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.

This show was the best show on TV when I was a small child. I have had a lifetime obsession with the "Confederacy" and the Civil War, and the man I most admire in history is Colonel John Singleton Mosby.

He started out as a private in JEB Stuart's cavalry and one winter convinced Stuart to let him take 10 or 12 men to harass the enemy out of boredom and the legend was born. He was the only partisan ranger group that Robert E Lee approved of and unfortunately was instrumental in lengthening the war by keeping tens of thousands of Union soldiers out of the main thrust against Lee for fear that Mosby would sneak into Washington city and kidnap Abraham Lincoln. And because of his slight build was once captured and exchanged because the Yankees thought he was just a private. Someone MUST find this and let us die-hard fans see it just one more time.

Or better yet have HBO develop a new series. Two seasons would be great.

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 !

The Gray Ghost aired in Australia in about 1959, when I was 9 or 10. I can remember the theme song, and little bits from various episodes. The show was my introduction to the American Civil War, including some basic US geography. To my young mind the northern capital, Washington, was farther north. The show taught me that Washington was a southern city, and that there was military activity around it.

I remember allusions to the Mason-Dixon line, and West Virgina--where one of the main characters (Sgt Miles?) came from. I remember an exchange between Mosby and a young lady driving a buck-board outside Washington. She had a picnic basket--perhaps delivering it to her Union boyfriend, which was confiscated by Mosby, and after indicating that she had prepared one of the items herself, Mosby called back with "Miles, save the (whatever) for me". And then he gave a salute and a half- wave." It was romantic and gallant.

Through the mists of my memories, it was a good show that taught me that there are two sides to every war.

The series tried to do justice to a man who would require a full length movie for that purpose with a great deal more violence then television in the 1950s was able to display.

However, the overall thrust of the show was excellent in that it showed the humanity and valor of BOTH sides of the war, Confederate and Union. There are villains, but often they are people trying to take advantage of a tragic situation rather than being members of the opposing armed forces. Naturally, as it was only a half hour long and aimed at a younger audience, every effort was made to keep the violence and bloodshed to a minimum - but that didn't preclude a lot of great adventure and more than enough 'fightin'.

No effort was made to present Mosby realistically PHYSICALLY on the show. Tod Andrews was a fairly good sized fellow while Mosby was quite small (delicate actually) who wasn't more than about 5 foot 3 inches or so and never weighed more than about 128 pounds. As well, the producers of the series avoided the reality that had Mosby been captured by the Yankees he would have been hanged without trial by order of Ulysses S. Grant! Even at war's end, it took John Singleton Mosby over six months longer than just about every other Confederate officer to be paroled and return to civilian life! Up until Grant finally allowed him to be paroled, he existed as an outlaw with a price on his head hiding out in Northern Virginia where he had fought as a partisan.