They were normally called "Sheridan's Scouts" by the Union soldiers serving in the Shenandoah Valley during the summer of 1864, but they were also known as "Jessie Scouts" by the Confederates opposing Sheridan's army.  While the original Jessie Scouts were formed in St. Louis in 1861 -- and named for Jessie Fremont -- these men came east with General John C. Fremont when he was transferred to command in western Virginia in early 1862. But regardless of the name they were called, these volunteer soldiers served Sheridan well by collecting military intelligence regarding General Jubal A. Early's opposing Confederates.  The danger these scouts faced was increased by the fact that they often wore a Confederate uniform while scouting.
Gauley Mount Press.
Hard Cover, est. 300 pages.

The author's royalties go to the
Third Option Foundation
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    This is the story of the young scouts during the turbulent last year of the American Civil War and it is centered on the relationship with their principal agent, Rebecca Wright, a young Quaker schoolteacher living in Winchester, Virginia.  Recruited indirectly by Thomas Laws, an elderly slave and produce farmer who served as Sheridan's courier into the Confederate town, Rebecca Wright sent key information to Sheridan that helped him plan the attack that captured Winchester while removing a potential threat to Washington, D.C., during the crucial 1864 presidential election period.

    The scouts in this book were all real, as was Rebecca Wright, and the stories of their hazardous operations were derived from actual accounts of their activities that were recorded in a series of letters written to his parents by scout Arch Rowand.  These courageous scouts continued to serve long after the victory at Appomattox and the account of their final and disastrous scouting into Mexico in late 1866 is based on actual records. 

The Author

    A former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces and the descendant of four soldiers who served in the Confederate army, Civil War historian David Phillips is a specialist in the Allegheny Campaigns and Union special operations. He is the author of several books on the Civil War, including War Diaries: The 1861 Kanawha Campaigns, War Stories: The War in West Virginia, and three volumes in the Civil War Chronicles series: Daring Raiders, Crucial Land Battles, and A Soldier's Story. Phillips lives and writes in Leesburg, Virginia.