John W. Mobberly

John W. Mobberly. Between-the-Hills Partisan Leader. During the war, this valley southeast of the Federal base at Harpers Ferry between the Blue Ridge and Short Hill was known as "Between the Hills." The much-feared Confederate partisan leader Pvt. ("Captain") John W. Mobberly roamed here from 1863 to 1865. Born five miles north of hear, Mobberly was a hero to some, a sadistic outlaw to others. He and his "gang" raided Federal outposts and Unionists in this valley as far south as Hillsboro, north to Harpers Ferry and beyond, and east over Short Hill toward Lovettsville., While Mobberly occasionally rode with Confederate Lt. Col. Elijah V. White's 35th Battalion Virginia Cavalry and was also associated with Col. John S. Mosby's 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry, he and his men often acted on their own. They erected barricades here along the Hlllsboro and Harpers Ferry Turnpike to ambush Union cavalry lured from Harpers Ferry. Mobberly's comrade Magnus Thompson, who wrote that "Mobberly ... was reckless beyond all reason and fearless of danger; ... he courted it," also claimed that Mobberly had killed more "Yankees" than any other man in Lee's army., Mobberly vowed not to be taken alive. Three Loudoun civilians paid $1,000 each and, escorted by three Unionist Loudoun Rangers, ambushed and killed him west of Lovettsville on April 5, 1865. Union Gen. John D. Stevenson, having called Mobberly the leader of "a gang of murderers," displayed his body in front of Stevenson's Harpers Ferry headquarters. Days later, with the war ending, Mobberly was buried at Salem Church, just south of here off the turnpike., (Sidebar): , Epitaph on back of Mobberly's tombstone: , God bless thee brave soldier , Thy life's dream is o'er , For country and freedom , Thou wilt battle no more , To the land of the blessed , Thou hast gone to depart , With a smile on they face , And a joy in thy heart , Thrice hallowed the green spot , Where our hero is laid , His deeds from our memory , Shall nevermore fade , The stranger will say, , As he lingers around , 'Tis the grave of a hero , 'Tis liberty's mound