details about Mosby himself in the post-war section and this part of the book was superb.
It was a good book to start with, but I will definitely be looking for another to learn more about Mosby's family and Civil War adventures. I realize the raiders probably didn't keep a lot of journals, but there must be documentation that could fill out the account a little better.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until reading this book I'd thought of Mosby simply in terms of his role as a Confederate irregular during the civil war. This period of his life covers only half the story of this book, a full biography of the figure. In fact, Mosby went on to become the friend of Republican presidents, beginning with Grant, and worked consistently towards a reconciliation between the South and North.

[Tom Darrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average biography. Nothing will really jump out and amaze you.

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy and breezy read about a true maverick. Mosby was a hard man to figure out because he was an independent thinker. It made him a great partisan commander but a lackluster politician.