The Gray Ghost

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 !

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.

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.

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.