The Gray Ghost

This series first aired when I was 12; at that time, and I had just begin to develop an interest in the War between the States. Although it was hard to find at times due to the limitation on available channels, I did manage to watch even syndicated showings over the two or three years following its initial telecast season (1957-58). I would love to get this 39-episode series on DVD, but I have been able to find only one set, which has 27 episodes, with the note that the remaining ones apparently have been lost forever :-(

I have the two books by Virgil Carrington Jones upon which this series was based, and they are great reads. Maybe I will go with the "short" set since no complete set seems to be available, but I do recommend it as great adventure without the graphic violence seen in so much television nowadays.

I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia where Mosby made a name for himself. In all the political correctness of recent times history is forgetting that the South, and this area of Virginia in particular, was invaded and systematically damaged by a marauding foreign army and many people fought against this invasion not necessarily defending the institution of slavery but defending their homes and friends. The Gray Ghost series certainly portrays this part of history with a dashing hero and gallant soldiers. It made an impression on a young Virginian and has stuck with me for all these years. I still think of Mosby and his men as heroes (as well as many other Confederate soldiers/sympathizers, including my g-g-grandfather). Enjoyed the series immensely !

I think this was one of the better shows on TV. It was fairly accurate to history which was unusual for Hollywood. Tod Andrews was great as Mosby. This show showed a side of the Confederacy that some people didn't like. It actually showed a confederate as a hero. I believe that this was the reason the show did not last more than one season. All in all this was a very good show and one I would recommend especially to civil war buffs. The shows were based on events that happened as Major Mosby and his troops fought for what they believed. It is a shame that we do not have more episodes of this show to be able to view now. I plan on getting all of the episodes on DVD so that I can enjoy them again. I watched this show when I was a kid and I like it as much now as I did then.

As an 11 year old, I'd always schedule my time to see this show. The theme song was the tune to 'Yellow Rose of Texas' which played during the opening lines. While saddened by it's end, I was not aware, until now that it (not surprisingly)had been a victim of early 'political correctness'.

To read that it attempted historical accuracy was a pleasant surprise, considering many westerns of that era. There were other shows and movies of that time which also were kinder to the Confederacy. One was 'Drums in the Deep South' with Guy Madison.

I'm now pretty fuzzy on most of the episodes. Having more recently read about the main character, I learned a couple more facts:

(1) Yes, Grant wanted him dead, and the main person Mosby often outfoxed was a young officer named Custer. (2) After the war, Mosby joined the Republican Party, which ironically had played a part in pushing the South into the war to begin with. Coincidentally, another general (Longstreet) earned more ire from many of his former compatriots for doing the same thing.

Maybe some day, I'll get to see the series again through more mature eyes.

I was reading the letters in the local fish-wrap's TV page yesterday, & somebody asked about The Gray Ghost, saying his friends thought he was crazy. I used to love that show....I couldn't think of any theme music for it, so had to content myself with the theme from "Swamp Fox"(of course, starring Lt Frank Drebbin, aka Leslie Nielsen as Francis Marion), but when I got to the part "...got no shelter when it rains, all we've got are Yankee brains.." I went, "Hey, that ain't right." Tried to find something on YouTube, but no luck, but actually, I think maybe I'd rather just remember it as really good. I've only run across a few shows that really have stood the test of time besides the mega-classics: I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, Real McCoys, Dobie, and The Bob Cummings Show/Love That Bob.