Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
History
Major Professor
Brian Connolly, Ph.D.
Committee Member
John Belohlavek, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Barbara Gannon, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Fraser Ottanelli, Ph.D.
Keywords
Civil War, Reconstruction, Lost Cause, Hong Kong, Patronage, Politics, Nineteenth Century
Abstract
Civil War generals are among the most celebrated figures of their time. In the post-Civil war era, many of these officers retreated to farms, and businesses and disappeared into obscurity. This was not the case with Colonel John Singleton Mosby, who quickly transformed into a figure whose legacy from the Civil war gave him a unique place in the American imagination as the legendary Gray Ghost of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. He lived until 1916, a remarkable fifty years filling those decades with a host of accomplishments in public service both at home and abroad. His legacy is complex, and his life is a fascinating story of myth, contradictions, and romanticism that has provoked continual reexamination of his accomplishments and failures.
Scholar Commons Citation
Youngberg, Kevin R., "Kevin R. Youngberg" (2025). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10912
